The Rains of Ranchipur (1955)

Based on the novel The Rains Came, by Louis Bromfield, first published in 1937.

A rich slut visiting India falls in love with a physician who is inexperienced in matters of the heart. A local princess of sorts is against the romance. There is also an American expatriate who drinks all the time. The resolution of dramatic conflicts is accelerated by the arrival of an earthquake which destroys a dam and causes a general flood.

Disagreeable drama. It's hard to take an interest in these characters and their conflicts seem most of the time overblown. The  romantic parts are interminable. Most of the actors seem ill at ease in their parts, though admittedly the leading lady is fairly convincing in hers. The 1939 filmic version of this novel was, if memory serves, reasonably engaging and effective, which proves that the fault is not in the overall plot.

Rating: 31