Watch Baby, the Rain Must Fall For Free

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

"Baby the Rain Must Fall" is a film about a super-dysfunctional family. The husband is a screw-up who seems to be determined to destroy his life. Although married to a pretty and amazingly long- suffering wife who has put up with him, he doesn't seem to appreciate her in the least. And, time and time again throughout this film he knows what choices to make and yet he chooses the wrong path. Although on parole and recently out of prison, he just seems determined to be sent back...all the while trying to make it big in a tiny town by singing with his rockabilly band.If you are looking for a fun film, this sure ain't it!! But, if you are looking for good acting and an interesting portrait of a jerk and his young family, it's worth seeing. Well made...just not exactly a pleasant viewing experience.By the way, if you do see it, in the opening portion where they show Steve McQueen singing the title song, look for a young Glen Campbell on the left. Also, it's pretty obvious by the voice that it ain't McQueen singing...and they should have at least chosen a singer whose voice was closer to his.Also, the summary on IMDb says that the child is an infant. Nope. She appears to be about 4 years-old...not an infant at all.

Horton Foote writes lovingly about Texas. In this film, the cast is star-studded with Steve McQueen as newly released parolee Henry Thomas and aspiring country singer. Lee Remick plays his wife Georgette. They have a daughter. The cast also included Don Stroud as the sheriff where he is the good guy. McQueen does a fantastic job in playing Henry Thomas. The writing is weak in some areas like Henry's actions after Miss Kate died and funeral. I never got the history about him and Miss Kate. It's an odd storyline. There is also the relationship between him and his wife that falls flat too. While I love the cast of McQueen, Stroud, and Remick and the supporting cast like Ruth White as well, the writing seems weak like it needs more to explain the history among the characters. The film is fine otherwise but off in some parts because of the writing.

"Baby the rain must fall" is a slow-moving intimate story;so if you're looking for an action-packed movie such as many of McQueen's ,you probably won't get something out of it.Filmed in stark black and white ,in a dreary landscape ,with a sky so low it might crumble and fall on the unfortunate couple.Lee Remick ,excellent as ever ,portrays a strong woman ,who had to cope with many setbacks and who however succeeded in raising her little girl.And most of all,she stands by her man,she 's convinced that he will be a famous singer/songwriter some day.Mac Queen is moving as the father -the scene when he says goodbye to her is really harrowing- but less credible as a singer (Clint Eastwood did a better job in "honky tonk man" ) .Like in some other movies by Robert Mulligan ,there is a mysterious side ,something threatening in the dark : Mulligan's flair for eerie disturbing atmosphere was already present in "the spiral road" and would emerge again in later works such as " the stalking moon" and its "enemy" as omnipresent as he is almost invisible and "the other" in which he creates terror in the midday sun.Here "Miss Kate" represents the repressed hidden terror back in the hero's childhood .This lady only appears on her death bed and there's an almost unbearable desecration scene."Baby the rain must fall" never takes the easy way out:for instance ,no romance between Remick and Don Murray,the nice deputy and the end of the movie can be seen as the beginning of a new "cycle" : the heroine will wait till her husband is released,then they 'll try to pick up the pieces till...

I gave this film a 4 rating despite the good story and characters. Why? McQueen turns in his usual good performance because he's a pro. But for me it was not a memorable one. It seemed like McQueen's attempt at James Dean. It just isn't McQueen. Lee Remick was also beautiful and turned in a good performance but not as intense as her Sherwood character in 1962's "Experiment In Terror." The over all cast carried the film. What got lost on me is the vocalizing McQueen had to sing to. The vocals simply don't match his face. You can tell immediately this wasn't McQueen's voice. Voice and face is a tricky match when it isn't your real voice. McQueen's dramatic acting while not excellent was better than most actors of that time. The failure came when he started to sing the songs. I guess no one musically coached him. He looked painfully amateurish. But it's the type of thing that can be forgiven easily. The movie is somber and poignant at times but if you don't pay attention a viewer can get lost. The story is a good one. Did anyone catch a young Glen Campbell over McQueen's shoulder in the first performance song of the movie? Everyone starts somewhere.