Une place au soleil

George Stevens' A PLACE IN THE SUN is a poetic film, filled with tender moments, sadness, and pending doom. Having not read the book, I had the pleasure of seeing the material for the first time, which is preferable if you see a film based on a "classic" novel. Montgomery Clift is his usual mysterious self as he has a scandalous relationship with the homely Shelly Winters and falls instantly in love with a spellbindingly beautiful Liz Taylor, who was only 19 when the picture was made. She glows with energy and a sense of optimism about life, a stark contrast to Clift, whom Taylor has also fallen for. Rumor has it they had an actual affair while making the movie. This is not for all tastes, for it is slow, and Clift is not all that appealing. The idea of dropping a lesser life (with Winters) and pursuing the good life with Taylor is what makes it work and the lengths to which Clift will go are staggering.

George Stevens has a gift for "painting" a movie on-screen. Just see GIANT, also with Taylor, or SHANE, the other two parts of his "American Trilogy". The scenes on the lake and the way the mood of the movie is painted is quite simply amazing. He also uses slow dissolves that leave a ghostly image on-screen between scenes. This all adds to the atmospheric touch of tragedy that will ensue. Poor Shelly Winters. She always gets a raw deal in films. There are times when you almost sympathize with Clift. Imagine living the life of a socialite with the girl of your dreams and a good job with your family. A life with Winters would be dismal according to Clift and us. What's right is right, however. An unnecessary court room saga closes the picture to ensure the viewer's sense of justice. This must've been pretty controversial stuff back in the early-50's

A PLACE IN THE SUN truly is an American tragedy, a portrait of young lives gone wrong with post-WWII optimism as a backdrop. Clift and Taylor shine together, and provide film fans with a romance never to be forgotten. The finale is emotionally draining during Taylor's expression of undying love. Unfortunately, Clift cannot have it all. A beautiful piece of classical Hollywood film-making with a mix of method acting (Clift) and a love story we wish could work.

RATING: 8 of 10

Poor and uneducated George Eastman (Montgomery Clift) unwittingly sets a trap for himself when he takes an entry-level job at his rich uncle's factory, which has a prohibition on male employees dating female employees. He just can't resist one of the girls in his department, the pitiful and whiny Alice Tripp (wonderfully played by Shelley Winters). Eventually, George gets a promotion and is invited into the upper echelon of his uncle's social world, where he meets wealthy and beautiful Angela Vickers (a breathless Elizabeth Taylor). Naturally, he falls in love with Angela. But a complication with Alice leaves him unable to break off his relationship with her.

That's the setup for this George Stevens-directed film that plays rather like a modern Greek tragedy. Everything about "A Place In The Sun" is high quality: the production design, the lavish Edith Head costumes, the wonderful editing, and that great B&W cinematography with those marvelous close-up shots, and overlapping dissolves that cleverly advance the plot.

All three principal actors do a splendid job. And they get solid support from a top notch secondary cast that includes Raymond Burr and the interesting Anne Revere.

The story clearly plays up social class differences, with the haughty rich looking down their noses at common workers. The film's tone varies from romantic, to sad, to suspenseful. At mysterious Loon Lake where significant events occur, the cinematic atmosphere is heavy with anticipation. It's like something out of a Hitchcock thriller.

I've never cared much for sad love stories, and the film does seem a tad dated. Still, it's so well made it can be appreciated by most everyone but the terminally shallow. It has a powerful ending, one that accentuates the acting accomplishments of Clift and especially of Taylor. "A Place In The Sun" was nominated for nine academy awards, and winner of six. I'd say this is one time when Oscar voters got it right.

