This remake of Louis Bromfield's "The Rains Came" is colorful and visually stunning but lacks in the power of the original because of the lack of spark between the cast. Myrna Loy was phenomenal as Lady Esketh because absolutely no one expected that the woman that every man would love to come home to could play such a calculating female. Her MGM colleague Lana Turner can easily play calculating so there's no surprise in the revelation of how soul destroying she can be even if it's deep inside her character and not on the surface.
The lack of spark between Turner and Richard Burton is also apparent and the casting of Burton as a Hindu is laughable, even for one of the best actors of the 20th Century. Fred MacMurray seems one dimensional as the alcoholic engineer, rather bland for a character who should be dripping with anger. On the other hand, Michael Rennie and Eugenie Leontovich are excellent as Turner's embittered husband and the Maharani who instantly sees right through Turner. Joan Caulfield has the unfortunate role of a rather annoying young woman for whom love is her only reason of being, grasping and grating.
The special effects and photography, music and sets are stunning, although having watched the original again fairly recently made this look like that parts of the original were colorized which of course they weren't. The subtleties of the original are completely lost with this remake which makes it sometimes just a poor imitation, not even providing unintentional laughs. This obviously looked great on the big screen which perhaps exploded all the emotions which come off as phony on a small screen.
The lack of spark between Turner and Richard Burton is also apparent and the casting of Burton as a Hindu is laughable, even for one of the best actors of the 20th Century. Fred MacMurray seems one dimensional as the alcoholic engineer, rather bland for a character who should be dripping with anger. On the other hand, Michael Rennie and Eugenie Leontovich are excellent as Turner's embittered husband and the Maharani who instantly sees right through Turner. Joan Caulfield has the unfortunate role of a rather annoying young woman for whom love is her only reason of being, grasping and grating.
The special effects and photography, music and sets are stunning, although having watched the original again fairly recently made this look like that parts of the original were colorized which of course they weren't. The subtleties of the original are completely lost with this remake which makes it sometimes just a poor imitation, not even providing unintentional laughs. This obviously looked great on the big screen which perhaps exploded all the emotions which come off as phony on a small screen.