A student falls in love with a Southern belle, but their relationship is complicated by her troubled past and the onset of the Civil War.A student falls in love with a Southern belle, but their relationship is complicated by her troubled past and the onset of the Civil War.A student falls in love with a Southern belle, but their relationship is complicated by her troubled past and the onset of the Civil War.
- Nominated for 4 Oscars
- 1 win & 8 nominations total
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
- Parthenia
- (uncredited)
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
- Jake - Bartender
- (uncredited)
- Spectator
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaOn the evening of May 12, 1956, during the shooting of this movie, Montgomery Clift was involved in a serious car accident on his way back home from a party at the house of Dame Elizabeth Taylor. He apparently fell asleep at the wheel of his car while driving and smashed his car into a telephone pole. His friend Kevin McCarthy witnessed the accident from his car, drove back and informed Taylor and her then husband Michael Wilding, who immediately drove to the accident location together with Rock Hudson. Taylor entered the car through the back door, crawled to the front seat and removed the two front teeth from Clift's throat that threatened to choke him. Hudson finally managed to pull Clift out of the wreck and together with Wilding and McCarthy they protected him from being photographed by reporters until the ambulance arrived. This was necessary because soon after the emergency call had come in to the local police station, reporters were already on their way and arrived at the scene when Clift was still in the car. The accident was well publicized. After nine weeks of recovery and with plastic surgery, Clift returned to the movie set and finished this movie, but with considerable difficulties. His dashing and looks, though, were gone forever. In some scenes throughout the movie, despite the cinematographer's skill, Clift's nose and chin look different, and the entire left side of his face is nearly immobile.
- GoofsAfter Abraham Lincoln's 1860 election, the crowd sings "The Battle Hymn of the Republic". However, Julia Ward Howe wrote the poem on which the song was based for the Atlantic Monthly in 1861.
- Quotes
Susanna Drake: That 4th of July race... what happens when you win?
John Wickliff Shawnessy: Well, according to a friend of mine, if I win, a beautiful girl will place a garland of oak leaves on my sun-colored locks.
Susanna Drake: I'd like to be that girl.
John Wickliff Shawnessy: Maybe it can be arranged?
Susanna Drake: Oh, it can be arranged, all right. *I'll* arrange it.
- Alternate versionsThe longer Roadshow version was released on VHS by Warner, where it was labeled as Reconstructed Original Version. It has also been shown on Turner Classic Movies cable channel. This version contains nearly 15 minutes of additional material not found on the General Release Version.
- ConnectionsEdited from Gone with the Wind (1939)
- SoundtracksRaintree County
Music by Johnny Green (uncredited)
Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
Sung by Nat 'King' Cole
As to the acting, well, Elizabeth Taylor does do a masterful -- mistressful? -- job of playing the dark-haired beauty from the South who meets and falls in love with Montgomery Clift in his small Indiana town. She handles the various twists and turns of the plot and her character well, and well deserved her Academy Award nomination.
Then there's Montgomery Clift. He looks convincingly Civil War in costume and well-coiffed black hair. But ... somehow or other, his facial expressions, his delivery of his lines, the whole way his character comes across, reminded me of a young actor, unsure of himself, in his first stage play. I don't claim to be any expert on his films in general, but as Johnny Shaughnessy I think he falls somewhat short.
And here's one more thing: At several points in the film, the "Hoosiers" have occasion to mention the state capitol, Indianapolis. And they pronounce it, accenting each letter, especially the "O" near the end. Sorry, folks, that isn't how we Hoosiers pronounce the name of our "Naptown." Try this: "Indanap'lis." It reminded me of another movie from the same era, "Some Came Running," also set in Indiana. When some actor had occasion to mention the city Terre Haute, he said "Terry Hout". And I said, "WHAT?"
To sum up, a good, entertaining Civil War movie -- but with some weaknesses that I think could have been avoided.
- corporalko
- Mar 9, 2019
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $5,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime3 hours 2 minutes