Every once in a while, you catch a gem. I seldom watch TV but happen to catch this performance of Nash's The Rainmaker. The old movie with Katie Hepburn, Cameron Prudhomme, Burt Lancaster, Lloyd Bridges, Wendell Corey and Earl Holliman is a classic. So, I was interested to see how Lonnie Chapman, Tuesday Weld, John Cromwell and the everloving Tommy Lee Jones would do. It was great. Not a weak moment and lots of energy. Tommy Lee had this stick he twirled which together with his gift for banter made him perfect as Starbuck, the conman rainmaker. I especially loved his final scene where he struts in, give his stick a spin and asks for his $100.00. A fine performance of a great play by a strong cast. Lonnie Chapman, a solid actor cast in bit parts from his debut in the Sinatra/Doris Day musical and memorable as the irate father in The Reivers turns in a solid performance as does the consistent Cromwell in one of his pre-Babe roles. William Katt as the hormone-struck younger brother, chaffing under his older brother's control is fine too, as is Tuesday Weld, whom we see little of since her teenie bopper days as a cutie-pie. All in all, a great piece of entertainment.
