The car Montgomery Clift was driving when he drove off a hill on Tower Road

Clift, circa 1956

In 1956, Montgomery Clift checked into the Chateau Marmont to recuperate from a near-fatal automobile accident that occurred while he was in production on “Raintree County.” The accident occurred as he was leaving a dinner party at the home of his co-star and close friend, Elizabeth Taylor, at the top of Tower Road in Beverly Hills. He apparently missed a turn in the winding street and drove his car over a steep embankment. Taylor and her party arrived on the scene before the ambulance got there, and Taylor herself scrambled down the hill to the car. She found that Clift was unable to breath and stuck her fingers down his throat to remove the obstruction, which turned out to be his broken teeth. After several plastic surgeries and months of recuperation, Clift completed “Raintree County,” which was, unfortunately, a flop.