The Devil’s Rain ** (1975, Ernest Borgnine, Eddie Albert, Ida Lupino, Tom Skerritt, William Shatner, Keenan Wynn, John Travolta) – Classic Movie Review 11,038

‘Heaven help us all when The Devil’s Rain! The ULTIMATE in Satanic possession!’

A first-rate cast of old reliables is largely wasted in director Robert Fuest’s occasionally interesting and creepy, but often daft and kitsch 1975 horror exploitation movie The Devil’s Rain.

Ernest Borgnine enjoys himself in an extravagant turn as demonic Jonathan Corbis, the chief Satanist who has come back to haunt a present-day American rural Western town, where the Satanists have powers that allow them to melt their victims.

Tom Skerritt, Ida Lupino, Eddie Albert (as Dr Sam Richards), William Shatner and Keenan Wynn (as Sheriff Owens) also star.

It is John Travolta’s cinema debut, as Danny.

Shooting in Durango, Mexico, was plagued by eerie events and accidents, and Borgnine vowed to never work on a project with this subject matter again.

Also in the cast are Joan Prather, Woody Chambliss, Claudio Brook, Erika Carlsson, George Sawaya, Tony Cortez, Lisa Todd, Anton LaVey, Diane LaVey and Robert Wallace.

William Shatner turned 90 on 22 March 2021.

It was released in 1976 by Fox-Rank in the UK as a double-feature with the censored Vampyres [Daughters of Darkness].

The Devil’s Rain is directed by Robert Fuest, runs 86 minutes, is made by Sandy Howard Productions, is released by Bryanston Distributing (1975) (US) and Fox-Rank (1976) (UK), is written by Gabe Essoe, James Ashton and Gerald Hopman, is shot in Todd-AO 35 and colour by Alex Phillips Jnr, is produced by James V Cullen and Michael S Glick, is scored by Al De Lory and is designed by Nikita Knatz.

© Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,038

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com