Raintree County 1957 Watch Full Movie

Raintree County: A Tale of Love and Loss

In 1859, idealist John Wickliff Shawnessey is living in Raintree County, Indiana. He’s fascinated by the legend of the county’s magnificent raintree, and at one point he ventures into the large, dangerous swamp where he believes it can be found. His quest is unsuccessful, and he almost dies in the effort.

Love and Betrayal in Raintree County

Shawnessey has a high school sweetheart, Nell Gaither, but he’s soon distracted by Susanna Drake, a rich New Orleans girl. He has a brief and passionate affair with Susanna while she is visiting his community. Following her return to the South, she comes back to Indiana to tell Shawnessey that she is pregnant with his child. John marries her out of honor and duty, leaving Nell heartbroken.

Fate and Tragedy Unfold

They travel south to visit Susanna’s family. He learns that Susanna’s mother went insane and died in a suspicious fire, along with Susanna’s father and Henrietta, a slave implied to be the father’s concubine. Susanna suspects that Henrietta may have been her biological mother. Gradually Susanna appears to be suffering from mental illness. She tells John that she faked pregnancy to trick him into marriage.

An abolitionist in the South, Shawnessey does not fit in with Susanna’s family, and they return to Raintree County before the outbreak of the Civil War. John works as a teacher and they have a child, Jimmy, born at the outbreak of the war. In the war’s third year, Susanna develops severe paranoia and delusions. She flees Indiana with Jimmy and seeks refuge among her extended family in Georgia.

A Father’s Determination

Shawnessey is determined to find her and recover his son. He enlists in the Union Army in hopes of encountering his wife and child. After fighting in terrible battles, he finds Jimmy at an old plantation and learns that Susanna has been placed in an insane asylum. He is wounded while carrying Jimmy back to Northern lines, and is discharged from the Union Army. Johnny searches for Susanna, finding her kept in terrible conditions at the asylum. He brings her back with him to Raintree County.

The Search for Redemption

After the end of the war and President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, Shawnessey considers his future. Nell urges him to run for political office. Recognizing that Nell and John still love each other, Susanna sacrifices herself and deludedly enters the swamp in the middle of the night to find the legendary raintree. Four-year-old Jimmy follows her. The search party eventually finds her body. John and Nell find Jimmy alive and carry him out of the swamp. Focused on the child, the two fail to notice the tall, spectacular raintree glowing in the early morning sunlight.

Don’t miss the emotional journey of love, sacrifice, and redemption in “Raintree County.” Watch the full movie now and witness the power of the human spirit unfold before your eyes.