Rain

Rain (1922), a play by John Colton and Clemence Randolph. [Maxine Elliott's Theatre, 648 perf.] Joe Horn ( Rapley Holmes) is a former American who has left his homeland because of Prohibition and similar puritanical ways, and who has established a hotel in Pago Pago that caters to sailors, beachcombers, and others seeking a good time. Into this hedonist band come two disparate figures: the flamboyant Sadie Thompson ( Jeanne Eagels), an American prostitute fleeing the law in Chicago, and the Reverend Alfred Davidson ( Robert Kelly), who is determined to teach the depraved natives the meaning of sin and to save one and all from the devil. The pair soon lock horns, but it is not a fair fight since the missionary is brought to realize that his own motives are not entirely pure, at least where the voluptuous Sadie is concerned. In the end, Davidson commits suicide, and Sadie, preparing to leave for Australia, can only muse, “I guess I'm sorry for everybody in the world.” Sam H. Harris produced the play that was taken from a Somerset Maugham short story (known variously as “Rain” and “Sadie Thompson”). In his review for the Times, John Corbin noted, “‘Rain’ is not a ‘pleasant’ play . . . but it is strikingly original in theme, true in characterization, vigorous in drama and richly colored.” For most playgoers, Eagels's electrifying performance was the evening's high point. A musical version, Sadie Thompson (1944), originally conceived for Ethel Merman but finally starring June Havoc, failed.