A Place in the Sun (film)
**Overview of A Place in the Sun (Film)**
"A Place in the Sun" is a 1951 film directed by George Stevens, adapted from Theodore Dreiser's novel "An American Tragedy" and a stage version by Patrick Kearney. The film features Montgomery Clift as George Eastman, a young man from a modest background who becomes entangled in a love triangle with two women: the privileged Angela Vickers, played by Elizabeth Taylor, and the working-class Alice Tripp, portrayed by Shelley Winters. As Eastman aspires to climb the social ladder, his life takes a dark turn when Tripp becomes pregnant and he faces a moral crisis leading to a tragic incident on a lake.
Despite not winning the Academy Award for Best Picture—an honor that went to "An American in Paris"—"A Place in the Sun" garnered six Oscars, including Best Director for Stevens and nominations for Clift and Winters. The film is noted for its strong performances and significant themes, including class struggle and the complexities of love and ambition. Although some modern critics view it as dated, its emotional depth and the strong on-screen chemistry between Clift and Taylor have left a lasting impact, solidifying its place in Hollywood history. The film remains a part of the American Film Institute's list of significant films, illustrating its enduring legacy in cinema.
A Place in the Sun (film)
- Release Date: 1951
- Director(s): George Stevens
- Writer(s): Harry Brown; Michael Wilson
- Principal Actors and Roles: Mongomery Clift (George Eastman); Elizabeth Taylor (Angela Vickers); Shelley Winters (Alice Tripp); Raymond Burr (Dist. Atty. R. Frank Marlowe); Fred Clark (Bellows)
- Book / Story Film Based On: An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser An American Tragedy by Patrick Kearney
A Place in the Sun is a 1951 film directed by George Stevens. It was based on both An American Tragedy, a well-known novel by Theodore Dreiser, and a theatrical adaptation of that novel by Patrick Kearney. It stars Montgomery Clift as George Eastman, an ambitious young man caught between two women from opposite ends of the social spectrum; Elizabeth Taylor as Angela Vickers; and Shelley Winters as Alice Tripp. Although the film did not win the Academy Award for Best Picture—An American in Paris received that honor instead—it won six other awards, including Best Director. Clift also received a nomination for Best Actor, and Winters was nominated for Best Actress. Some critics today consider the film to be dated, and so it is not as admired as it was when first released. Still, it has been widely appreciated for the performances of its three leading actors.
Plot
Although he is from an underprivileged background, Eastman has rich relations, and he lands an entry-level position working for a wealthy uncle. While working in his uncle’s factory, Eastman begins a relationship with Tripp in spite of a rule that prohibits male and female employees from fraternizing.
Eastman is eager to rise in his uncle’s firm, and when he submits a business plan for improving his department, his uncle not only approves but also invites him to a social gathering at his estate. While there, Eastman is formally introduced to Vickers, a beautiful young woman from a wealthy background with whom he has been entranced since first observing her from a distance. The two become smitten with one another, and as a result, Eastman gains entry to the world of wealth and privilege that she inhabits, a world that he had longed to join but had previously found unobtainable.
Eastman hopes to marry Vickers, but an enormous obstacle appears in his way when Tripp announces to him that she is pregnant with his child. Tripp insists that Eastman marry her, and the tension between the two increases when she happens upon the society column in a newspaper and discovers how fully enmeshed he is with both Vickers and her friends.
Eastman takes Tripp to a lake that he had earlier visited with Vickers. While Eastman and Tripp are in a boat together, she stands up and unwittingly tips the craft over. She drowns when Eastman makes no effort to save her.
The police regard Tripp’s death suspiciously, and Eastman’s behavior at the time when he rented the boat—he gave a false name and asked questions that indicated he had something illicit in mind—prove incriminating. The police arrest him for Tripp’s murder, after which he stands trial and is sentenced to death by electrocution.
Although he did not capsize the boat intentionally, Eastman is morally implicated for two reasons: He brought Tripp to the lake with the intention of drowning her, and he failed to rescue her when he had the opportunity to do so. A priest tells him that he is morally responsible for her death. Before he is executed, Vickers visits him in his prison cell. She professes her undying love for him in spite of the tragic nature of their relationship.
