A Place in the Sun (1951)

Director:

George Stevens

Writers:

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

Release Date:

11 October 1951 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Love that paid the severest of all penalties!

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Falling In Love | Love | Marriage | Assembly Line | Factory

Awards:

Won 6 Oscars. Another 9 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

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
Paul Frees	...	Rev. Morrison
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert J. Anderson	...	Eagle Scout (uncredited)
Gertrude Astor	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Lulu Mae Bohrman	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Ken Christy	...	Warden (uncredited)
Pat Combs	...	(uncredited)
Charles Dayton	...	Det. Kelly (uncredited)
Marilyn Dialon	...	Frances Brand (uncredited)
Mike Donovan	...	Prisoner (uncredited)
Frances Driver	...	Lulu - Vickers' Maid (uncredited)
Ralph Dunn	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Franklyn Farnum	...	Company Executive (uncredited)
Al Ferguson	...	Bailiff (uncredited)
Bess Flowers	...	Courtroom Reporter (uncredited)
Ann Fredericks	...	Girl (uncredited)
Kathleen Freeman	...	Factory Worker - Prosecution Witness (uncredited)
Art Gilmore	...	Radio Broadcaster / Trailer Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Lisa Golm	...	Eastmans' Maid (uncredited)
Marion Gray	...	(uncredited)
Dolores Hall	...	Girl (uncredited)
Sam Harris	...	Man (uncredited)
Len Hendry	...	Guard (uncredited)
James Horne Jr.	...	Tom Tipton (uncredited)
Sonny Howe	...	(uncredited)
Frank Hyers	...	Guard (uncredited)
Carmencita Johnson	...	Girl (uncredited)
Kenner G. Kemp	...	Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Mary Kent	...	Mrs. Roberts - Landlady (uncredited)
Philip Kieffer	...	Jailer (uncredited)
Louise Lane	...	Girl (uncredited)
Mike Mahoney	...	Motorcycle Officer (uncredited)
Robert Malcolm	...	Guard (uncredited)
Hank Mann	...	Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Martin Mason	...	Prisoner (uncredited)
Harold McNulty	...	Jury Foreman (uncredited)
Harold Miller	...	(uncredited)
Lee Miller	...	Bus Driver (uncredited)
Pearl Miller	...	Miss Newton (uncredited)
Frank Mills	...	Courtroom Extra (uncredited)
Hans Moebus	...	William - Butler at Eastman Home (uncredited)
Jay Morley	...	Executive (uncredited)
William B. Murphy	...	Mr. Whiting (uncredited)
William H. O'Brien	...	Servant at Eastman's Party (uncredited)
Frank O'Connor	...	Factory Floorman (uncredited)
Ed O'Neill	...	Deputy (uncredited)
Ezelle Poule	...	Receptionist (uncredited)
Joe Recht	...	Prisoner (uncredited)
John M. Reed	...	Joe Parker (uncredited)
Kasey Rogers	...	Miss Harper (uncredited)
Wallace Scott	...	Factory Guard (uncredited)
Bill Sheehan	...	Court Clerk (uncredited)
Douglas Spencer	...	Boatkeeper (uncredited)
Larry Steers	...	Company Executive (uncredited)
Cliff Storey	...	(uncredited)
Arthur Tovey	...	Juror (uncredited)
Josephine Whittell	...	Margaret - Eastman's Secretary (uncredited)
Eric Wilton	...	Vickers' Butler (uncredited)
Ian Wolfe	...	Dr. Wyeland (uncredited)
Frank Yaconelli	...	Truck Driver (uncredited)

Directed by
George Stevens

Writing credits
Theodore Dreiser		(based on the novel by)
Patrick Kearney		(play adapted from the novel by)
Michael Wilson		(screenplay) and
Harry Brown		(screenplay)

Produced by
Ivan Moffat	....	associate producer
George Stevens	....	producer

Original Music by
Franz Waxman		(music score by)

Cinematography by
William C. Mellor		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
William Hornbeck

Art Direction by
Hans Dreier		(art direction)
Walter H. Tyler		(as Walter Tyler)

Set Decoration by
Emile Kuri

Costume Design by
Edith Head		(costumes)

