You probably think John Travolta just fell out of the sky onto a disco floor in 1977. Or maybe you're a bit more of a film buff and you remember him as the jerk who dumped pig blood on Sissy Spacek in Carrie. But honestly? Neither of those was his big screen start. Long before he was Vinnie Barbarino or Danny Zuko, Travolta was just a kid in a hood, hanging out with literal Satanists in the Mexican desert.
The year was 1975. The movie was The Devil's Rain.
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If you haven't seen it, you've missed one of the weirdest artifacts of 1970s cinema. It’s a movie where William Shatner gets his eyes plucked out and Ernest Borgnine turns into a goat. And somewhere in the background of all that melting wax and occult chanting is a 21-year-old John Travolta.
The Devil's Rain: More Than Just a Footnote
Most people looking for John Travolta's first movie expect something glamorous. They expect dancing. They expect that chin dimple front and center. Instead, they get a gritty, gooey horror flick directed by Robert Fuest. Fuest was the guy behind The Abominable Dr. Phibes, so he knew his way around stylish macabre.
Travolta plays a character named Danny. He’s a member of a satanic cult.
He doesn’t have many lines. In fact, for a good chunk of his screen time, he’s wearing a robe and his face is obscured. It’s the ultimate "blink and you'll miss it" debut. But for Travolta, it was the beginning of everything. He had been doing theater and some TV bit parts—like a tiny role in Emergency!—but this was the big leagues. Feature film. Actual movie stars.
The cast was actually insane for a low-budget horror movie. You had William Shatner (post-Star Trek but pre-comeback), Tom Skerritt, Ida Lupino, and Eddie Albert. It’s like a fever dream of 1970s television icons all trapped in a ghost town in Durango, Mexico.
Life on a "Cursed" Set
Filming in Durango wasn't exactly a vacation. It was hot. Dusty. The production was allegedly operating on a shoestring budget, despite the big names.
There’s a famous story about the makeup. The climax of the movie involves the "Devil’s Rain" actually falling, which causes the cult members to melt. The special effects team, led by Tom Burman, had to figure out how to make human beings look like they were turning into candles. They used layers of wax and silicone, but they couldn't afford enough high-end prosthetics for everyone.
Legend has it they actually used inflatable dolls from a local sex shop to fill in for the melting bodies in the background.
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For a young actor like Travolta, this was a trial by fire. He wasn't the star. He was just "Danny." But he was watching. He was learning how a set worked. Interestingly, it was on this set that his life changed in a way that had nothing to do with acting. His co-star, Joan Prather, gave him a copy of Dianetics.
That's right. John Travolta's first movie is the exact moment he was introduced to Scientology.
Why Nobody Remembers "Danny"
If you go back and watch The Devil's Rain today, you have to look really closely to find him. There’s a scene where he’s being tied up, and his face is covered in that signature "melted" makeup. He looks like a wax figure left in a hot car.
It’s not exactly the "star-is-born" moment people want.
Critics at the time hated it. Roger Ebert gave it zero stars, which is honestly impressive. He called it a "mess" and complained about the endless melting at the end. But the movie has gained a massive cult following over the decades. Not necessarily because of Travolta, but because of how genuinely bizarre it is.
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The Anton LaVey Connection
You can't talk about John Travolta's first movie without mentioning the Church of Satan.
The production hired Anton LaVey, the actual founder of the Church of Satan, as a "technical advisor." He even appears in the movie as a high priest. He supposedly made sure the rituals looked "authentic," which is a funny thing to say about a movie where people turn into green slime.
Imagine being 21, on your first movie set, and you're taking direction from a guy in a cape who claims to represent the literal Devil. It’s a lot to process.
From Melting Cultist to Household Name
The gap between The Devil's Rain (July 1975) and the premiere of Welcome Back, Kotter (September 1975) was only a few months.
Travolta went from an uncredited, melting face in a box-office bomb to the biggest teen idol in America almost overnight. It’s one of the fastest escalations in Hollywood history. By the time Carrie came out in 1976, he was already a star, which is why Brian De Palma gave him such a prominent role despite him not being the lead.
But The Devil's Rain remains the true "Patient Zero" of his filmography.
What You Should Do Next
If you're a die-hard fan or just a cinema nerd, you actually need to see this. Don't just read about it.
- Find the Blu-ray: Severin Films put out a restored version that looks way better than the old grainy VHS rips. You can actually see the texture of the "melting" skin.
- Watch for the "Shatner Mask": Here’s a piece of trivia for you. The life cast they made of William Shatner’s face for this movie was later used as the basis for the Michael Myers mask in Halloween.
- Check the Credits: Look for "Danny." It’s the only time you’ll see Travolta that low on the call sheet.
The reality is that John Travolta's first movie wasn't a failure—it was a weird, slimy, star-studded stepping stone. It proves that even the biggest icons in the world usually start out as a face in the crowd. Or, in this case, a face in the melting pile of wax.
Actionable Insight: To truly appreciate Travolta's range, watch The Devil's Rain back-to-back with Saturday Night Fever. It is the most jarring "glow-up" in cinematic history. You'll move from 1975's Durango dust to 1977's Brooklyn neon, seeing exactly how a bit-part actor transforms into a cultural force.