A Place in the Sun (1951)

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Montgomery Clift (Red River, The Heiress) stars as a poor young man who takes a job at his rich uncle’s garment factory where he falls in love with a coworker played by Shelley Winters. Things become complicated when Clift is introduced to an alluring young socialite played by Elizabeth Taylor in her first ‘adult’ role. Just as Clift is ready to commit to Taylor and all the perks of high society, Winters’ character bursts his bubble — she’s pregnant. And when she threatens to tell the newspapers about their relationship, destroying his chances for a future with Taylor, Clift goes to a very dark place. He takes Winters out on a rowboat with plans to drown her.

Directed by George Stevens (Gunga Din) in a combination of extreme close-ups and voyeuristic wide shots, A Place in the Sun makes the viewer feel like an intruder in these characters’ private lives. While the writing (an adaptation of the novel An American Tragedy) is good, it’s really the stars and composer Franz Waxman who do the heavy lifting. Not many films could make a would-be murderer into a sympathetic character, but A Place in the Sun slights no side of its love triangle. We feel for all three of its imperfect characters, which ups the pathos as we wind toward the film’s conclusion.

Melodrama isn’t everyone’s taste, but A Place in the Sun is good old-fashioned storytelling with a little flare for everyone. There’s romance, there tragedy, there’s Hitchcockian thrills and even a little courtroom drama. But it wouldn’t be a classic all these years later without the magnetic attraction between Clift and Taylor. A lot of actors can say they love each other and kiss, but when these young dynamos do it here, they make you believe it. The two met on this production, would go on to make two more films together (Raintree County and Suddenly, Last Summer), and remained life-long friends until Clift’s death in 1966.

Academy Awards: Best Director, Screenplay, Black & White Cinematography, Black & White Costume Design, Film Editing, Music

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture, Actor (Clift), Actress (Winters)