Raintree County (1957)
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Schoolteacher John Shawnessy of Raintree County, Indiana, is an outspoken Abolitionist, but that alone isn't why he's putting aside his books and heading for the battlefield. He joins the Union Army so that he can push into Georgia and find his wife Susanna, who has fled to her Southern home. Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor, previously together in A Place in the Sun, reunite in this sumptuous Civil War-era romance. The pairing again clicks. As Shawnessy, Clift tellingly captures the dilemma of a young man divided by passions and ambitions. And Taylor received her first Oscar nomination for her rich, textured portrayal of a wife vexed by madness. Co-starring Eva Marie Saint, Nigel Patrick, Lee Marvin, Rod Taylor and Agnes Moorehead and made at a cost of $6 million, Raintree Count was in its day the most expensive MGM film shot entirely in the U.S. - Actors:
- Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Eva Marie Saint, Nigel Patrick, Lee Marvin, Rod Taylor, Agnes Moorehead, Walter Abel, Jarma Lewis, Tom Drake, Rhys Williams, Russell Collins, Deforest Kelley
- Directors:
- Edward Dmytryk
- Writers:
- Millard Kaufman, Ross Lockridge Jr
- Others:
- Johnny Green, Urie McCleary, Hugh Hunt, Walter Plunkett, William A. Horning, Edwin B. Willis
- Genres:
- Action & Adventure, Classics, Drama, Romance
- Collections:
- Acting Up: British Actresses at the Oscars, Getting to Know Eva Marie Saint At 100, What to Watch If You Like: Misfits
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Reviews (1) of Raintree County
Please release me one day? - Raintree County review by SO
Raintree County is both loved and forgotten. Some peoples' nectar but not so for others.
It has sometimes been put across as a poor 'Gone With The Wind' (another US Civil War story). This is at the least, unfair.
Elizabeth Taylor gives a truly great performance and really does look very fine.
Montgomery Clift is superb, with his 'pre-Paul Newman' stance. Even after his major car crash which altered his looks (and made him more rugged in my opinion), his performance was just what the movie needed.
It's very much a 1950's piece. If you like old Douglas Sirk films, this is a more upgraded version.
The soundtrack is beautiful. (I've been a composer for years so that comes from the heart). Johnny Green wrote it, nominated over a dozen times for an Oscar, he wrote Easter Parade and parts for Oliver! (Lionel Bart mainly).
Availability 2017 - 2021:
(1) DVD - Horrid bootleg available. Picture disintegrates occasionally, and audio out of sync, mono and very hissy (nice!!!).
(2) VHS: Two flavors: Square-4:3 cropped version, only on USA NTSC video (most later VHS-DVD UK players WILL PLAY THIS!) and also (3) VHS 'Roadshow' (Overture, intermission, extra footage) Widescreen stereo version. This is the longest, reconstructed version; The only one to cherish, until someone (SOMEWHERE??) decides to restore it for us all on HD Blu-Ray.
(3) LaserDisc: a little bit better than VHS. You might pick a up copy via Ebay? The players are another problem. The discs are a full 12" and NTSC (USA).
Raintree was originally shot on 'MGM Camera 65' (Ultra Panavision lens. 2:76 ratio)but presented only on 35mm 2:35 Widescreen. MGM stated that the 70mm Theaters were fully booked at the time.
Please let this review get to an influential being in the upper echelons of restoration, hmm? That would be so wonderful... before my VHS finally bites the dust.
I wrote this review in 2017 and updated it for 2021. Still no restoration.
So sad.
Shane O'Neill (a fan)