Soldier in the Rain

Soldier in the Rain
File:Poster of the movie Soldier in the Rain.jpg Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Ralph Nelson
Produced by	Martin Jurow
Written by	Blake Edwards Maurice Richlin Based on the 1960 novel of the same name by William Goldman
Starring	Jackie Gleason Steve McQueen Tuesday Weld
Music by	Henry Mancini
Cinematography	Philip H. Lathrop
Edited by	Ralph E. Winters
Production company	Solar Productions
Distributed by	Allied Artists
Release dates	November 27, 1963 (1963-11-27) (United States)
Running time	96 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Soldier in the Rain is a 1963 American comedy buddy film directed by Ralph Nelson and starring Jackie Gleason and Steve McQueen. Tuesday Weld portrays Gleason's character's romantic partner.

Produced by Martin Jurow and co-written by Maurice Richlin and Blake Edwards, the screenplay is based upon a 1960 novel of the same name by William Goldman. It was directed by explores the friendship between an Army master sergeant (Gleason) and a young country bumpkin buck sergeant (McQueen). The music is by Henry Mancini.

The film was released five days after President John F. Kennedy's assassination. The national crisis reduced audiences for the film.

Plot

Sergeant Eustis Clay (Steve McQueen) cannot wait to finish his peacetime service and move on to bigger, better things. He is a personal favorite of Master Sergeant Maxwell Slaughter (Jackie Gleason), a career soldier who is considerably brighter than Eustis, but enjoys his company and loyalty. Slaughter is wired into all the perks, back channels, and supply sources an army base can provide, which filter through his nearly autonomous cabin hub.

Clay becomes involved in a number of schemes and scams, including one in which he will sell tickets for soldiers to watch private Meltzer (Tony Bill) purportedly run a three-minute mile. He inconveniences Slaughter more than once, and in one case has a traffic mishap that requires him being bailed out of jail.

Determined to tempt Slaughter with the joys of civilian life before his hitch is up, Clay fixes him up on a date with the much younger woman, not-too-bright Bobby Jo Pepperdine (Tuesday Weld). At first, Slaughter is offended, but gradually he sees another side of Bobby Jo, finding that they have a mutual fondness for crossword puzzles. Clay and Slaughter golf together and begin to enjoy the good life.

One night, Clay is devastated to learn of the death of his dog Donald. A pair of hated rivals use their status as military policemen to lure Clay into a barroom brawl, where he is being beaten two-against-one before Slaughter angrily comes to his rescue. Together they win the fight, but the middle-aged, overweight Slaughter collapses from the effort.

Hospitalized, Slaughter delights Clay by suggesting that they leave the Army together and go live on a tropical isle, surrounded by blue seas and beautiful girls. But Slaughter dies. Clay, a changed man, re-enlists in the Army with a new sense of purpose.

Cast

• Jackie Gleason as Master Sergeant Maxwell Slaughter
• Steve McQueen as Sergeant Eustis Clay
• Tuesday Weld as Bobby Jo Pepperdine
• Tony Bill as Private First Class Jerry Meltzer
• Tom Poston as Lieutenant Magee
• Ed Nelson as MP Sergeant First Class James Priest
• Lew Gallo as Sergeant Fred Lenahan
• Rockne Tarkington as First Sergeant William Booth
• Paul Hartman as Chief of Police
• John Hubbard as Battalion Major
• Chris Noel as Frances McCoy
• Sam Flint as Old Man
• Lewis Charles as Sergeant Tozzi
• Adam West as Inspecting Captain

Reception

In 2011, film critic Craig Butler wrote about the film's theme,

An absorbing film that deserves to be much better known, Soldier in the Rain is a sometimes uneasy blend of comedy and drama that doesn't always quite come off, but has so much going for it that one is glad to overlook its flaws. A buddy picture set in the peacetime Army, Soldier is concerned with how a strong friendship can develop between two people of differing personalities and aims. Jackie Gleason and Steve McQueen are different types, and the fact that they have such a strong bond may at first seem unlikely, but as the film progresses it somehow seems natural and inevitable. Blake Edwards and Martin Richlin have done an excellent job of adapting William Goldman's novel, and together with director Ralph Nelson have opted to emphasize the character aspects of the material over the plot.

Source Novel

Soldier in the Rain

Author	William Goldman
Country	United States
Language	English
Publisher	Atheneum
Publication date	14 July 1960

William Goldman drew his novel from his experience of being in the US Army from 1952 to 1954. He set it at a fictional "Southern" Army post, Camp Scott, in the spring and summer of 1953. He says he was stuck during the writing. He asked his roommate John Kander, also an aspiring writer, to read it. Kander suggested that the woman (eventually played by Weld) should be developed as a major figure. This suggestion helped Goldman finish the rest of the book.

Goldman says the publisher put pressure on him to change the ending:

It was one of the first three books of the firm, and they said "We can't publish this ending. It's a downer. We guarantee you the book won't sell. Will you change it? I said, "I will absolutely change it, and I will give it a very happy ending, if you can guarantee me the book will sell." They said, "Obviously, we can't guarantee that," and I said, "Obviously, I can't change the ending."

Goldman says the character of Clay "was sympathetic for me. There was a sergeant who was a villain, but I thought Clay was just a nice affable stoop. I'd been in the army. A lot of this stuff is also, as I look back on it, autobiographical."

The novel received mixed reviews.

Although Goldman became a noted screenwriter, he was not involved in the adaptation of his novel for the film of the same name.

"They made changes", said Goldman of the film. "No one says 'Oh, we are going to fuck up Bill Goldman's book.' Most of this stuff I didn't pay any attention to. I don't know that I've ever seen Soldier in the Rain. I must have because I like Tuesday Weld but as a rule I don't look at movies I'm involved with and I don't read books that I've written. One does the best one can and that's it."

See also

• List of American films of 1963

References

• Andersen, Richard, William Goldman, Twayne Publishers, 1979
• Egan, Sean, William Goldman: The Reluctant Storyteller, Bear Manor Media, 2014

External links

• Soldier in the Rain at IMDb
• Soldier in the Rain at the TCM Movie Database
• Soldier in the Rain film clip on YouTube