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==Plot==
==Plot==


Idealist John Wickliff Shawnessy ([[Montgomery Clift]]), a resident of Raintree County, Indiana, is distracted from his high school sweetheart Nell Gaither ([[Eva Marie Saint]]) by a young rich [[New Orleans]] girl, Susanna Drake ([[Elizabeth Taylor]]). He has a brief and passionate affair with Susanna while she is visiting in Raintree County. She returns to the South, but suddenly reappears to reveal that she is pregnant. John quickly marries her out of honor and duty, and Nell is heartbroken.
In 1859, idealist John Wickliff Shawnessy ([[Montgomery Clift]]), a resident of Raintree County, Indiana, is distracted from his high school sweetheart Nell Gaither ([[Eva Marie Saint]]) by a young rich [[New Orleans]] girl, Susanna Drake ([[Elizabeth Taylor]]). He has a brief and passionate affair with Susanna while she is visiting in Raintree County. She returns to the South, but suddenly reappears to reveal that she is pregnant. John quickly marries her out of honor and duty, and Nell is heartbroken.


John and Susanna initially live in the South with Susanna's family. John is an abolitionist and does not fit well into southern society. He learns that Susanna's mother went insane and died in a suspicious fire, along with Susanna's father and a female slave who was intimated to be his lover. Susanna suspects that the slave may even have been her biological mother. It becomes apparent that Susanna has inherited her family's curse of mental illness. She reveals to John that she feigned pregnancy to trick him into marriage.
John and Susanna initially live in the South with Susanna's family. John is an abolitionist and does not fit well into southern society. He learns that Susanna's mother went insane and died in a suspicious fire, along with Susanna's father and a female slave who was intimated to be his lover. Susanna suspects that the slave may even have been her biological mother. It becomes apparent that Susanna has inherited her family's curse of mental illness. She reveals to John that she feigned pregnancy to trick him into marriage.


John and Susanna return to Freehaven in Raintree County, Indiana, before the outbreak of the Civil War, where John works as a teacher. They eventually have a child, Jimmy, born at the outbreak of the [[American Civil War]]. Into the third year of the Civil War, Susanna develops severe paranoia and delusions. She flees Indiana, taking their young son, Jimmy, with her and seeks refuge among her family in the South.
John and Susanna return to Freehaven in Raintree County, Indiana, before the outbreak of the Civil War, where John works as a teacher. They eventually have a child, Jimmy, born at the outbreak of the war. Into the third year, Susanna develops severe paranoia and delusions. She flees Indiana, taking their young son, Jimmy, with her and seeks refuge among her family in Georgia.


John becomes determined to find her and his son, Jimmy, and enlists in the Union Army, in hopes that he will cross paths with Susanna and Jimmy. He fights in [[Tennessee]] and [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], and he eventually finds Jimmy and learns that Susanna has been placed in an insane asylum. He is wounded while carrying Jimmy back to Northern lines and then is discharged from the Union Army. John searches for Susanna, finds her in dreadful circumstances in a lunatic asylum and returns with her to Raintree County.
Johnny becomes determined to find her and his son, Jimmy, and enlists in the Union Army, in hopes that he will cross paths with Susanna and Jimmy. He fights in a number of hellish battles , and eventually finds Jimmy at a old plantation where he learns that Susanna has been placed in an insane asylum. He is wounded while carrying Jimmy back to Northern lines from the upcoming Southern soldiers and then is discharged from the Union Army. Johnny searches for Susanna and finds her in dreadful circumstances in a lunatic asylum and returns with her to Raintree County.


News reaches Raintree County that the South has surrendered, and shortly thereafter that [[Abraham Lincoln]] has been assassinated. John contemplates his future, and Nell urges him to run for political office. Susanna recognizes that John and Nell still love each other deeply, and she decides to sacrifice herself to make way for John to pursue his career and consummate his love with Nell. She runs into the nearby swamp in the middle of the night to drown herself. Her four-year old son follows her. The search party eventually finds her body, and John and Nell find Jimmy lying asleep at the foot of the legendary Rain Tree of Raintree County. (All of this is told in the context of the [[Johnny Appleseed]] legend of the Rain Tree.)
News reaches Raintree County that the South has surrendered, and shortly thereafter that Abraham Lincoln has been assassinated. Johnny contemplates his future, and Nell urges him to run for political office. Susanna recognizes that John and Nell still love each other deeply, and she decides to sacrifice herself to make way for Johnny to pursue his career and consummate his love with Nell. She runs into the nearby swamp in the middle of the night to find the legendary rain tree. Her four-year old son follows her. The search party eventually finds her body, and John and Nell find Jimmy lying asleep and head out of the swamps,unaware of the tall rain tree glowing in the sunlight.


