It has pathos and heart and portrays friendship at its finest a force which can enrich and change. Add a reallife lolita teen, and the two become part of an intriguing love triangle. Soldier in the rain 1963, starring jackie gleason and steve mcqueen, is a comedydrama film about the friendship between an aging army master sergeant gleason and a young country bumpkin buck sergeant mcqueen. The writing is clean and crisp, and flows effortlessly. Its too bad the film has not be widely released on dvd by the studio and is only a dvd on demand from amazon. The author of the temple of gold and your turn to curtsey my turn to bow has written a third novel which seems, at first, wholly devoted to ordinary, surface realism. Like the anecdotes in the things they carried, the anecdotes here are static and seemingly unrelated.
Hard to believe that goldman wrote soldier in the rain, the princess bride, marathon man, butch cassidy and the sundance kid, and all the presidents men. Rain could make battle an incredibly trying experience for those who fought. Soldier in the rain is based on the novel by william goldman the princess bride and was partly inspired by his time in the u. However, thats exactly the case when it comes to the underrated gem of a comedy, soldier in the rain. At the time of this film it was headquartered at the presidio in san francisco, ca, and was used for training soldiers being sent overseas. The large patch on the left shoulder of everyones uniform is that of the u. Thats quite a diverse group of genres and yet all written so impeccably. Soldier in the rain is one of mcqueens forgotten gems but it should not be overlooked. Solider in the rain is a 1960 novel by william goldman about a simple army sergeant on a base in. Stonewall jackson and isaac stevens clashed during a heavy thunderstorm. Soldier in the rain solider in the rain is a 1960 novel by william goldman about a simple army sergeant on a base in the american south, his two far more educated buddies, and one young local girl. First edition of this novel which concerns the friendship between an army master sergeant and a young country bumpkin buck sergeant.
Soldier in the rain by william goldman book cover, description, publication. Clay steve mcqueen in another getrichquick scheme has meltzer tony bill running predawn time trials when mp lenahan lew gallo speeds by with date bobby jo tuesday weld, police chief paul hartman taking over until bad guy priest ed nelson shows up, in. As described in the book, the reason solder in the rain is one of mcqueens lesserknown films is because it came out only a few days after president kennedy was killed. They jump in time, purpose, and magnitude in the same way that a soldier s mind might jump around his past. Hot on the heels of mcqueens starsolidifying role in the great escape and gleasons celebrated role as minnesota fats in the hustler, as well as a juicy part in nelsons. When i saw the movie, i was surprised to see a few scenes i had never seen before.
Soldier in the rain is a 1963 american comedydrama film starring jackie gleason and steve mcqueen, and directed by ralph nelson. Steve mcqueen may be the soldier in the rain and is good, too, but this belongs to the great ones. There are no extras and no change for insight into the movie. And i had a few more lines than i remembered in the movie. Although there isnt a lot of original text, the book is very well done.
Inactivated in 1995, it was reactivated in 2008 and is now headquartered at fort sam houston in texas. Tuesday weld portrays gleasons characters romantic partner. Such was the case in the september 1862 battle of chantilly, in which thomas j. Sentemental military comedy revolves around two contemporary army buddies, master sergeant maxwell slaughter jackie gleason, a smooth operator, who supply sergeant eustis clay steve mcqueen idolizes and hopes will join him as a civilian in a private business enterprise. Two of the dead lie in graves, so they simply throw dirt on them. William goldman, author of the source novel, was not involved at all in the film. But soldier in the rain, gives us a good glimpse at the monotony, the routine, the chain of command and even the shenanigans of an american army base during peace time. Great fight scene i noticed missing when i searched for it recently.
In this story, it becomes clear to us that all the stories obrien is telling originate from his memory. The script for soldier in the rain 1963 was cowritten by blake edwards. Soldier in the rain william goldman first edition signed. The movie stars mcqueen as clay, a slightly dimwitted sergeant who befriends master sergeant slaughter gleason. Behind the scenes with steve mcqueen and jackie gleason noel, chris, kimball, kirk, terrill, marshall on.
Considering the talent involved steve mcqueen, jackie gleason, tuesday weld, william goldman, blake edwards, henri mancini, director ralph nelson soldier in the rain 1963 is not a fondly remembered army comedydrama. William goldman based the novel on his experience of being in the us army from 19521954, setting it at the fictional southern. Tuesday weld portrays gleasons characters romantic partner produced by martin jurow and cowritten by maurice richlin and blake edwards, the screenplay is based upon a 1960 novel by william goldman and concerns the friendship between an army master sergeant. It was the basis for the 1963 american comedy film directed by ralph nelson and starring jackie gleason, steve mcqueen and tuesday weld, with the music by henry mancini. Essentially a buddy comedy about barracks life toward the end of the korean war, the book is chock full of amusing and uproarious episodes, and reads like a long episode of mas h minus the blood and guts. He later stated that both his publisher and the film producers. Soldier in the rain licensed to youtube by wmg on behalf of atlantic records. Soldier in the rain, to put it bluntly and as clearly as possible, is a marvelous book and william goldman is a most talented novelist. Soldier in the rain by william goldman fantastic fiction. The unlikely duo of steve mcqueen and jackie gleason star in this military comedydrama.
Soldier in the rain england dan john ford coley dowdy ferry road. Paul agrees, but before they can shoot him other soldiers arrive, so they must get a stretcher and call for a medic. The bond of friendship between a worldlywise army master. Goldmans publishers pressured him to change what they considered a downer ending. A 1963 film produced by pink panther helmer and comedy giant blake edwwards, soldier stars gleason and mcqueen, and is based on the william goldman novel of the same name. Steve mcqueen, jackie gleason, tuesday weld, tony bill, tom poston, ed nelson. Seeing my family and friends they say love knows no distance but the longing never ends and all along the dreams i possessed my heart never were to plain and here i stand a soldier in the rain i remember years ago i had so many plans and now i watch the river flow. The screenplay out of a novel by william goldman relates the bittersweet tale of two modern army buddies a smooth operating master sergeant jackie gleason. When gunpowder and paper cartridges became wet, it was more difficult to fire a weapon accurately.
Allie loses her second husband when his truck crashes and explodes. Behind the scenes with steve mcqueen and jackie gleason. William goldman based the novel on his experience of being in the us army from 19521954, setting it at the fictional southern army. With steve mcqueen, jackie gleason, tuesday weld, tony bill. An hour later, they reach the lorries and, in the desperate early morning hours, rain begins to fall.