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Ideological midwestern lad John Shawnessy (Montgomery Clift) lets intriguing southern belle Susanna (Elizabeth Taylor) lure him from Raintree County and his angelic hometown sweetheart (Eva Marie Saint). Wed against the advice of the locals, the pair head South and spend the next few years making each other royally miserable. As it turns out, Susanna is more than slightly neurotic as the result of some buried family secrets, and as for John...oh, why' Why did he ever leave Raintree County' Later, the Civil War breaks out, and the turmoil and troubles get even more woeful.

The film is a lengthy, stately affair, filled with lots of green meadows and fine performances, which usually transcend the stilted dialogue. Lee Marvin is excellent as a hard-drinking braggart, and Saint is even more radiant than Taylor. Unfortunately, Clift suffered a near-fatal car accident during filming, which left his face scarred and partially paralyzed. Many of his scenes in this film naturally suffer as a result of this tragedy. Hoping it would be another GONE WITH THE WIND, the producers lined up Edward Dmytryk to direct from the Ross Lockridge novel, while Johnny Green composed the excellent music, with Nat King Cole singing the title track.