Raintree County 1957 May 2026
With an estimated cost of $5 million , it was the most expensive film MGM had produced up to that point. Despite being a box office success, its massive costs meant it struggled to turn a profit.
John is torn between his childhood sweetheart, Nell Gaither (Eva Marie Saint), and Susanna Drake (Elizabeth Taylor), a wealthy, captivating Southern belle from New Orleans.
Susanna tricks John into marriage by falsely claiming she is pregnant. As they move between Indiana and New Orleans, Susanna’s mental health deteriorates, haunted by secrets regarding her family and a tragic fire from her childhood. Raintree County 1957
When the Civil War erupts, John enlists in the Union Army, partially to search for Susanna after she flees South with their young son. The film concludes with a tragic search in the Indiana swamp, where the elusive raintree is finally glimpsed. Cast & Crew
Raintree County (1957) is a massive, three-hour Civil War epic that attempted to capture the lightning-in-a-bottle success of Gone with the Wind . While it is celebrated for its visual grandeur and the chemistry of its leads, it is perhaps most famous for the harrowing off-screen tragedy involving its star, Montgomery Clift. With an estimated cost of $5 million ,
Set in 1859, the story follows (Montgomery Clift), an idealistic student in Indiana obsessed with finding a legendary "raintree" that supposedly grants all of life's answers.
Midway through filming in 1956, Clift was involved in a near-fatal car crash after leaving a party at Elizabeth Taylor’s home. Taylor famously saved his life by pulling dislodged teeth from his throat to keep him from choking. Clift returned to finish the film after weeks of surgery, leaving a visible "before and after" difference in his appearance between scenes. Plot Summary Susanna tricks John into marriage by falsely claiming
The film was the first ever shot using the MGM Camera 65 process (later renamed Ultra Panavision 70 ), which provided an extremely wide 2.76:1 aspect ratio. It was the same tech later used for the legendary Ben-Hur (1959).
