Sturdy film adaptation of a well-received stage drama. Burt Lancaster is perfectly suited to theatrical role of a con-man out West who befriends a folksy family and convinces them he can make it rain on their drought-ridden land. N. Richard Nash's play becomes hearty vehicle for a hand-picked cast, with Lancaster mercurial as ever and Katharine Hepburn appealing as a sweet spinster who could use the rain--and then some! A bit encumbered and awkward at the beginning, though this is compensated for by the handsome production and sterling players (including Wallace Ford, Wendell Corey and Lloyd Bridges). Material later transformed into the 1963 Broadway musical, "110 in the Shade". **1/2 from ****