The year is 1956.  George Stevens directed the film.  Edna Ferber wrote the book. Through the magic of technicolor the hues of the Texan skies reach us, as in a dream.  There is evil, of course, but there is love and personal courage also, in abundance, and we know that evil will be overcome.  This world is still young, or at least this is what the enthusiasm of the actors would have us believe.  But we know that they, themselves, are on their way to their own tragedies:  James Dean had died on 30 September 1955 before the release, Rock Hudson would later succumb to the dark side of his legend, and Liz Taylor would soon meet her Nemesis and greatest love. This was America, under the shadow of the Bomb, but hopeful, prosperous, and peaceful: America before the horror, and before the fall.  Lord, in Your Mercy…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPiOTyh8Tg8

http://www.infoplease.com/year/1956.html