{"id":39618,"date":"2017-11-01T00:17:55","date_gmt":"2017-11-01T07:17:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=39618"},"modified":"2020-12-04T13:30:12","modified_gmt":"2020-12-04T20:30:12","slug":"raintree-county-1957","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=39618","title":{"rendered":"Raintree County (1957)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;War is the most monstrous of man&#8217;s illusions. Any idea worth anything is worth not fighting for.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Poster-300x228.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"228\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-39619\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Poster-300x228.jpg 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Poster-128x97.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Poster-768x584.jpg 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Poster-1024x778.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Poster.jpg 1579w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nOn the cusp of the Civil War, an aspiring writer (Montgomery Clift) with plans to marry his childhood friend (Eva Marie Saint) becomes smitten with a southern belle (Elizabeth Taylor) whose troubled background continues to haunt her.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Agnes Moorehead Films<\/li>\n<li>Civil War<\/li>\n<li>Deep South<\/li>\n<li>Edward Dmytryk Films<\/li>\n<li>Elizabeth Taylor Films<\/li>\n<li>Eva Marie Saint Films<\/li>\n<li>Historical Drama<\/li>\n<li>Lee Marvin Films<\/li>\n<li>Love Triangle<\/li>\n<li>Mental Breakdown<\/li>\n<li>Montgomery Clift Films<\/li>\n<li>Race Relations<\/li>\n<li>Rod Taylor Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nEdward Dmytryk&#8217;s adaptation of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Raintree_County_(novel)\">Ross Lockridge Jr.&#8217;s bestselling novel<\/a> is perhaps best known as the film featuring Montgomery Clift both before and after <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0050882\/trivia?item=tr0634529\">his disfiguring car accident<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Clift-Before.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Clift-Before.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1843\" height=\"895\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-56216\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Clift-Before.png 1843w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Clift-Before-300x146.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Clift-Before-1024x497.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Clift-Before-128x62.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Clift-Before-768x373.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Clift-Before-1536x746.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Clift-Before-556x270.png 556w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1843px) 100vw, 1843px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Clift-Later.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Clift-Later.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1813\" height=\"895\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-56215\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Clift-Later.png 1813w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Clift-Later-300x148.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Clift-Later-1024x506.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Clift-Later-128x63.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Clift-Later-768x379.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Clift-Later-1536x758.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Clift-Later-547x270.png 547w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1813px) 100vw, 1813px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, it&#8217;s a rambling, thematically dubious film which never settles on a satisfying story arc and fails to engage. Clift&#8217;s performance seems dialed in (small wonder, given what he was going through), and it&#8217;s hard to figure out (or care much about) his character. Meanwhile, Taylor over-emotes like she&#8217;s in a Tennessee Williams play:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Taylor.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Taylor.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1833\" height=\"899\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-56213\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Taylor.png 1833w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Taylor-300x147.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Taylor-1024x502.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Taylor-128x63.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Taylor-768x377.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Taylor-1536x753.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Taylor-551x270.png 551w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1833px) 100vw, 1833px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; and the narrative threads about her mental instability, her attachment to creepy dolls, and her obsession with racial &#8220;purity&#8221; make it awfully difficult to sympathize with her. Eva Marie Saint has a thankless part as the beautiful small-town girl who is shoved aside by Taylor&#8217;s insistent charm:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Saint.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Saint.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1841\" height=\"883\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-56211\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Saint.png 1841w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Saint-300x144.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Saint-1024x491.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Saint-128x61.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Saint-768x368.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Saint-1536x737.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Saint-563x270.png 563w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1841px) 100vw, 1841px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; and Lee Marvin, Rod Taylor:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Taylor-Marvin.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Taylor-Marvin.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1841\" height=\"897\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-56210\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Taylor-Marvin.png 1841w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Taylor-Marvin-300x146.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Taylor-Marvin-1024x499.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Taylor-Marvin-128x62.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Taylor-Marvin-768x374.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Taylor-Marvin-1536x748.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Taylor-Marvin-554x270.png 554w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1841px) 100vw, 1841px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; and Agnes Moorehead:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Moorehead.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Moorehead.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1833\" height=\"881\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-56212\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Moorehead.png 1833w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Moorehead-300x144.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Moorehead-1024x492.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Moorehead-128x62.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Moorehead-768x369.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Moorehead-1536x738.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Moorehead-562x270.png 562w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1833px) 100vw, 1833px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; are all underutilized as well. There&#8217;s little to recommend here other than fine cinematography. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Beautiful cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Cinematography.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"544\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-39621\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Cinematography.png 1280w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Cinematography-128x54.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Cinematography-300x128.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Cinematography-768x326.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Cinematography-1024x435.png 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Cinematography3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Cinematography3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"544\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-39620\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Cinematography3.png 1280w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Cinematography3-128x54.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Cinematography3-300x128.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Cinematography3-768x326.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Raintree-County-Cinematography3-1024x435.png 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo. Skip this one unless you&#8217;re curious. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0050882\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1957\/12\/21\/archives\/screen-mgms-raintree-county-film-of-lockridge-book-has-2theatre.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cinematicthreads.com\/review.php?id=3147&#038;ltr=R\">Cinematic Threads Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/87642\/raintree-county#articles-reviews?articleId=12677\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;War is the most monstrous of man&#8217;s illusions. Any idea worth anything is worth not fighting for.&#8221; Synopsis: On the cusp of the Civil War, an aspiring writer (Montgomery Clift) with plans to marry his childhood friend (Eva Marie Saint) becomes smitten with a southern belle (Elizabeth Taylor) whose troubled background continues to haunt her. Genres: Agnes Moorehead Films Civil War Deep South Edward Dmytryk Films Elizabeth Taylor Films Eva Marie Saint Films Historical Drama Lee Marvin Films Love Triangle&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=39618\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=39618"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39618\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56217,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39618\/revisions\/56217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=39618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=39618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=39618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}