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campaigning for Lincoln. John's reaction is personal not principled: it is his honour andreputation that is at stake not the principles of freedom and civil rights. 'I just don't wantslaves in my house,' he tells Susanna. This is the North closing its eyes to slavery - it is asouthern problem. Susanna reluctantly decides to free them and does so publicly at theparty held to celebrate Lincoln's election. One of the guests comments sarcastically thatnow 'we're all sisters under the skin' while another blacks his face and prances about in awhite caricature of a slave dance. The situation is set up again for a denunciation ofslavery, but instead, John goes upstairs to comfort his wife, who has fled the racist taunts.Raintree County had been resurrected in 1953 by Dore Schary, a producer who had beenassociated with the liberal-conscience films of the 1940s. 32 He hoped that it could servethe present day cause of the Negro, since the lead male character was an abolitionist. 33However he was forced out of MGM in 1956 and therefore was not responsible for thefinal product. Nevertheless, a strong anti-slavery anti-South approach would not have beenwell received in the South. One reviewer considered the issues that it raised 'morepertinent today than...ten years ago' and wondered whether its pro-North presentation - 'acomparatively rare point of view in pictures' - would 'alienate Southern audiences.' Hefelt that the treatment was 'temperate and reasonable.' 34 In a rare comment on racialmatters, the PCA raised concerns over one scene that 'may prove offensive to youraudiences in this country, particularly since this gross mockery of the Negroes goesunchallenged' - although it acknowledged that the scene did not violate the Code. 35Hollywood was showing itself sensitive to both the civil rights issues and the needs of theindustry.As part of the Civil War genre Raintree County was different. It was strong onreconciliation, but this comes early on with the marriage of John and Susanna. John isseduced by the superficial beauty of Susanna who represents the very different and exoticnature of the South - something that had fascinated northerners for a long time. 36Something that 'to us Yankees,' says John, 'is not too easy to understand.' Like the South,Susanna's dark secret is the darkness of slavery, the darkness that twists logic to allowwhite men to have relationships with black women but crucifies black men and rejectswhite women if the reverse were to occur. Susanna's false premise - and the source of herpsychological trauma that deepens as the film progresses - that she is the product ofmiscegenation, is the false premise of white supremacy. She is the uncomprehending voice93