Elizabeth Taylor in "Raintree County" (1957)

Elizabeth Taylor in "Raintree County" (image from JSR Pages)

REVIEW:
"Raintree County" sets the pattern for Elizabeth Taylor: Oscar nominations year after year, big-budget productions, great dramatic roles, blockbusters, big salaries. From now on every film she plays in is a box-office hit and her private life seems to mirror her onscreen persona. But while Elizabeth Taylor's professional life is highly successful, her private life faces a new failure: the crumbling marriage to Michael Wilding.

"Raintree County" is a super production of epic proportions, the most expensive film up to that date, being one of the last M.G.M. films of such lavish sets and huge cast and crew.

FILM TITLE
"RAINTREE COUNTY" (U.S.A./M.G.M./1957)

PROMO
"A love story during the Civil War" (M.G.M.)

OVERVIEW
Designed as the "Gone With the Wind" for the cinemascope generation, "Raintree County" was a huge success. Elizabeth Taylor is the beautiful Southern pacifist who falls in love with Montgomery Clift in Indiana. The fact that Monty Clift is engaged to Eva Marie Saint, does not stop Liz Taylor to get what she wants. So, Liz Taylor does all kinds of maneuvers to win Clift's affections. When the American Civil War breaks out, Clift, a convinced abolitionist, joins Abraham Lincoln, to the horror of southern Taylor. While Clift is at war, Taylor falls into a depression that pushes her to madness. When the war ends, Clift tries to accommodate with Taylor's madness for the sake of their child. But the stress is too high for both of them, leading the whole story to tragedy...

CAST
Montgomery Clift (John Wickliffe Shawnessy) Elizabeth Taylor (Susanna Drake), Eva Marie Saint (Nell Gaither), Nigel Patrick (Prof. Jerusalem Webster Stiles), Lee Marvin (Orville 'Flash' Perkins), Rod Taylor (Garwood B. Jones), Agnes Moorehead (Ellen Shawnessy).
DIRECTED BY
Edward Dmytryk.
SCREENPLAY
Millard Kaufman, after the novel by Ross Lockridge, Jr.
PRODUCED BY
David Lewis, Millard Kaufman, Thomas D. Tannenbaum.
PRODUCTION DATES
between April-August 1956.
RELEASED
October 1957.
COLOR
Technicolor.
DURATION
187 minutes.
GENRE
drama, war, psychodrama.

NOMINATED at
- Oscar for Best Actress (Elizabeth Taylor); Oscar for Best Art Direction (William A. Horning, Urie McCleary, Edwin B. Willis, Hugh Hunt), Oscar for Best Costume Design (Walter Plunkett), Oscar for Best Soundtrack (Johnny Green);
- Golden Globe for Best Actor (Nigel Patrick);
- Golden Laurel for Best Supporting Actress (Agnes Moorehead); Golden Laurel for Best Supporting Actor (Lee Marvin); Golden Laurel for Best Film Music (Johnny Green).
AWARDS
- Golden Laurel for Best Actress (Elizabeth Taylor).

TRIVIA
- During filming, Montgomery Clift had a terrible car accident returning home from a party at the house of Elizabeth Taylor. Monty's friend, Kevin McCarthy, witnessed the accident and ran back home to Elizabeth Taylor and her then husband, Michael Wilding. They, along with Rock Hudson, immediately ran to the scene. Elizabeth Taylor entered the car through the back door, climbed up to the front seat and saved Monty Clift's life, lifting him and pulling out his broken teeth that suffocated him. Rock Hudson was able to pull him out of the car and then he and Elizabeth Taylor protected Monty from the paparazzi, who came immediately to the scene. After 9 weeks of recovery, Clift returned to the set. His beautiful face was now a thing of the past. The left side of his face was almost immobile, from the undergone plastic surgery, necessary after the accident.
- Montgomery Clift will become addicted to drugs and alcohol, enduring with great pain the consequences of the surgery. At some point M.G.M. considered the question of his replacement, but Elizabeth Taylor was against it;
- Elizabeth Taylor got acquainted with the great American producer Mike Todd during filming; they will get married in 1957.

Watch TRAILER here.

Watch MAKING OF RAINTREE COUNTY here.