Significance
A Place in the Sun appears on the American Film Institute’s list of 100 most significant films. Along with its Academy Awards, the film won the Golden Globe award for Best Picture for 1951. The Directors Guild of America also honored George Stevens as Best Director.
The film’s initial critical reception was strong, but since then, the movie’s reputation has waned to some degree. Leonard Maltin, editor of Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide, describes it as outdated. More scathingly, David Kehr, a former critic for the Chicago Reader and Chicago Tribune, dismisses it as "soporific nonsense." To some, the director’s handling of his material seems more melodramatic today than it did when the film was first released. Viewers today are more likely to find the film’s preoccupation with social classes and with marriage as a means of bridging that class divide to be outdated. Finally, Tripp’s pregnancy undoubtedly strikes more viewers today as a removable obstacle than it did in the 1950s.
Nevertheless, the film’s three leading actors clearly had an emotional effect on their audience. Clift is one of the most enigmatic and appealing male actors that Hollywood has ever produced. A biography in the New York Times describes him this way: "A handsome and gifted actor, he channeled the pain and torment so rampant in his personal life into his screen and stage roles, delivering remarkably poignant and sensitive performances which influenced generations of actors to come." Clift’s achievement is all the more remarkable because he was so selective in choosing his roles and appeared in far fewer films than he could have. His George Eastman projects a vulnerability that many viewers have found relatable in spite of the character’s obvious shortcomings, his shallow preoccupation with social climbing, and his egregious treatment of Tripp.
Taylor is one of Hollywood’s most legendary stars. In addition to A Place in the Sun, she and Clift appeared in two other films together: Raintree County (1957) and Suddenly, Last Summer (1959). The two had a rapport that transcended their working relationship, and when Clift’s career declined in the mid-1960s, she helped him obtain a starring role in Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967). Tragically, he died at the age of forty-five before filming on that movie began.
Shelley Winters won two Academy Awards in her career. She won the Best Supporting Actress awards for her performances in both The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) and A Patch of Blue (1965). She also appeared in such notable films as The Night of the Hunter (1955) and Lolita(1962). She brings an emotional authenticity to her portrayal of Tripp in A Place in the Sun. Clift and Taylor bring a similar kind of immediacy to their roles, and the three of them helped guarantee the important place that the film occupies in Hollywood history.
Awards and nominations
Won
- Academy Award (1951) Best Cinematography (Black-and-White)
- Academy Award (1951) Best Film Editing
- Academy Award (1951) Best Score ()
- Academy Award (1951) Best Director: George Stevens
- Academy Award (1951) Best Screenplay (Adapted): Harry Brown, Michael Wilson
- Academy Award (1951) Best Costume Design (Black-and-White): Edith Head
- Golden Globe (1951) Best Motion Picture (Drama)
Nominated
- Academy Award (1951) Best Picture
- Academy Award (1951) Best Actor: Mongomery Clift
- Academy Award (1951) Best Actress: Shelley Winters
Bibliography
Ankeny, Jason. "Montgomery Clift: Full Biography." New York Times. The New York Times Company, n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/13682/Montgomery-Clift/biography>.
Cronin, Paul. George Stevens: Interviews (Conversations with Filmmakers Series). Jackson: U of Mississippi P, 2004. Print.
Dreiser, Theodore. An American Tragedy. New York: Signet, 2010. Reprint.
Heymann, C. David. Liz: An Intimate Biography of Elizabeth Taylor. New York: Atria, 2011. Print.
Kehr, David. "Review of A Place in the Sun." Film Search. Sun-Times Media, n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2016. <http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/a-place-in-the-sun/Film?oid=1049676>.
Lawrence, Amy. The Passion of Montgomery Clift. Berkeley: U of California P, 2010. Print.
Leopold, Todd. "Leonard Maltin’s ‘Movie Guide’ Says Goodbye." CNN Entertainment. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., 3 Sept. 2014. Web. 15 Jan. 2016. <http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/02/showbiz/movies/leonard-maltin-movie-guide-ending/>.
Nordine, Michael. "Review of A Place in the Sun." NotComing.com. NotComing.com, 9 May 2011. Web. 15 Jan. 2016. <http://www.notcoming.com/reviews/aplaceinthesun>.