A Place in the Sun (1951)

**** (out of 4)

Oscar-winning tale of a poor boy (Montgomery Clift) who goes to work for his uncle hoping to one day be rich like him. He falls in love with a small time woman (Shelley Winters) but soon gets a taste of the society life with a beauty (Elizabeth Taylor) and this is the start of his downfall. A PLACE IN THE SUN went home with six Oscars including Best Director for George Stevens and it's easy to see why he took home the award because there's so much going on in this picture yet he holds it together perfectly. The film is part melodrama, part message film, part romance and part suspense and Stevens really brings all of it together so perfectly that you can't help but get drawn into the story and feel every bit of pain that the characters do. The most amazing thing for me, and I'm not sure if it was meant to happen this way, but I really felt a lot of sympathy for the Clift character. Again, I'm not sure if this was the filmmakers intent but no matter how much I disagreed with what he was doing at the same time I never once hated him and even to the end I was hoping things would turn his way. I think some of this credit should be given to Clift who once again turns in a remarkable performance. I thought the shyness early on, the romance with Taylor and the hatred that someone is going to take away his dreams are all things that Clift perfectly nailed. The sequence on the boat towards the end is something masterfully performed by the actor. Taylor is also extremely good in her part even though of all the main characters I think hers is the most underwritten. Winters is also very good in her role of the woman who finds herself being left behind for someone better. I thought all the scenes between her and Clift, be it romantic or fighting, were full of wonderful chemistry. Anne Revere is a standout as Clift's mother and Raymond Burr is good in his few scenes. Again, a lot of credit has to go to Stevens because every aspect of the film works. The early love story between Clift and Shelley works. The love story between Clift and Taylor works. The downright suspense on the boat at night works. Even the ending manages to work. A PLACE IN THE SUN deserves its place as an all-time classic.

The young and poor George Eastman (Montgomery Clift) leaves his religious mother and Chicago and arrives in California expecting to find a better job in the business of his wealthy uncle Charles Eastman (Herbert Heyes). His cousin Earl Eastman (Keefe Brasselle) advises him that there are many women in the factory and the basic rule is that he must not hang around with any of them.

George meets the worker of the assembly line Alice Tripp (Shelley Winters) in the movie theater and they date. Meanwhile, the outcast George is promoted and he meets the gorgeous Angela Vickers (Elizabeth Taylor) in a party at his uncle's house. Angela introduces him to the local high society and they fall in love with each other. However, Alice is pregnant and she wants to get married with George. During a dinner party at Angela's lake house with parents, relatives and friends, Alice calls George from the bus station and gives thirty minutes to him to meet her; otherwise she will crash the party and tells what has happened. George is pressed by the situation that ends in a tragedy.

"A Place in the Sun" is an unforgettable masterpiece by George Stevens and one of the best love stories ever made, with the perfect development of characters and situations. I watched this film for the first time on 14 June 2001 on cable television and yesterday I saw it again on a Paramount DVD with Extras telling details about the difficulties that George Stevens faced to bring Theodore Dreiser's novel "An American Tragedy" to a motion picture and casting. He had to sue Paramount to carry out the signed contract and get the agreed budget. Another interesting point is Shelley Winters, who was a sex symbol at that time, telling how she got the role of Alice Tripp. Elizabeth Taylor also tells funny things about her relationship with Montgomery Cliff. My vote is ten.

Title (Brazil): "Um Lugar Ao Sol" ("A Place in the Sun")

I can only say that George Stevens' version of Theodore Dreiser's "An American Tragedy" is not what I envisioned when I read the book. Therefore, I came away disappointed at the screen treatment with Liz Taylor (beautiful but shallow), Montgomery Clift (beautiful but shallow) and poor Shelley Winters looking like a drab little wren. An air of artificiality hangs over every scene, every slow-moving scene, and only increases by the time the story arrives at the courtroom climax where an unrestrained Raymond Burr is allowed to chew the scenery.

This is NOT the great picture everyone always says it is. It's one of those films that dates badly. Evidently, fans of Liz Taylor and Monty Clift are starry-eyed about their favorite actors and refuse to see the weaknesses in the plodding story and the thinly sketched characters. Elizabeth Taylor had much better roles in her future career (Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, Giant) and Montgomery Clift would make an unforgettable Morris Townsend in The Heiress. Their acting here is as self-conscious as the arty camerawork that frames them in huge romantic close-ups.

The novel had much more depth and meaning than this watered down version of the story. Read it and you will wonder what all the fuss was about when "A Place in the Sun" was released. Vastly overrated and noteworthy only for the sincere performance of Shelley Winters and Franz Waxman's interesting background score.