Sprawling MGM production (the studio's attempt to outdo their own "Gone With the Wind"), based on Ross Lockridge Jr.'s book and featuring Elizabeth Taylor as a southern belle haunted by a family trauma. Montgomery Clift plays an Indiana schoolteacher who chances to meets belle Taylor in his beloved Raintree County, leading to a pre-marital affair (and pregnancy); they marry, but he finds living in her neck of the woods undesirable, and she's not welcomed graciously among the Yankees. The Civil War works as a catalyst to bring the two together, where Clift finds his passion for politics coming to the fore. Eva Marie Saint plays an unmarried, moral girl who loves Monty despite his mistakes, Lee Marvin is a tough rowdy who takes on all comers, Rod Taylor plays a political snake, and so on. The story is engrossing, occasionally over-heated and over-zealous, but seldom dull. Still, Taylor, despite getting an Oscar nod for Best Actress, disappears for a long stretch of the proceedings--and this isn't an attractive role for her anyway (she gets to play the insane bit, but it's a groaner). The movie really belongs to Clift, and his performance in the first hour is quite strong (an off-the-set car accident causes his acting in the second-half to be a bit timid). Far too long and predictable, "Raintree County" still isn't bad, with terrific cinematography by Robert Surtees and a sumptuous, Oscar-nominated background score by Johnny Green. **1/2 from ****
Review of Raintree County
