''It Rained All Night the Day I Left'' is a

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

made in 1978 but not theatrically released until 1980. Directed by

Nicolas Gessner Nicolas Gessner (born 17 August 1931, in Budapest, Hungary) is a Hungarian-born filmmaker who mostly worked in France. His movies are often characterized by strange, quirky atmospheres and unusual cast mixing French and international actors. Sta ...

, the film was a co-production of film studios from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

."It Rained All Night the Day I Left"

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is th ...

Canadian Feature Film Database, May 13, 2010. The film stars

Tony Curtis Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor whose career spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s (Kansas Raiders, 1950) and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 f ...

and

Louis Gossett Jr. Louis Cameron Gossett Jr. (born May 27, 1936) is an American actor. Born in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City, He had his stage debut at the age of 17, in a school production of '' You Can't Take It with You.'' Shortly after he successfully ...

as two gun-runners making a trip through the desert to transport guns for The Colonel (

Sally Kellerman Sally Clare Kellerman (June 2, 1937 – February 24, 2022) was an American actress and singer whose acting career spanned 60 years. Her role as Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan in Robert Altman's film ''M*A*S*H'' (1970) earned her an Oscar no ...

). The film's cast also includes

John Vernon John Keith Vernon (born Adolphus Raymondus Vernon Agopsowicz; February 24, 1932 February 1, 2005) was a Canadian actor. He made a career in Hollywood after achieving initial television stardom in Canada. He was best known for playing Dean Wormer ...

and

Lisa Langlois Lisa Langlois (born March 15, 1959) is a Canadian actress, who has appeared in movies, television and theater. Life and career Langlois was born in North Bay, Ontario. spent her childhood years in Hamilton, Ontario, where she attended a French ...

. The film was released theatrically in Europe, both in its original English and in a dubbed French version titled ''Deux affreux sur le sable''. It received no theatrical release in North America; it premiered as a

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

on CTV and

The Movie Channel The Movie Channel (TMC) is an American premium television network owned by Showtime Networks, a subsidiary of Paramount Global operated through its Media Networks unit. The network's programming mainly features first-run theatrically released ...

on August 23, 1982. Gossett's role had originally been slated to be performed by

Billy Dee Williams William December Williams Jr. (born April 6, 1937) is an American actor. He appeared as Lando Calrissian in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, first in the early 1980s for ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) and ''Return of the Jedi'' (1983), and thirt ...

. Kellerman later dismissed her performance in the film, telling the press that "I always say that I was solidly mediocre and everybody else stunk."

Awards and nominations

The film garnered four

Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for scu ...

nominations at the

1st Genie Awards The 1st Genie Awards were presented on March 20, 1980, and honoured films released in 1979.Jay Scott, "Changeling wins Genie as year's best movie". ''The Globe and Mail'', March 21, 1980. They were given out at a gala event at the Royal Alexandra T ...

in 1980:"Changeling leads Canadian Film Award nominees". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', February 8, 1980. * Best Foreign Actress: Sally Kellerman *

Best Adapted Screenplay This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

Ted Allan Alan Herman (January 26, 1916 – June 29, 1995), known professionally as Ted Allan, was a Canadian screenwriter, author, and poet, several of whose books were made into motion pictures. In 1975, he received a nomination for the Academy Award for ...

* Best Art Direction/Production Design:

Wolf Kroeger Wolf Kroeger is a German-Canadian production designer and art director, most noted as a three-time Genie Award winner for Best Art Direction/Production Design. He won the award at the 29th Canadian Film Awards in 1978 for '' In Praise of Older Wome ...

* Best Original Score: Alain Leroux It did not win any of the awards.

References

External links

* {{Nicolas Gessner 1980 films 1980s crime comedy films Canadian crime comedy films 1980s English-language films Films directed by Nicolas Gessner Quebec films English-language Canadian films English-language French films English-language Israeli films French crime comedy films Israeli crime comedy films 1980 comedy films 1980s Canadian films 1980s French films English-language crime comedy films