Raintree County

Considering the budget and big name actors involved, this movie is a big disappointment. After all, with these ingredients and the hope of MGM execs that this would repeat the success of GONE WITH THE WIND, the movie came up... Full review

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... Full review

I discovered Ross Lockridge Jr.'s attempt at the Great American Novel when I first saw "Raintree County" the film in 1957. I was aware that the story that was put on the screen was not perfect, although it is a... Full review

When MGM filmed Raintree County it had high hopes that it would be a second Gone With The Wind. It didn't quite come up to that, but it is still a good film on its own merits.It took about 10... Full review

I have always loved this film, mainly because of the hauntingly beautiful score by Johnny Green. For too long "Raintree County" has been compared with "Gone with the Wind". The whole story and concept is very different. I agree with... Full review

An individual's life is formed by his memories. Books, music and - yes, movies - influence us. We remember the situations and the dialogue, we remember the sweet melodies. These memories enable us to react, as well as give us... Full review

This is the kind of epic that makes you realize how wonderful GONE WITH THE WIND was by comparison. Dull characters are defeated by a dull script. It's better than taking a tranquilizer to put you to sleep. A long, lumbering,... Full review

M-G-M assigned some pretty heavy-hitters to cobble together this almost indigestible attempt to tell a Civil War story without a producer like David O. Selznick to insist that the whole thing should somehow come together. Other comments on this site... Full review

Raintree County, MGM's attempt to make a picture that would faintly remind audiences of Gone With the Wind, did have two things in common with the earlier film: Technicolor and length. Otherwise, it was a disaster, a clichéd period piece... Full review

The newly restored version of RAINTREE COUNTY contains a short studio-created documentary on its filming, the original wide screen trailer and wide-screen renderings of the main title, the restored overture, intermission screen, and entr'acte - and yet runs the film... Full review

But as presented on two CDs with two and half hours of music, RAINTREE COUNTY proves constantly enchanting and interesting in its musical progression. Though this Civil War romance didn't turn into another GONE WITH THE WIND for MGM, RAINTREE COUNTY 's, composed Johnny Green, star-crossed turn between Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor delivered the romantic goods - especially in its lovely score. ... Full Review

Conceived as a Gone With the Wind for the CinemaScope generation, Raintree County wasn't quite as successful as its role model, but it still proved a moneyspinner for MGM. But the strain proves too much for both of them, leading to an operatic climax which curiously segues into a happy ending (happy for some of the characters, anyway). ... Full Review

The novel was more than 1,000 pages long, a sharp departure from conventional fiction, and its description of America was so original and compelling that thousands read it. ... Full Article

Conceived as a Gone With the Wind for the CinemaScope generation, Raintree County wasn't quite as successful as its role model, but it still proved a moneyspinner for MGM. ... Full Article