History :

Raintree County, novel by Ross Lockridge, Jr. and screenplay by Milliard Kauffman, was the last epic film made during MGM’s fabled "Golden Era of Cinematography." In 1956 it was the most expensive domestic motion picture ever made. Danville/ Boyle County was carefully selected, over 16 other states, as location for 40% of the movie’s exterior shots. Three hundred Kentucky residents were hired as extras and worked with Elizabeth Taylor, Montgomery Clift, Eva Marie Saint, Agnes Moorehead, Lee Marvin, Nigel Patrick, Director Eddie Dmytryk, Screenwriter Milliard Kaufman, and one hundred of MGM’s brightest talents. Just about everyone alive in Danville during those times was touched by the movie’s stardust. There exists, buried in the back corners of people’s basements and attics, hundreds of dusty fragile home movies, photos and memories capturing the magic of those halcyon days when Danville became "Hollywood’s Hometown."