WHO'LL STOP THE RAIN

Karel Reisz's neo-noir WHO'LL STOP THE RAIN came out in 1978. I was in college at the time and a fairly regular moviegoer, seeing at least one new film a week (sometimes more). Somehow I managed to miss this one, a mistake I had the opportunity to correct today thanks to TCM.

I've never read Robert Stone's novel "Dog Soldiers" on which the film was based so I cannot compare the novel to the film (although Stone co-wrote the screenplay with Judith Rascoe). I can only judge the film on its' own merits and as such, it's a very good movie.

Nick Nolte stars as Ray Hicks, a merchant marine sailor during the war in Vietnam. His buddy, disillusioned war correspondent John Converse (Michael Moriarty) , convinces Ray to smuggle a huge quantity of raw heroin out of Vietnam to be sold for a sizeable amount of money to John's wife, Marge, in the Bay Area.

Hicks agrees only to find Marge (Tuesday Weld), dealing with her own drug addiction and no clue about the payoff for the smack. They're soon ambushed by a pair of phony DEA agents, Danskin (Richard Masur) and Smitty (Ray Sharkey). The two are under the command of real but bent cop Antheil (Anthony Zerbe).

 Ray and Marge go on the run, desperate to sell the drugs to any taker (including Hollywood player Eddie Peace (Charles Haid)) while John, who has returned to the states, finds himself a hostage to the vicious gunmen who want the  heroin at all costs.

Everything climaxes in a nighttime gun battle illuminated by strobe lights and ear-splitting country western music. It's an eerie and surreal sequence, one which echoes the madness of the war in Vietnam.

The cast is uniformly excellent and director Karel Reisz does a great job of capturing the burnt out disillusionment of Vietnam vets who returned home broken and cast adrift in a society that offers only crime as a way out.

Director Reisz had an interesting career. He was part of the British New Wave movement in cinema in the 1960s, beginning with his debut film SATURDAY NIGHT, SUNDAY MORNING (1960). He made three more films in England before moving to the states where he made THE GAMBLER (1974), his most high-profile and acclaimed film, THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT'S WOMAN (1981) and the Patsy Cline biopic SWEET DREAMS (1985). 

With a great soundtrack of classic rock hits (including three songs by Creedence Clearwater Revival), WHO'LL STOP THE RAIN is a gritty little thriller that delivers the goods. 

Thumbs up.