Rain Tree

The drought-ridden plains of the Old West provide the setting for a classic morality tale of one man's meteoric rise to unexpected prosperity and his precipitous fall brought on by overwhelming greed. It hasn't rained on the plains for months, the ground is parched, the grass is dead and Jim Martin's cattle are dying. Jim tries all the wild and silly rainmaking gimmicks to no avail, much to the delight and entertainment of his neighbors. Then he hears of a mysterious rain tree that brings water up from the ground, not rain from the sky. Jim's desperation drives him to bargain for a shoot of the tree. The tree does bring water to Jim's land-so much water that his wealth triples, making Jim the most envied rancher on the thirsty plains. But Jim, once solid and honest, changes. He steals. Worse, after accidentally killing the town bully, he covers it up, shifting suspicion of murder to his friend and neighbor. He lies to his wife and son. He forces friends out of business. His ego and avarice convince him that he alone willed those wells to spring up and gush cool, sweet water. The town marshall knows the truth; however, Jim ignores his warnings and never sees the end coming. The collapse is final, the ruin complete, leaving Jim with only one salvation. Cook (Two Rode Together, which was filmed by John Ford), a master western storyteller, leaves not a single loose end left flapping in the hot, dry wind. (Nov.)