Movie Review: Rider on the Rain (1970)

DIRECTOR: Rene Clement. CAST: Marlene Jobert, Charles Bronson, Annie Cordy, Corinne Marchand, Jill Ireland, Jean Piat, Marcel Peres, Gabriele Tinti, Ellen Bahl, Jean Gaven, Marc Mazza. 
Interesting (at first) French suspense drama about a woman who shoots her rapist dead in self-defense and dumps his body in the Mediterranean instead of calling the police. Charles Bronson is the mysterious American who suddenly materializes in aggressive fashion asking questions about the rapist’s death. His conduct towards the survivor might make Rider on the Rain an uneasy film to watch for some in today’s #MeToo era. Everything starts with strong performances from Jobert & Bronson and a lot of promise, but then slowly peters out to a flat conclusion. I imagine a different director could have made better use of the story’s lightly Hitchcockian nature for something more gripping. Perhaps Charles Bronson could have seen a better remake happen had his idea panned out in 1983, but we will never know. Jim Morrison was supposedly inspired to write the DOORS favorite “Riders on the Storm” after seeing this film.