Raintree County

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Raintree County

1957

2h 48m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

10%

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10 Reviews

52%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

When Southern belle Susanna Drake (Elizabeth Taylor) visits Indiana, she falls for John Wickliff Shawnessy (Montgomery Clift), an abolitionist with strong ideals. However, John falters while he lets Drake tempt him away from his true love, Nell Gaither (Eva Marie Saint). After Drake deceives John into marriage, the two move to her New Orleans household, where he discovers that mental illness runs in her family. When the Civil War begins, John uses it to escape from the unhappy marriage.

TIME Magazine

Begins in tedium and ends, 168 leaden minutes later, in apathy.

Mar 23, 2011

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Variety Staff

Variety

Picture lacks highlight material; even the war scenes don't quite have the necessary impact and the relationship between Taylor and Clift could have been charged up more.

Mar 26, 2009

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Geoff Andrew

Time Out

MGM's attempt to repeat the success of Gone With the Wind turned out to be an elephantine bore.

Jun 24, 2006

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Chase Burns

The Stranger (Seattle, WA)

The film is often problematic and criminally boring.

Dec 8, 2021

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

The acting of Liz Taylor and Monty Clift is not bad, but MGM's effort to recreate another successful Civil war melodrama in the mold of Gone With the Wind is disppointing for many different reaons.

Rated: C+

Jul 13, 2011

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TV Guide

Handsomely mounted and boasts a superb cast.

Rated: 3/4

Mar 23, 2011

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j f

All over the map thematically. Period piece that dabbles in romance, drama, war, even psychological horror, but none entirely. Pretty weird.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

05/04/24

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jimmy b

How Liz got her first Oscar nomination for this performance instead of the year prior for "Giant" is beyond me. This movie will rain on your tree and put you to sleep.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/22/24

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joe s

Even the excellent cast can't save this turkey. The most boring film in the history of cinema. If you have insomnia, a few moments of this film will cure it.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Audience Member

This film lasts longer than the Civil War.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

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steve d

Clift and Eva Marie Saint are great the rest is not.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Rich S

This film is important for three reasons: Taylor got her first Academy Awards nomination for Best Actress. It was the first of four consecutive nominations. While Taylor's accent could not have gotten her over the top in this role, her portrayal as a crazy, lying, conniving "get-whatever-I-want" Southern Belle did. And the third reason is it will make you appreciate Gone With the Wind that much more.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

07/01/20

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Edward Dmytryk

Director

Montgomery Clift

John Wickliff Shawnessy

Elizabeth Taylor

Susanna Drake

Eva Marie Saint

Nell Gaither

Nigel Patrick

Prof. Jerusalem Webster Stiles

Lee Marvin

Orville "Flash" Perkins

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Synopsis

When Southern belle Susanna Drake (Elizabeth Taylor) visits Indiana, she falls for John Wickliff Shawnessy (Montgomery Clift), an abolitionist with strong ideals. However, John falters while he lets Drake tempt him away from his true love, Nell Gaither (Eva Marie Saint). After Drake deceives John into marriage, the two move to her New Orleans household, where he discovers that mental illness runs in her family. When the Civil War begins, John uses it to escape from the unhappy marriage.

Director: Edward Dmytryk
Producer: David Lewis
Screenwriter: Millard Kaufman
Production Co: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (DVD): Jan 15, 2007
Runtime: 2h 48m