Review of A Place in the Sun (1951) by Devon B — 22 Apr 2010
Maybe it was the Hays code or maybe it's just the 1950s sense of morality, but when a man knocked up a girl back then, it was his duty to marry her, whether he loved her or not. Woe to the man who fell in love with another after impregnating his previous girlfriend, for love has no place in marriage when honor is at stake.
Barbaric times like these could drive a man over the edge, perhaps to murder. And that's just the thing: is desiring to kill someone just as bad as actually killing someone? Montgomery Clift stars as George Eastman, the nephew of a wealthy business tycoon who wants to escape his impoverished factory life and get in good with the wealthy side of the family.
Charles Eastman (Herbert Heyes) is all too happy to have his nephew come and work for the family and starts him off in packing, to learn the business. It's there he meets a sweet girl by the name of Alice (Shelley Winters).
The two begin a flirtation which leads to dating and then you-know-what. Meanwhile, George has also become acquainted with Angela, a glamourous and wealthy socialite (Elizabeth Taylor) and they also begin dating.
George plans to break it off with Alice until she drops the bombshell on him: she's pregnant. He knows he must marry her, even though it will ruin his career and social standing. He tries to put it off, to continue living the good life, but Alice tracks him down and threatens to tell everyone the truth (she also threatens to kill herself) unless he marries her that day.
Trapped in a corner, George let's himself be taken over by dark fantasies. A Place in the Sun is a fascinating morality play, and while it's not always riveting, the overall effect of the film is successful.
Elizabeth Taylor is probably as beautiful as she would ever be, and Shelley Winters delivers a multi-layered performance. Two people paid dearly for wanting something which they couldn't have, but was so tantalizingly within their reach.
The film, based on the novel "An American Tragedy" by Theodore Dreiser, lives up to it's original name.
This review of A Place in the Sun (1951) was written by Devon B on 22 Apr 2010.
A Place in the Sun has generally received very positive reviews.
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