According to the 5 Jan 1964 NYT, director Robert Mulligan first produced Horton Foote’s 1954 Broadway play, The Traveling Lady, as a television drama of the same name in 1957. It was part of the award-winning series “Studio One in Hollywood,” originally titled, “Studio One” (CBS, 1948-1958), which featured weekly live performances of theatrical plays. After filming the television adaptation, Mulligan suggested to Foote that the screenplay would be a good vehicle for film. In 1962, producer Alan J. Pakula teamed with Mulligan and Foote on To Kill a Mockingbird (1962, see entry), for which Hoote received an Academy Award for his adaptation of Harper Lee’s 1960 novel of the same name. At that time, Pakula joined Mulligan in encouraging Foote to adapt The Traveling Lady.
       The 16 Nov 1962 DV announced that actor Steve McQueen and director Robert Mulligan were finalizing a deal to produce a film version of The Traveling Lady, with Lee Remick set to co-star. Over seven months later, the 28 Jun 1963 DV reported a Sep 1963 start date, with locations in TX, and named Columbia Pictures as the film’s distributor. On 4 Oct 1963, DV stated that principal photography would begin on 28 Oct 1963.
       According to the 9 Oct 1963 Var, 60 to 75% of filming was scheduled to take place in Wharton, TX, the birthplace of Horton Foote, and the remainder was to occur at Columbia Studios in Culver City, CA, totaling twenty one days of photography. Local students form Wharton Junior College and area high schools would serve as background actors. Locations were planned for the Wagon Wheel tavern, and the Pecan Garden cafe. Preparations were currently underway as of early Oct 1963, with Mulligan starting work with construction crew foreman Ed Shanley. The Caravan Motel in Bay City, TX, would house the company during production, but Steve McQueen had rented a nearby home for his family, as noted in Var.
       The 18 Nov 1963 LAT indicated that a graveyard set had been built in Wharton, and noted additional locations in Columbus, TX. Local Sheriff Buckshot Lane was cast to play himself onscreen, and several other townsfolk had reportedly been cast in small roles.
       On 5 Jan 1964, NYT announced that filming was underway at that time at Columbia Studios. According to the 18 Feb 1964 LAT, principal photography had completed.
       Columbia listed the picture as one of seventy-seven features to be released in the coming year, as stated in the 5 May 1964 LAT.
       The 6 Nov 1964 DV reported that screenings were currently being held in New York City. Three weeks later, the 25 Nov 1964 Var announced the title change to Baby, the Rain Must Fall.
       The picture opened in New York City on 13 Jan 1965, according to the 14 Jan 1965 NYT review. The 21 Jan 1965 LAT announced that the Los Angeles opening would be held on 27 Jan 1965, accompanied by the 1964 British feature film, Psyche 59, starring Patricia Neal and Samantha Eggar.
       Reviews were negative. The 13 Jan 1965 Var praised the “outstanding performances” and Ernest Laszlo’s camera work, but declared that the “somber” story filled with plot holes would “leave viewers confused and depressed.” The NYT concurred that the viewers would be “in the dark” and “left dangling and dissatisfied” by the story. The 29 Jan 1965 LAT review faulted the “unsympathetic characters,” and deemed the picture a “dreary, arty, low-keyed exercise in futility.”
       Baby the Rain Must Fall marked the acting debut of child star Kimberly Block, whom the Var review called “an appealing moppet.”