Hollywood in the late 1950s was basically obsessed with finding the next Gone with the Wind. MGM thought they had it with Ross Lockridge Jr.’s massive novel, but honestly, the production became more famous for a near-fatal car crash than the actual plot. When you look at the cast of Raintree County, you aren't just looking at a list of actors. You're looking at a group of people who survived one of the most cursed sets in cinematic history.
It was 1957. Technicolor was everywhere. The studio poured over $5 million into this Civil War epic—an insane amount for the time. They hired the biggest names they could find, hoping to capture lightning in a bottle. But between the lead actor's face being shattered in a wreck and the leading lady’s intense method acting, the film became a sprawling, beautiful, and deeply weird piece of history.
Elizabeth Taylor: The Heart of the Storm
Elizabeth Taylor played Susanna Drake, a Southern belle with a dark secret and a progressively fracturing mind. She was only 24 or 25 during filming, but she already had the gravity of a veteran. This wasn't just another "pretty girl" role for her. She had to navigate a character who was spiraling into madness, a performance that eventually landed her an Academy Award nomination.
People forget how physically demanding this was for her. Those massive hoop skirts? They weighed a ton. The heat on location in Kentucky and Tennessee was brutal. Taylor was known for having a bit of a "diva" reputation later in life, but on the set of Raintree County, she was the glue. Especially when things went south with her co-star and best friend, Montgomery Clift.
She literally saved his life. During a dinner party at her home during production, Clift left and drove his car into a telephone pole. Taylor ran to the wreck and pulled teeth out of his throat so he wouldn't choke. That kind of trauma doesn't just go away. They had to finish the movie with Clift’s face partially paralyzed. If you watch the film closely, you can see the "before" and "after." It’s heartbreaking. One scene he looks like a Greek god; the next, his features are heavy and stiff.
Montgomery Clift as the Soulful John Wickliff Shawnessy
Montgomery Clift was the "it" boy for sensitive, brooding intellectuals. As John Wickliff Shawnessy, he had to play a man torn between his idealistic roots in Indiana and the chaotic, fiery passion of the South. Clift was a perfectionist. He hated the "movie star" machinery.
His performance in the cast of Raintree County is often overshadowed by the accident, which is a shame. He brought a quiet, stuttering vulnerability to the role that most leading men of that era wouldn't touch. He wasn't Clark Gable. He wasn't loud. He was internal.
After the crash, the production shut down for weeks. When he came back, the director, Edward Dmytryk, had to shoot him from specific angles to hide the scarring. But the pain wasn't just physical. Clift struggled with substance abuse to cope with the trauma, and you can see that weariness in his eyes during the latter half of the film. It adds a layer of unintentional realism to a character who is supposed to be weathered by war, though the reality was much grimmer.
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Eva Marie Saint: The Steady Hand
While Taylor was the fire, Eva Marie Saint was the cool water. She played Nell Gaither, the "girl next door" who John leaves behind. Saint had just come off an Oscar win for On the Waterfront, so she brought serious prestige to the production.
Nell could have been a boring, thankless role. The "pining woman" is a trope as old as time. But Saint gave her a spine. She made you understand why John would miss the stability of Indiana. Her chemistry with Clift was subtle—a sharp contrast to the high-octane melodrama of the scenes involving Taylor.
The Supporting Players Who Rounded Out the County
You can't talk about this movie without mentioning Nigel Patrick. He played Professor Jerusalem Webster Stiles. He’s basically the cynical, fast-talking mentor who provides the movie’s wit. In a film that can feel very heavy and self-important, Patrick is a breath of fresh air. He talks a mile a minute and keeps the pace from sagging, which is a miracle considering the movie is over three hours long.
Then there’s Lee Marvin. Before he was the ultimate tough guy in The Dirty Dozen, he was Orville 'Flash' Perkins. He’s the local hero, the guy John has to race in the beginning of the film. Marvin is lean, mean, and incredibly charismatic here. He brings a raw energy that feels almost out of place in such a polished MGM production, but it works. It grounds the "epic" feel in something a bit more dirt-under-the-fingernails.
Rod Taylor also makes an appearance as Garwood B. Jones. It’s a smaller role, but you can see the leading-man potential that would later make him a star in The Birds and The Time Machine. The film was stacked. Even the smaller roles were filled with actors who could carry a movie on their own.
The Faces Behind the Figures
- Agnes Moorehead as Ellen Shawnessy: Long before she was Endora on Bewitched, she was playing the stern, matriarchal figures of the 19th century. She didn't have a lot of screen time, but she made every second count.