==Cast==
==Cast==

Revision as of 19:38, 31 March 2013

Raintree County
Theatrical poster
Directed byEdward Dmytryk
Written byMillard Kaufman
Produced byDavid Lewis
StarringMontgomery Clift
Elizabeth Taylor
Eva Marie Saint
Lee Marvin
Rod Taylor
CinematographyRobert Surtees
Edited byJohn D. Dunning
Music byJohnny Green
Distributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Release date
December 20, 1957 (1957-12-20)
Running time
182 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$5,474,000[1]
Box office$9,080,000[1]

Raintree County is a 1957 Technicolor film drama about the American Civil War. It was directed by Edward Dmytryk.[2][3] The film stars Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Eva Marie Saint, and Lee Marvin.

It was adapted from the novel of the same name by Ross Lockridge, Jr. In the credits for the film, the author's name is misspelled as Ross Rockridge Jr.

Production

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, one of which was at the Liberty Hall Historic Site on Wilkinson Street in Frankfort and the other in and around Danville.

During filming, Montgomery Clift was involved in a serious automobile accident which almost killed him. After several weeks of recovery and surgery, he returned to finish the film, but his face was disfigured by his injuries as evident in a number of scenes throughout the film. The most obvious distinction is the left side of his face being partially paralysed.[5]

At the time, the film was the most expensive US-based film in MGM's history. It was a success at the box office but did not recoup its cost.[6]

Plot

In 1859, idealist John Wickliff Shawnessy (Montgomery Clift), a resident of Raintree County, Indiana, is distracted from his high school sweetheart Nell Gaither (Eva Marie Saint) by a young rich New Orleans girl, Susanna Drake (Elizabeth Taylor). He has a brief and passionate affair with Susanna while she is visiting in Raintree County. She returns to the South, but suddenly reappears to reveal that she is pregnant. John quickly marries her out of honor and duty, and Nell is heartbroken.

John and Susanna initially live in the South with Susanna's family. John is an abolitionist and does not fit well into southern society. He learns that Susanna's mother went insane and died in a suspicious fire, along with Susanna's father and a female slave who was intimated to be his lover. Susanna suspects that the slave may even have been her biological mother. It becomes apparent that Susanna has inherited her family's curse of mental illness. She reveals to John that she feigned pregnancy to trick him into marriage.

John and Susanna return to Freehaven in Raintree County, Indiana, before the outbreak of the Civil War, where John works as a teacher. They eventually have a child, Jimmy, born at the outbreak of the war. Into the third year, Susanna develops severe paranoia and delusions. She flees Indiana, taking their young son, Jimmy, with her and seeks refuge among her family in Georgia.

Johnny becomes determined to find her and his son, Jimmy, and enlists in the Union Army, in hopes that he will cross paths with Susanna and Jimmy. He fights in a number of hellish battles , and eventually finds Jimmy at a old plantation where he learns that Susanna has been placed in an insane asylum. He is wounded while carrying Jimmy back to Northern lines from the upcoming Southern soldiers and then is discharged from the Union Army. Johnny searches for Susanna and finds her in dreadful circumstances in a lunatic asylum and returns with her to Raintree County.

News reaches Raintree County that the South has surrendered, and shortly thereafter that Abraham Lincoln has been assassinated. Johnny contemplates his future, and Nell urges him to run for political office. Susanna recognizes that John and Nell still love each other deeply, and she decides to sacrifice herself to make way for Johnny to pursue his career and consummate his love with Nell. She runs into the nearby swamp in the middle of the night to find the legendary rain tree. Her four-year old son follows her. The search party eventually finds her body, and John and Nell find Jimmy lying asleep and head out of the swamps,unaware of the tall rain tree glowing in the sunlight.

Cast

Reception

According to MGM records the film earned $5,830,000 in North America and $3,250,000 internationally. But because of its high cost the movie ultimately recorded a loss of $484,000.[1][7]

Awards and nominations

Elizabeth Taylor was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. The film was also nominated for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (William A. Horning, Urie McCleary, Edwin B. Willis, Hugh Hunt), Best Costume Design and Best Music, Scoring.[8] The film was shot in a 65 millimeter widescreen process called MGM Camera 65, which was also used for MGM's 1959 version of Ben Hur.

References

  1. ^ a b c The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
  2. ^ Variety film review; October 9, 1957, page 6.
  3. ^ Harrison's Reports film review; October 12, 1957, page 162.
  4. ^ http://usmarshals.warnerbros.com/mainframe.html
  5. ^ "Clift upsets Hollywood". The Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982). 1933 - 1982: National Library of Australia. 20 June 1956. p. 46. Retrieved 3 June 2012.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  6. ^ Stephen Vagg, Rod Taylor: An Aussie in Hollywood, Bear Manor Media, 2010 p54
  7. ^ See also "All Time Domestic Champs", Variety, 6 January 1960 p 34
  8. ^ "NY Times: Raintree County". NY Times. Retrieved 2008-12-23.
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