Baby the Rain Must Fall

Horton Foote adapted his play The Traveling Lady for this vaguely literary tale of small town Texas folk, one of the string of well-meaning but amorphous pictures (To Kill A Mockingbird was the best) turned out by Mulligan and producing partner Alan Pakula throughout the '60s. McQueen is slightly ill-at-ease as a rebellious rockabilly singer trying to stay on the right side of the law after his release on parole, lip-synching unconvincingly on the bandstand, and unable to invest his characteristically spare acting style with the psychological insights that would enable the audience to 'read' his self-destructive character. Remick is typically radiant in a typically thankless role as the doormat wife. The impressive high-contrast b/w camerawork is by Ernest Laszlo.