ABSTRACT
The story, 'Rain,' begins with two couples traveling to Apia via Pago Pago, having embarked in Honolulu. A measles outbreak sees them quarantined in Pago, where they stay at the home of a part-Samoan trader, the only available accommodation on the island. They are joined by a second-class passenger, Sadie Thompson, who plays loud Chicago blues on her gramophone and consorts with the marines stationed there. The film follows the romance plot of the silent version, and similarly removes the distinction Maugham makes between British and Americans by making all the main characters American. The camera effectively emphasizes Davidson's power with a number of point of view shots from Sadie's perspective, taken from below, with Davidson on the stairs. Like Maugham's 'Rain,' the setting is shown to be the necessary precursor for Davidson's eruption. As he stands pondering Sadie, just before the rape, the sound of drums is heard, and the sound seems to bring on his transformation.
