A Place in the Sun (1951)

A poor boy gets a job working for his rich uncle and ends up falling in love with two women.

Director:

George Stevens

Writers:

Theodore Dreiser (based on the novel by), Patrick Kearney (play),

Stars:

Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Shelley Winters

Won 6 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Montgomery Clift	...	George Eastman
Elizabeth Taylor	...	Angela Vickers
Shelley Winters	...	Alice Tripp
Anne Revere	...	Hannah Eastman
Keefe Brasselle	...	Earl Eastman
Fred Clark	...	Bellows
Raymond Burr	...	Dist. Atty. R. Frank Marlowe
Herbert Heyes	...	Charles Eastman
Shepperd Strudwick	...	Anthony 'Tony' Vickers
Frieda Inescort	...	Mrs. Ann Vickers
Kathryn Givney	...	Louise Eastman
Walter Sande	...	Art Jansen - George's Attorney
Ted de Corsia	...	Judge R.S. Oldendorff
John Ridgely	...	Coroner
Lois Chartrand	...	Marsha

Storyline

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. His cousin Earl Eastman 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, in the movie theater and they date. Meanwhile, the outcast George is promoted and he meets the gorgeous Angela Vickers at a party thrown 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 him thirty minutes to meet her; otherwise she will crash the party and tell what has happened. George is pressed by the situation which ends ...

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Plot Keywords:

party | love | factory | assembly line | falling in love | 

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Taglines:

A Love Story Of Today's Youth... with three magnificent young stars

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 October 1951 (France)

Also Known As:

An American Tragedy

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,295,304 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although budgeted at $1,800,000, the final cost was $2,236,000.

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Goofs

At the party at the Eastman house, George is shown talking to Angela right next to the billiard table. George holds a billiard stick in his hand. Then Mr. Eastman comes into the billiard room, and simultaneously George turns to greet him, but suddenly the billiard stick is not in his hand at all, but is now lying on the billiard table.

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Quotes

Angela: Men are so disgustingly prompt. I think they do it just to put us women in a bad light.

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Connections

Featured in George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey (1984)

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Soundtracks

"Mona Lisa"
(1941) (uncredited)
Written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans
Played as background music

User Reviews

Let's hear it for William C. Mellor

Isn't IMDb great? As well as reading the detailed and thoughtful criticisms from contributors about a film like this, you can browse through all sorts of IMDb trivia, discovering interesting stuff all the time. My latest favourite activity on the site is checking out films that won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography. Needless to say A Place in the Sun won this award for William C. Mellor. Much has already been said of the beauty and precision of the images. I'd like to add a comment about one shot where Clift is coerced into a speedboat ride with Taylor and her rich pals. The static camera is on the jetty with a portable radio in close-up. The speedboat pulling away and doing a spin in the bay occupies our middle vision, while hills and boats lie in the distance. All of them are in wonderful pin-sharp deep focus, a skill that seems all but lost in today's productions. The radio announces the discovery of the girl's body while the boat speeds past, completing the dramatic reason for the shot.

A funny thing I've noticed about these great cinematographers is they all seemed to live a good long life, usually working right up the end of their lives. I don't know why, I just thought I'd mention it!