"The Rains Came" with Myrna Loy and Tyrone Power (1939)

When an Indian nobleman returns to his homeland after studying medicine in the United States, Rama Safti, played by Tyrone Power, seeks to use his training to make the life of his people better through his education and training. But things are not as easy as they appear to be in the fictional city of Ranchipur, which is undergoing a prolonged drought. The citizens there pray for relief in the form of rain.

Myrna Loy plays the part of Edwina Esketh, a young lady who finds herself stranded in India and quickly becomes the target of the affections of both Major Safti and Tom Ransome, played by George Brent, an aristocratic womanizer. Their friendship is further strained by the flirtatious Fern Simon, played by Brenda Joyce, the daughter of American missionaries.

As these relationships become entangled in a web of lies, deceit and mistrust, the monsoons arrive, along with a devastating earthquake. These events force all of the main characters to re-evaluate their own lives, as well as the society in which they live, bringing the movie to an astonishing conclusion about life, love and all that really matters.

Although there is not much “real” history in this film it is interesting to note that the character of Edwina is supposedly based on Edwina Mountbatten (wife to Lord Mountbatten, a known homo-sexual.) Lady Mountbatten was known to prefer "men of color", just as the character in the film does. In real life, Lady Mountbatten had a long term affair with a Jamaican cabaret singer. Pretty good movie, and as always, Myrna Loy is a pleasure to watch.

"Christmas Eve" with George Raft, Randolph Scott and George Brent

This is one of the all time greatest of Christmas movies, and also one of the most overlooked. It involves a wealthy widow who lives in Manhattan during the late 1940's, which is when the film was made. Aunt Matilda Reid's nephew is seeking to have her judged incompetent in order to become the sole trustee of her wealth. Her three wayward adopted sons have been gone for years, with not a word from any of them. One is a bankrupt playboy (George Brent), the other a rodeo rider (Randolph Scott), and the third son (George Raft), is a very mysterious man involved with hunting Nazi war criminals in South America.

Aunt Matilda has drawn just one concession from the lawyers and judge who are administering her case; if her sons show up before midnight on Christmas Eve, she wins. If not, she becomes the ward of her greedy nephew.

The film received tepid reviews in 1947 when it was released in late October. It was eventually re-released as "Sinner's Holiday", in an effort to attract a wider audience. I first ran across this gem in 1961, or so, while watching WOR-TV, Channel 9, in New York City. All the good old movies were on that channel.

As a matter of fact, "It's A Wonderful Life", with Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed, got it's second life from that station. That film was originally released in 1942, at a time when we were not winning the war. The film flopped. And then, around 1960, WOR-TV was looking for something to throw on the air Christmas Eve that wouldn't cost them anything. So they turned to "It's A Wonderful Life", a film whose copyright had just run out, enabling them to air the film for nothing. The switchboards lit up and another classic Christmas film was "discovered."