A Place in the Sun (1951)
While A Place in the Sun swept up six Academy Awards and was nominated for an additional three, I don’t think it would have been so well received or stood the test of time so well if the two leads weren’t so incredibly good-looking. Director George Stevens made it his mission to exploit Montgomery Clift’s motivation; it’s clear the camera is just as much in love with Elizabeth Taylor as Monty is. The scenes are purposely framed, capturing her beautiful face in intense closeups, letting her dominate the frame at all times; while Shelley Winters is all-but obliterated during her scenes. She’s filmed in the dark, from behind, from a distance—anything to show that Monty doesn’t care about her and is preoccupied with thoughts of Liz. With all that careful planning, and the naughty radio scene that slipped past the censors, it’s no wonder George Stevens won an Oscar!
To those of you who don’t know the story, it’s about a no-good drifter who falls in love with a beautiful, high-class girl. If that sounds harsh, you haven’t seen the movie yet. Montgomery Clift is ridiculously handsome and appealing, but his character is a terrible person! He’s selfish, self-serving, shallow, pushy, insensitive, deceitful, conniving, and disrespectful. After one glance at Elizabeth Taylor, he decides he has to have her for himself, despite a vast class difference, knowing nothing about her personality, and the fact that they’re both involved with other people. He’s working in an assembly line at a swimsuit factory, and she’s in the society pages. He dreams of her and uses every opportunity he can to see her, but at the same time, he takes his hormonal frustrations out on poor Shelley Winters, another worker in the factory. Shelley is sweet and loving, but he treats her like garbage. A gorgeous face can only take you so far, and even though I still love Monty, he’s a real jerk in this movie.
Shelley Winters was nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars, even though the entire point of the story is Monty’s obsession with Liz. Here at the Rags, we put Shelley in the correct category and righted the wrong by awarding her with a statuette. After four years of playing bombshells, she shed her good looks in 1951 and took a risk by accepting roles of undesirable women. She’s whiny, frumpy, and needy, but she’s also incredibly vulnerable and just wants someone to love her. If you don’t tear up during the scene when Shelley goes to the doctor’s office, you must be one of the lucky ones who have a perfect life.
All in all, A Place in the Sun is a bit overrated, since it banks its entire appeal on the good looks of the two leads. The movie itself isn’t that great, and the “incredible” love story between Monty and Liz isn’t really romantic. While Monty puts his heart into the role and makes the audience think he’s not really an actor but is being followed around with a hidden camera, Liz is shockingly unconvincing. She never once seems deeply in love with him, but instead seems to think her character is a knock-off of Daisy Buchanan. In my opinion, that would have made for an even better story if her character were written that way, but since that’s not the case, Liz’s acting threatens to ruin the entire point of the story. She’s insincere and acts like Monty is a flavor of the week, when her lines are supposed to give a different meaning. Still, if you haven’t seen this lush, black-and-white classic, you should probably rent it. It’s very famous and entertaining, and you’ll get to see two great performances.
Want to watch it? Click here to watch it on ok.ru. And thanks "Classic Movies Kristine Rose" for posting!
More Elizabeth Taylor movies here!
Be sure to check out Hot Toasty Rag's review of the original novel An American Tragedy here!
To those of you who don’t know the story, it’s about a no-good drifter who falls in love with a beautiful, high-class girl. If that sounds harsh, you haven’t seen the movie yet. Montgomery Clift is ridiculously handsome and appealing, but his character is a terrible person! He’s selfish, self-serving, shallow, pushy, insensitive, deceitful, conniving, and disrespectful. After one glance at Elizabeth Taylor, he decides he has to have her for himself, despite a vast class difference, knowing nothing about her personality, and the fact that they’re both involved with other people. He’s working in an assembly line at a swimsuit factory, and she’s in the society pages. He dreams of her and uses every opportunity he can to see her, but at the same time, he takes his hormonal frustrations out on poor Shelley Winters, another worker in the factory. Shelley is sweet and loving, but he treats her like garbage. A gorgeous face can only take you so far, and even though I still love Monty, he’s a real jerk in this movie.
Shelley Winters was nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars, even though the entire point of the story is Monty’s obsession with Liz. Here at the Rags, we put Shelley in the correct category and righted the wrong by awarding her with a statuette. After four years of playing bombshells, she shed her good looks in 1951 and took a risk by accepting roles of undesirable women. She’s whiny, frumpy, and needy, but she’s also incredibly vulnerable and just wants someone to love her. If you don’t tear up during the scene when Shelley goes to the doctor’s office, you must be one of the lucky ones who have a perfect life.
All in all, A Place in the Sun is a bit overrated, since it banks its entire appeal on the good looks of the two leads. The movie itself isn’t that great, and the “incredible” love story between Monty and Liz isn’t really romantic. While Monty puts his heart into the role and makes the audience think he’s not really an actor but is being followed around with a hidden camera, Liz is shockingly unconvincing. She never once seems deeply in love with him, but instead seems to think her character is a knock-off of Daisy Buchanan. In my opinion, that would have made for an even better story if her character were written that way, but since that’s not the case, Liz’s acting threatens to ruin the entire point of the story. She’s insincere and acts like Monty is a flavor of the week, when her lines are supposed to give a different meaning. Still, if you haven’t seen this lush, black-and-white classic, you should probably rent it. It’s very famous and entertaining, and you’ll get to see two great performances.
Want to watch it? Click here to watch it on ok.ru. And thanks "Classic Movies Kristine Rose" for posting!
More Elizabeth Taylor movies here!
Be sure to check out Hot Toasty Rag's review of the original novel An American Tragedy here!