Trivia / The Rain People

• Creator's Favorite Episode: Francis Ford Coppola frequently cites this as one his of favorites.
• The Danza: James Caan as Jimmy Kilgannon.
• Dawson Casting: Jimmy is supposed to be around 20 or so, but James Caan was in his late 20s. Averted with Rosalie. Marya Zimmet was 11 and that seems to be the right age for the character.
• The Other Marty: Rip Torn, who missed out on a role in another notable 1969 Road Movie, was originally cast as Gordon but had a scheduling conflict and pulled out at the last minute. Robert Duvall, the ex-roommate of James Caan and his co-star in the recently released Robert Altman film Countdown, quickly stepped in to take the part.
• Real-Life Relative: Eleanor Coppola (Francis' wife), uncredited as Gordon's wife who died in the house fire.
• Reality Subtext: Shirley Knight was in fact pregnant during filming.
• What Could Have Been: The original screenplay ended with Vinny driving to Nebraska to pick up Natalie.

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