In The Great Tradition Of Civil War Romance

Conceived as a Gone With the Wind for the CinemaScope generation, Raintree County wasn't quite as successful as its role model, but it still proved a moneyspinner for MGM. Elizabeth Taylor stars as a spoiled Southern belle who falls in love with pacifistic Indiana youth Montgomery Clift. Though Clift is engaged to Eva Marie Saint, what Taylor wants, Taylor gets, and she isn't above using the dirtiest of deceptions to win Clift's affections. When the Civil War break out, Clift, a staunch abolitionist, joins the Union, much to the dismay of true-to-Dixie Taylor. While Clift is off fighting the war, Taylor descends into a depression that deepens into insanity. At war's end, Clift tries to come to terms with Taylor's lunacy for the sake of their child. But the strain proves too much for both of them, leading to an operatic climax which curiously segues into a happy ending (happy for some of the characters, anyway). If Montgomery Clift's performance--and appearance--seems to fluctuate wildly throughout the film, it is because he was involved in a serious auto accident during shooting, one that left both physical and emotional scars from which he never completely recovered. The 187-minute Raintree Country (reduced to 168 minutes after its initial roadshow engagements) was adapted by Millard Kaufman from the best-selling novel by Ross Lockridge, Jr. (whose own life story was infinitely more tragic than anything in his book).

Raintree County was shot at various locations, including Dunleith; an antebellum mansion, Windsor Ruins, in Lorman, Mississippi; Reelfoot Lake in northwest Tennessee near the Kentucky border;[4] and two locations in Kentucky, the Liberty Hall Historic Site on Wilkinson Street in Frankfort and settings in and near Danville.
The movie was a "passion project" for Dore Schary, then head of production at MGM. Rod Taylor actively campaigned for his role in the film.[5]
During filming, Montgomery Clift was injured and nearly killed in a serious automobile accident. After several weeks of recovery and surgery, he returned to finish the film. Damage to his face was apparent in several scenes filmed after the accident; the left side of his face was partially paralyzed.[6]
At the time, the film was the most expensive US-based film in MGM's history. Though a success at the box office, it did not recoup its cost.[5] In the credits for the film, the author's name is misspelled as Ross Rockridge Jr.

Release Date: December 20, 1957


Distrib: MGM