A Place In The Sun was one of the 50's most intriguing
films. The release date was October 11, 1951. I celebrated
my third birthday party on that exact date, but it wasn't
until years later that I actually saw that film. As I was
growing older, I developed a big crush, like most of my
friends, on Elizabeth Taylor.
The movie depicts an up and coming George Eastman [played
by Montgomery Cliff] being thrust into the blue collar
life of a rich uncle's family business, and falling in
love with another women, despite the fact that his own
[secret] girlfriend was now pregnant.
Directed by George Stevens, who did a brilliant job,despite
the constraints that were imposed on him by Paramount. This
film classic was actually a remake of a film that was made
20 years earlier that was a total bomb. The studio had lost
a huge amount of money on the earlier version, so the
monetary restraints were put in place before they even
started shooting.
A very young Elizabeth Taylor, who plays Angela Vickers,is
paired with Montgomery Cliff in this classic story of doomed
love.It was Miss Taylor's best work to date and her first
dramatic role. Her raw natural beauty lights up the screen.
Shelly Winters [who plays Alice Tripp] gives a convincing
performance of the poor homely girl who happens to fall in
love with George Eastman.Upon learning that she is pregnant,
she fanatasies about the life that she and George will share
together but after finding out about George's real love interest,
she threatens him with exposure, unless he agrees to marry her.
His mind is full of crazy thoughts about what he should do.
He leaves a dinner party to meet Alice and ends up in a
boat on moon lake with her. As she starts to describe the
dreary, uninteresting life that both of them will live,
George's mind is filled only with thoughts of the
beautiful Taylor. He changes his mind about his plans of
droning Alice and starts back to shore. But in one ironic
twist of fate,Alice moves to be closer to George and causes
the boat to capsize, falls into the lake and drowns anyway.
He is captured and prosecuted by an ambitious district
attorney [played by Raymond Burr].
This is definitely one of the best classic movies that ever
came out of Hollywood.It won 6 Oscars, another 7 wins and 8
nominations. This is a classic example tragic romanticism.