Makeup Department
Wally Westmore	....	makeup supervision

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Charles C. Coleman	....	assistant director (as C.C. Coleman Jr.)
Gerd Oswald	....	second assistant director

Sound Department
Gene Garvin	....	sound recordist
Gene Merritt	....	sound recordist

Visual Effects by
Farciot Edouart	....	process photography
Loyal Griggs	....	process photography
Gordon Jennings	....	special photographic effects

Stunts
Paul Baxley	....	stunts (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Joan Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department
Daniele Amfitheatrof	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)
David Buttolph	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Gerard Carbonara	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Aaron Copland	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Sidney Cutner	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Robert Emmett Dolan	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
John C. Hammell	....	music editor (uncredited)
Rudolph G. Kopp	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
George Parrish	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Leonid Raab	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Leonid Raab	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Miklós Rózsa	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Leo Shuken	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Frank Skinner	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Van Cleave	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Roy Webb	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Victor Young	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)

Other crew
Fred Guiol	....	associate director
Howie Horwitz	....	assistant to the producer

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures (George Stevens' Production)

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1951) (USA) (theatrical) (as A Paramount Picture)
• Paramount Pictures (1959) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1966) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Paramount Home Video (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Pictures Entertainment (1951) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Paramount (1951) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Paramount (1952) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (????) (Argentina) (VHS)
• CIC Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Emerald (2008) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2003) (Germany) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

122 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Finland:K-11 (re-rating) (1986) | West Germany:12 (f) | Argentina:13 (DVD rating) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Australia:G (original DVD rating) | Australia:PG (DVD re-rating) | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #14461)

Filming Locations:

Cascade Lake, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

In the French post-synchronized version, the actors are dubbed by: Michel André (Montgomery Clift); Micheline Cévenne (Elizabeth Taylor); Claire Guibert (Shelley Winters); Marie Francey (Anne Revere); Serge Lhorca (Keefe Brasselle); Pierre Leproux (Fred Clark; Jean Martinelli (Raymond Burr); Jean Mauclair (Herbert Heyes); Louis Arbessier (Shepperd Strudwick); Lita Recio (Frieda Inescort); Lucienne Givry (Kathryn Givney) and Christian Argentin (John Ridgely).

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: Earl mentions "Something more intimate maybe". Upon Angela's entrance, she replies, "Did I hear you were getting intimate, Earl darling?" Her lips are not saying this line.

Quotes:

Truck driver that picks up George hitchhiking:[First Lines]
[pulling up to Eastman Industries]
Truck driver that picks up George hitchhiking:Is this the place?
George Eastman:Yeah.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Transformers (2007)

Soundtrack:

Rescue the Perishing

A Place in Movie History

Standout film which was a remake of An American Tragedy with the late Sylvia Sidney.

The film was remade in 1951 with Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor and Shelley Winters.

The culture of rich vs. poor is explored in this film. Lonely drifter Clift meets Ms. Winters first and then in a chance meeting, meets the wealthy Ms. Taylor. Her wealth and position in society is what most affects Clift.

Eager to leave Shelley, he soon discovers that she is pregnant. This part, as the impoverished pregnant girl with nowhere to go, was the best part and performance by Miss Winters. We feel for her as she tries to maintain a grip on the Clift character. She brings to the part a nervousness rarely seen in motion pictures. Had she been nominated for best supporting actress, she would have possessed 3 Oscars in that category. Instead, she was nominated for lead actress and lost to Vivien Leigh in A Streetcar Named Desire.

Clift is perfect as the drifter;he was Oscar nominated for it. His scenes in the court, where he maintains that the drowning of Miss Winters was an accident, are real and leave a vivid reminder in the minds of the viewers.

The film also marked a breakout performance for Miss Taylor. Up until then, possibly with the exception of 1949's Elephant Walk, her roles were mostly childish in non-dramatic films.

The viewer is put in the moral dilemma of whether or not Clift made an attempt to save the drowning Ms. Winters. Capital punishment becomes a question as always.

Anne Revere is effective in an all too brief role as Clift's bible-reading mother.

All emotional stops are put out in the final scene when Taylor visits a condemned Clift in prison.

****. A superb production.