In 1859, idealist John Wickliff Shawnessey, a resident of Raintree County, Indiana, is distracted from his high school sweetheart Nell Gaither by Susanna Drake, a rich New Orleans girl. This love triangle is further complicated by the American Civil War, and dark family history.
Acting
Taylor's unhinged Southern belle outshines everyone.
Cinematography
Technicolor so saturated it practically sweats magnolia.
Production
Gone with the Wind envy visible in every frame.
Director
Edward Dmytryk
Elizabeth Taylor
Susanna Drake Shawnessy
Montgomery Clift
John Wickliff Shawnessy
Eva Marie Saint
Nell Gaither
Nigel Patrick
Prof. Jerusalem Webster Stiles
Lee Marvin
Orville 'Flash' Perkins
Rod Taylor
Garwood B. Jones
Agnes Moorehead
Ellen Shawnessy
Walter Abel
T.D. Shawnessy
Jarma Lewis
Barbara Drake
Tom Drake
Bobby Drake
Rhys Williams
Ezra Gray
Russell Collins
Niles Foster
DeForest Kelley
Southern Officer
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Montgomery Clift totaled his car leaving a party at Elizabeth Taylor's house during filming; his face was rebuilt, and production resumed with careful lighting to hide the damage.
This was MGM's attempt to replicate Gone with the Wind's success, down to the burning-of-Atlanta equivalent: a burning steamboat that cost $1 million in 1957 dollars.
US
