  We have undertaken a search for variable stars in the metal-rich globular
cluster NGC 6441 using time-series BV photometry. The total number of variables
found near NGC 6441 has been increased to ~104, with 48 new variables being
found in this survey. A significant number of the variables are RR Lyrae stars
(~46), most of which are probable cluster members. As was noted by Layden et
al. (1999), the periods of the fundamental mode RR Lyrae are unusually long
compared to field stars of similar metallicity. The existence of these long
period RRab stars is consistent with Sweigart & Catelan's (1998) prediction
that the horizontal branch of NGC 6441 is unusually bright. This result implies
that the metallicity-luminosity relationship for RR Lyrae stars is not
universal. We discuss the difficulty in determining the Oosterhoff
classification of NGC 6441 due to the unusual nature of its RR Lyrae. A number
of ab-type RR Lyrae are found to be both brighter and redder than the other
probable RRab found along the horizontal branch, which may be a result of
blending with stars of redder color. A smaller than usual gap is found between
the shortest period fundamental mode and longest period first-overtone mode RR
Lyrae. We determine the reddening of the cluster to be E(B-V)=0.51+/-0.02 mag,
with substantial differential reddening across the face of the cluster. The
mean V magnitude of the RR Lyrae is found to be 17.51+/-0.02 mag resulting in a
distance of 10.4 to 11.9 kpc, for a range of assumed values of <M_V> for RR
Lyrae stars. The possibility that stars in NGC 6441 may span a range in [Fe/H]
is also discussed.
