Rita Hayworth is a red head here. She is Sadie Thompson - a woman running from her past until she gets religion from a Preacher who then does not practice what he preaches. She is on her way to freedom until then.This one was done as a silent film in 1928, Directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Lionel Barrymore. That might just be the best version. In 1932, Joan Crawford did the first sound version. Here in 1953, Hayworth is Sadie number 3. Actually, her look here and the technicolor from MGM look pretty good.Hayworth's acting is fair, as is Jose Ferrer as the holier than thou preacher who does everything he can to stop Sadie but then becomes the very evil man he preaches against. Sadie is just too much for any one man. The plot for all three versions work out the same, and as for how it concludes, let's just say it is self-destructive. This one is worth looking at Rita, whose really the vamp here, but finds religion in the end. Or does she?

When Joan Crawford did Rain and in my opinion not badly in 1932, she contended with the memory of Jeanne Eagels who did the original Broadway production. As we know Jeanne died way too young and we never got to see her do this on film. She was supposed to be nothing less than brilliant. Crawford suffered by comparison no matter what she did.Rita Hayworth may have suffered in comparison as well to Eagels as well as Crawford because Joan's version was done before the Code was put in place. A part which Hayworth should have scored a huge triumph laid a big old ostrich egg because of all the restrictions firmly in place courtesy of the Code. W. Somerset Maugham's story which was about some really brutal facts of life including sexual desire and sexual oppression was a sensation in the Twenties. This version water downed the guts right out of Maugham's work. Jose Ferrer who also should have been brilliant as Davidson does what he can with the part, but is ultimately defeated. In fact Davidson is supposed to be a clergyman as was Walter Huston in the Joan Crawford version. Here he's some kind of overseer of a religious/medical mission. The Code forbade any bad depiction of religious figures.Lester Lee and Allan Roberts wrote the score for Miss Sadie Thompson and the film given its subject matter reached incredibly ironic heights when Rita with Jo Ann Greer's singing voice does a number with kids like you would find in a Bing Crosby film. Ironically the rest of the musical part of the film is the best thing about it with Blue Pacific Blues winning an Oscar nomination for Best Song. But this film also includes a number forever associated with Rita Hayworth with The Heat Is On. Now that WAS in keeping with the subject matter.They should have waited to do a remake of Rain once the Code had been lifted. A G rated version is ludicrous on its face. But then we would not have had Rita Hayworth at the height of her star power.

I thought I'd give this one a whirl even though I knew the story. I should try and kick myself for wasting my time.I posted a review of "Rain" so this review probably won't be much different than that one except for a few minor notations.Basic premise is a prostitute and a bunch holy rollers get stranded on an island but the holy rollers leader doesn't take to the prostitute being a bad influence on the island's population. That's his perception anyhow. He gets the Governor to expel her from the island and the furor begins.My main point of this film and it's predecessor is that there's just no way anyone could get another person evicted/deported from a place where they've done nothing wrong. This guy says she was a prostitute at a Hawaii based club and she needs to go back and pay for her sins. Problem is, there's no warrant out for her arrest, she's done nothing wrong on the island and she wasn't even gonna be going back to the states anyhow. She was going to another place to get a legitimate job. No person I've ever heard of has the power to wield someone from somewhere who's done absolutely nothing wrong. There are laws. Just because someone doesn't like someone, doesn't mean they can make them go anywhere or do anything.The ending is great cause this guy does what most would want him to. This film was obviously made as a Rita Hayworth vehicle. By this time though she was beginning her sorta downturn in movies...i.e...she wasn't as popular as she use to be. She's aged far beyond her actual age and in this film, it shows. She's still as beautiful she ever was though. Rain existed to point out the hypocrisy of Religion I imagine. At least it's pretty obvious to me. Problem is, it's just a story that doesn't have a lot of believability. Also doesn't help that, with the exception of Ms. Hayworth, it had sub-par casting.Watch this one for Rita Hayworth only. Anything else and you coulda been watching Flintstones reruns.

The old Sadie Thompson story gets the full Technicolor treatment and some eye-filling location photography of a beautiful South Seas island--but nothing hides the fact that the story is simply another reworking of the Somerset Maugham saga about a sinner, a man of the cloth and a bunch of rowdy U.S. Marines.RITA HAYWORTH gives her all to put some much needed vitality into the tale and puts some heat into her dance number--"The Heat Is On"--while the men aren't shy about showing how they appreciate her earthy charms. But there's not much to say about the story and its labored message about sin and redemption with JOSE FERRER as the uptight preacher who takes a moral stand on her behavior but can't practice what he preaches.ALDO RAY and CHARLES BRONSON are among the Sadie admirers in uniform and both of them do splendid jobs. Rita has a nice chemistry in all her scenes with Aldo Ray but her scenes with Ferrer never quite have the impact they're supposed to. She handles all the dramatic moments well, but there's a tired look about her face that is most noticeable during the latter half of the film.Not exactly an upbeat tale, but Rita does make a believable Sadie Thompson.