Raintree County (1957)

'Raintree County' is an epic Western romance directed by Edward Dmytryk in 1957 and starring Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Eva Marie Saint and Nigel Patrick. It was adapted from the 1948 novel of the same name by Ross Lockridge Jr.

The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, for Best Actress (Elizabeth Taylor), Art Direction–Set Decoration, Best Costume Design, and Best Score.

Due to health issues with the principal stars, and also to the extravagant sets, the film proved to be the most expensive US-based film in MGM's history, and Dmytryk never directed for the studio again. Though a success at the box office, it did not recoup its cost.

Plot

The film tells the story of John Shawnessy, played by Montgomery Clift. a teacher in a small mid-west town. He meets and marries a beauty from the deep south, named Susanna Drake, played by Elizabeth Taylor, but he leaves behind his devastated sweetheart, Nell Gaither, played by Eva Marie Saint, a born-and-bred Raintree girl.

Production

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer purchased the film rights of Ross Lockridge Jr.'s unpublished manuscript for Raintree County for $150,000 In July 1947. Carey Wilson was immediately signed as producer, and a budget of $6 million was assigned. Numerous prominent actors were considered for leading roles including Lana Turner, Ava Gardner, Robert Walker and Keenan Wynn, Van Heflin and Gene Kelly. The book became a national bestseller when it was published in January, 1948.

The decision to make the film was delayed for several years due to high cost projections and to the book author's suicide in March 1948. In 1955, the project was revived with Taylor and Clift signed for the two leading roles.

Filming began in April 1956 and lasted 6 months.

The movie was the first use of a 65-millimeter widescreen process originally called MGM Camera 65, later renamed Ultra Panavision 70, which yielded an extra-wide image of 2.76.

Montgomery Clift Accident.
On the evening of May 12, 1956, after 4 weeks of filming, Montgomery Clift had a serious, life-changing accident when, after a party at the house of Elizabeth Taylor, he drove his car into a telegraph pole apparently after falling asleep. He broke his nose, and fractured his jaw in three places.

After nine weeks of recovery and with plastic surgery, Clift returned to the movie set and finished the movie, but with considerable physical difficulty.. In some scenes his nose and chin look different, and the entire left side of his face seems nearly immobile.

After his recovery, Clift began to drink heavily and take a concoction of drugs which made his face more haggard. and affected his attitude and posture.

Elizabeth Taylor Problems.
Elizabeth Taylor had problems during the production with the clothing she was required to wear for the part, and on one occasion she collapsed from hyperventilation and was treated with Clift's bottle of Demerol and a syringe, delivered by the doctor. She took over a week to also recover from tachycardia following the incident. On set she was often late for filming and preoccupied with her romance with Mike Todd.

Locations.
The movie was shot at various locations, including Dunleith and Elms Court antebellum mansions, Windsor Ruins, in Natchez, Mississippi; Reelfoot Lake in northwest Tennessee near the Kentucky border;[14] and two locations in Kentucky, the Liberty Hall Historic Site on Wilkinson Street in Frankfort and settings in and near Danville. The Reelfoot Lake locations were used for the swamp scenes.