This has to be one of the most intelligent movies Hollywood produced in the 1930's; I see it comes from Lewis Milestone, who produced the equally-brilliant All Quiet on the Western Front (1930). These films have almost a European look - appropriate, because the novels are by European writers.<br /><br />You've got to admire Milestone for coaxing a sensitive performance out of Crawford, a woman who was happier when hamming it up. No wonder she didn't like her performance here; she was to genuinely ACT.<br /><br />The story deals with the inner nature of a sanctimonious religious hypocrite, something quite relevant now. A lesser director (and novelist) would have turned Sadie into someone unbelievably virtuous, but Milestone and Crawford show us a much more complex character. <br /><br />The other performances are great, too, especially Huston as the tormented evangelist; try comparing him to the chief satanist in The Seventh Victim (1943). The rain itself deserves special mention as a character establishing the insane claustrophobic atmosphere.<br /><br />The stage version was portrayed briefly in Scarface (1932), another great movie from the 1930's.