- Walter Abel as T.D. Shawnessy: He provided the paternal grounding for Clift’s character.
- Tom Drake as Bobby Drake: Another reliable character actor who helped fill out the sprawling family trees of the Raintree mythology.
Why the Production Was a Total Nightmare
The studio spent a fortune. They used a process called MGM Camera 65, which was meant to be the pinnacle of widescreen cinematography. It looked amazing, but it was a logistical headache. The cameras were the size of small refrigerators. Moving them through the woods of the South was a nightmare.
Director Edward Dmytryk was known for being efficient, but even he struggled with the scale. He had to deal with Taylor’s frequent illnesses—she suffered from various ailments throughout the shoot—and Clift’s post-accident recovery. There’s a famous story that Clift would sometimes wander off into the woods between takes, and they’d have to go find him.
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The film was marketed as the next big thing. "In the great tradition of Gone with the Wind!" the posters screamed. But audiences were changing. By 1957, the gritty realism of the French New Wave was starting to bubble up, and the old-school Hollywood epic was starting to look a bit dusty.
The Legacy of the Cast
Despite the mixed reviews at the time, the cast of Raintree County remains a fascinating snapshot of Hollywood’s transitional period. It was one of the last gasps of the true "Studio System" where a company like MGM could just throw money and icons at a screen until something stuck.
Elizabeth Taylor’s performance is genuinely haunting. She captures the frantic energy of a woman who knows her world is built on lies. Her chemistry with Clift is palpable because it was real; they loved each other deeply in real life, though not in the way the tabloids wanted.
Montgomery Clift’s work here is a testament to his grit. Most people would have quit. He stayed. He finished the film, even though he reportedly couldn't stand to look at himself on the screen afterward. He called Raintree County his "mangled" film, referring both to his face and the editing.
Practical Insights for Classic Film Fans
If you're planning to dive into this three-hour epic, here are a few things to keep in mind so you get the most out of the experience:
Watch the "Before and After"
Pay attention to Montgomery Clift’s face in the first thirty minutes versus the middle of the film. It is a sobering lesson in film history. The accident happened about halfway through production. You can actually see the moment his life changed forever.
Look at the Costumes
Walter Plunkett, the same guy who did the costumes for Gone with the Wind, did the wardrobe here. The attention to detail is staggering. The way the clothes reflect the characters' mental states—Taylor's dresses become increasingly restrictive and ornate as she loses her grip—is brilliant.
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Listen to the Score
Johnny Green’s score is one of the all-time greats. It’s sweeping and romantic, but it has these dissonant undertones that hint at the Southern Gothic horror lurking beneath the surface. It’s available on various streaming platforms and is worth a listen on its own.
Context Matters
Don't expect a fast-paced action movie. This is a "Big Novel" adaptation. It’s meant to be lived in. It’s about the myth of America, the search for the legendary Raintree, and the scars of the Civil War. It’s slow, it’s beautiful, and it’s occasionally very melodramatic.
How to Watch Raintree County Today
Finding a high-quality version of this film can be surprisingly tricky. For years, it was caught in a bit of a limbo. While it’s available on DVD and occasionally pops up on Turner Classic Movies (TCM), it hasn't received the same massive 4K restoration treatment that other classics have.
If you find a copy, try to find the "Roadshow" version if possible. It includes the overture and the intermission music, which gives you the full 1950s theater experience. It was meant to be an event, not just a movie.
The cast of Raintree County deserved better than the "flop" label the movie sometimes gets. They poured their hearts—and in Clift’s case, his physical well-being—into this project. It’s a flawed masterpiece, a relic of an era when Hollywood thought it could conquer any story with enough money and enough star power.
Next Steps for Film History Buffs
- Compare the Novel: If you have the patience, read Ross Lockridge Jr.’s book. It’s over 1,000 pages and much more experimental than the movie. It gives context to the "Raintree" myth that the film only skims.
- Research the "MGM Camera 65" Process: Look into how this film paved the way for the technology used in Ben-Hur. It was a literal testing ground for the future of cinema.
- Explore Montgomery Clift’s Later Work: To see how he evolved after the accident, watch The Misfits or Judgment at Nuremberg. You’ll see a different kind of actor emerge—one who used his pain to create some of the most haunting performances in history.
The story of the film is just as dramatic as the story in the film. That’s the real reason people still talk about it. It’s a testament to the endurance of its stars and the sheer ambition of a studio that refused to think small.