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 (novel), Patrick Kearney (play)

Stars:

Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Shelley Winters

Won 6 Oscars. Another 8 wins & 10 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 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, Illinois 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 (Dame Elizabeth Taylor) 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 to 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 ...

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Plot Keywords:

murder of a pregnant woman | pregnancy | high society | murder trial | death by drowning | 

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Taglines:

Young people asking so much of Life... taking so much of Love!

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

The box-office failure of An American Tragedy (1931) prompted the filmmakers to seek an alternative title. One such title was "The Prize". There was a one hundred dollar reward for whoever came up with the best new title, and producer and director George Stevens' associate Ivan Moffat successfully pitched for "A Place in the Sun". He never received his one hundred dollar reward.

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Goofs

At Loon Lake, when George and Angela hear a loon, they look up into some trees to see the bird. Loons are never found in trees. They nest on the ground near lakes and live on the water. They are solely aquatic birds, waterfowl.

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Quotes

George Eastman: I love you. I've loved you since the first moment I saw you. I guess maybe I've even loved you before I saw you.

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Connections

Referenced in 25th Hour (2002)

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Soundtracks

Bear Ye One Another's Burdens
(1912) (uncredited)
Written by Mabel J. Rosemon

User Reviews

A Masterpiece, by George Stevens

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")

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 November 1951 (Argentina)

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