Soldier in the Rain

Soldier in the Rain is a 1963 American comedy buddy film directed by Ralph Nelson and starring Jackie Gleason and Steve McQueen. Tuesday Weld portrays Gleason's character's romantic partner. Produced by Martin Jurow and co-written by Maurice Richlin and Blake Edwards, the screenplay is based upon a 1960 novel of the same name by William Goldman. It explores the friendship between an Army master sergeant (Gleason) and a young country bumpkin buck sergeant (McQueen). The music is by Henry Mancini. The film was released five days after President John F. Kennedy's assassination. The national crisis reduced audiences for the film. Plot Sergeant Eustis Clay (Steve McQueen) cannot wait to finish his peacetime service and move on to bigger, better things. He is a personal favorite of Master Sergeant Maxwell Slaughter (Jackie Gleason), a career soldier who is considerably brighter than Eustis, but enjoys his company and loyalty. Slaughter is wired into all the perks, back channels, and supply sources an Army base can provide, which filter through his nearly autonomous cabin hub.