Luise Rainer’s meteoric rise and rapid descent has mystified movie fans for decades. It was almost impossible to believe that — after winning an Academy Award for her wrenching performance in “The Great Ziegfeld” in 1936, and then following it up with a triumphal turn as O-Lan in “The Good Earth” a year later — Rainer was not on her way to being one of Hollywood’s most enduring film stars.”