Raintree County 1957
Set in 1859 Indiana, idealistic John Wickliff Shawnessey of Raintree County finds his devotion to high‑school sweetheart Nell Gaither tested when the sophisticated, wealthy New Orleans socialite Susanna Drake enters his life. Their tangled romance is further strained by the looming Civil War and unsettling secrets from John's family past.
Does Raintree County have end credit scenes?
No!
Raintree County does not have end credit scenes. You can leave when the credits roll.
Meet the Full Cast and Actors of Raintree County
Explore the complete cast of Raintree County, including both lead and supporting actors. Learn who plays each character, discover their past roles and achievements, and find out what makes this ensemble cast stand out in the world of film and television.
Rod Taylor
Garwood B. Jones
Bill Hickman
Townsman (uncredited)
Lee Marvin
Orville 'Flash' Perkins
Ruth Attaway
Parthenia (uncredited)
Eva Marie Saint
Nell Gaither
Montgomery Clift
John Wickliff Shawnessy
Rhys Williams
Ezra Gray
Nigel Patrick
Prof. Jerusalem Webster Stiles
Agnes Moorehead
Ellen Shawnessy
Michael Dugan
Nat Franklin (uncredited)
Elizabeth Taylor
Susanna Drake Shawnessy
Michael Dante
Jesse Gardner (uncredited)
Jack Kenny
Townsman (uncredited)
Ron Soble
Rebel Soldier (uncredited)
DeForest Kelley
Southern Officer
Tom Drake
Bobby Drake
Russell Collins
Niles Foster
Charles Watts
Party Guest (uncredited)
Fred Aldrich
Townsman (uncredited)
John Barton
Townsman (uncredited)
Walter Abel
T.D. Shawnessy
Boyd Cabeen
Townsman (uncredited)
Eileen Stevens
Miss Roman
Frank Mills
Soldier (uncredited)
Isabel Cooley
Soona - Susanna's Maid (uncredited)
Robert Cole
Party Guest (uncredited)
Robert Strong
Townsman (uncredited)
James Griffith
Mr. Gray's Searching Companion (uncredited)
Stacy Harris
Union Lieutenant (uncredited)
Philo McCullough
Townsman (uncredited)
Scott Seaton
Party Guest (uncredited)
James Dime
Bartender (uncredited)
Robert Foulk
Pantomimist (uncredited)
Jimmie Horan
Townsman (uncredited)
Russell Meeker
Townsman (uncredited)
Ford Raymond
Townsman (uncredited)
Gene Coogan
Townsman (uncredited)
George Boyce
Party Guest (uncredited)
George Ford
Club Patron (uncredited)
Oliver Blake
Jake - Bartender (uncredited)
Robert Robinson
Townsman (uncredited)
Suzanne Ridgway
Prostitute (uncredited)
Burt Mustin
Old Gent with 'Flash' (uncredited)
John Eldredge
Cousin Sam (uncredited)
William Challee
Spectator (uncredited)
Bill Walker
Old George (uncredited)
Christopher Riordan
Spectator at Footrace (uncredited)
Rosalind Hayes
Bessie (uncredited)
Phil Chambers
Starter (uncredited)
Dorothy Granger
Madame Gaubert (uncredited)
Phil Schumacher
Townsman (uncredited)
Dan Dowling
Club Patron (uncredited)
Joseph Glick
Soldier (uncredited)
Myrna Hansen
Mrs. Lydia Gray (uncredited)
Duke Fishman
Townsman (uncredited)
Edwin Rochelle
Townsman (uncredited)
Nesdon Booth
Spectator (uncredited)
Luana Lee
Girl (uncredited)
Don Burnett
Tom Conway (uncredited)
Janet Lake
Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited)
Owen McGiveney
Blind Man (uncredited)
Jarma Lewis
Barbara Drake
Ray Pourchot
Soldier (uncredited)
Frank Kreig
Spectator (uncredited)
Donald Losby
Jim Shawnessy - Age 2 (uncredited)
Mickey Maga
Jim Shawnessy - Age 4 (uncredited)
Jack Daly
Photographer (uncredited)
Joel Friend
Party Guest (uncredited)
Tony Rosa
Party Guest (uncredited)
Sue George
Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited)
Phyllis Douglas
Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited)
Ralph Moratz
Spectator at footrace (uncredited)
Gardner McKay
Bearded Soldier (uncredited)
Henry Brock
Minor Role (uncredited)
Josephine Cummins
Woman (uncredited)
Judi Jordan
Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited)
External Links and Streaming Options
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Take the Ultimate Raintree County Movie Quiz
Challenge your knowledge of Raintree County with this fun and interactive movie quiz. Test yourself on key plot points, iconic characters, hidden details, and memorable moments to see how well you really know the film.
Raintree County Quiz: Test your knowledge of the 1957 film Raintree County with these ten mixed‑difficulty questions covering characters, plot points, and historical context.
Who is the young idealist living in rural Raintree County at the start of the film?
Full Plot Summary and Ending Explained for Raintree County
Read the complete plot summary of Raintree County, including all major events, twists, and the full ending explained in detail. Explore key characters, themes, hidden meanings, and everything you need to understand the story from beginning to end.
In 1859, John Wickliff Shawnessy is a young idealist living in rural Raintree County, Indiana, whose imagination is fired by the legend of the raintree said to preside over the landscape. He dares to venture into the county’s vast, dangerous swamp in search of it, a quest that ends in a near-fatal ordeal.
He has a college sweetheart, Nell Gaither, but his thoughts soon turn toward Susanna Drake Shawnessy, a wealthy New Orleans belle visiting the community. They share a brief, consuming affair, and upon Susanna’s return south she tells John she is pregnant. Out of duty and honor, he marries her, leaving Nell heartbroken.
They travel south to visit Susanna’s family, where John learns that Susanna’s mother went insane and died in a suspicious fire, along with her father and Henrietta, a slave believed to be the father’s concubine. Susanna suspects that Henrietta may be her biological mother, and as her condition grows more unstable she reveals that the pregnancy may have been a ruse.
As an abolitionist, Shawnessy does not fit with Susanna’s Southern kin, and the couple returns to Raintree County just before the Civil War. They have a son, Jimmy Shawnessy, born at the outbreak of the conflict, and John continues to teach while trying to keep the family intact.
In the war’s third year, Susanna’s paranoia deepens. She flees Indiana with Jimmy and seeks refuge among her Georgia kin. John enlists in the Union Army to search for his wife and child, fighting across the Western Theater and eventually discovering Jimmy at an old plantation. He learns that Susanna has been placed in an insane asylum and is wounded while carrying Jimmy back to the Northern lines, earning a discharge.
Returning north, John finds Susanna again and brings her home to Raintree. After Lincoln’s assassination and the war’s end, Nell urges him to consider politics, but the situation remains unsettled. Susanna, sacrificing her own welfare in a moment of desperate devotion, slips away into the swamp at night in a bid to find the legendary tree, with Jimmy following closely behind. A search party recovers Susanna’s body and carries Jimmy out to safety, while dawn reveals the tall, spectacular raintree glowing in the early light, seemingly untouched by the surrounding heartbreak.
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