Soldier in the Rain (1963)

This comedy – produced and co-written by Blake Edwards and directed by Ralph Nelson –  tells the story of the friendship between two sergeants in the US Army.

Master Sergeant Maxwell Slaughter (Jackie Gleason) has made a settled career in the army, while his pal Sergeant Eustis Clay (Steve McQueen), is an amiable, simple-minded, incurably optimistic country boy, who constantly dreams up hare-brained schemes that will make fortunes for himself and Slaughter.

The result is that Clay (a supply sergeant) is almost constantly in trouble with the military police – especially sadistic MP sergeants Priest (Ed Nelson) and Lenahan (Lew Gallo) –  and Slaughter (a hard-boiled combat veteran) rescues him from trouble with equal constancy.

Clay dreams of leaving “the stupid army” and wants to persuade Slaughter to do so too.

As Clay puts it to his buddy, “with my ideas and your brains, we’ll make millions”. His big get-rich-quick scheme is to import a load of penguins and print advertising slogans on them!

Eager to make his friend appreciate civilian life, Clay introduces Slaughter to gum-chewing adolescent Bobby Jo Pepperdine (Tuesday Weld) – a high school senior who is every soldier’s date – and they unexpectedly find a pleasant affinity.

But the world of all three is to collapse when the two men are involved in a fight with the military police – with drastic results.

The unlikely pairing of Steve McQueen and Jackie Gleason generates surprising on-screen chemistry. Watch out, too, for a pre-Batman Adam West.

The musical score is by Henry Mancini.

Master Sergeant Maxwell Slaughter
Jackie Gleason
Sgt. Eustis Clay
Steve McQueen
Bobby Jo Pepperdine
Tuesday Weld
Pfc. Jerry Meltzer
Tony Bill
Lt. Magee
Tom Poston
MP Sgt. James Priest
Ed Nelson
Sgt. Fred Lenahan
Lew Gallo
Sgt. William Booth
Rockne Tarkington
Chief of Police
Paul Hartman
Battalion Major
John Hubbard
Frances McCoy
Chris Noel
Sgt. Tozzi
Lewis Charles
Inspecting Captain
Adam West

Director
Ralph Nelson