Place in the Sun

UPC: 097360581546

Studio: Paramount

MPAA Rating: NR   Contains:[Adult Situations]

Summary: Previously filmed in 1931 under its original title, Theodore Dreiser's bulky but brilliant novel An American Tragedy was remade in 1951 by George Stevens as A Place in the Sun. Montgomery Clift stars as George Eastman, a handsome and charming but basically aimless young man who goes to work in a factory run by a distant, wealthy relative. Feeling lonely one evening, he has a brief rendezvous with assembly-line worker Alice Tripp (Shelley Winters), but he forgets all about her when he falls for dazzling socialite Angela Vickers (Elizabeth Taylor). Alice can't forget about him, though: she is pregnant with his child. Just when George's personal and professional futures seem assured, Alice demands that he marry her or she'll expose him to his society friends. This predicament sets in motion a chain of events that will ultimately include George's arrest and numerous other tragedies, including a vicious cross-examination by a D.A. played by future Perry Mason Raymond Burr. A huge improvement over the 1931 An American Tragedy, directed by Josef von Sternberg, A Place in the Sun softens some of the rough edges of Dreiser's naturalism, most notably in the passages pertaining to George's and Angela's romance. Even those 1951 bobbysoxers who wouldn't have been caught dead poring through the Dreiser original were mesmerized by the loving, near-erotic full facial closeups of Clift and Taylor as they pledge eternal devotion. A Place in the Sun won six Oscars, including Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Cinematography, although it lost Best Picture to An American in Paris. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: U.S. National Film Registry – Library of Congress 100 Greatest American Movies – American Film Institute Best Picture - Drama – null Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama – null Best Director – null Best Cinematography - Black and White – null Best Actor – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Actress – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Black and White Cinematography – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Black and White Costume Design – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Director – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Editing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Drama or Comedy Score – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – National Board of Review Best Cinematography - Black and White – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Director – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Picture - Drama – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Director – Directors Guild of America

Features: Full-screen format
Dolby Digital: English 5.1 Surround
English subtitles
Interactive menus
Scene selection
Theatrical trailer
Retrospective cast & crew interviews with Elizabeth Taylor, Shelley Winters, George Stevens Jr. [son of late associate producter Ivan Moffat]
Commentary by George Stevens Jr. and Ivan Moffat
George Stevens: filmmakers who knew him

Place in the Sun

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 08/14/2001

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Pre-1954 Standard

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 121 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Subtitles: English

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 --
0. Scene Selection
1. George Eastman [1:24]
2. Factory Girl [7:30]
3. Angela Vickers [3:03]
4. In Trouble [5:41]
5. "Tell Mamma All" [7:00]
6. A Good Doctor [:34]
7. Loon Lake [5:56]
8. Watery Grave [1:12]
9. District Attorney [4:43]
10. Parental Approval [2:48]
11. Under Arrest [4:13]
12. Murder Charge [7:55]
13. Guilty Heart [2:40]

Richard Gilliam

A Place in the Sun removes much of the insight and depth of Theodore Dreiser's source novel, taking just the plot and turning it into a solidly entertaining Hollywood production. Director George Stevens was a capable craftsman who understood the advantages of a studio's resources. He shows his skills in combining top-grade stars and a powerful story, while giving the film a glossy veneer of class. The performances are generally strong, most notably Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor. Helped strongly by its first-rate tech credits, the film won six Oscars, including for director Stevens, costume designer Edith Head, and composer Franz Waxman, though the Best Picture nod went to An American in Paris. ~ Richard Gilliam, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Kathleen Freeman  Actor 
Carmencita Johnson  Actor 
Josephine Whittell  Actor 
Ezelle Poule  Actor 
Lisa Golm  Actor 
Mike Mahoney  Actor 
Mary Kent  Actor 
Lulu Mae Bohrman  Actor 
Ed O'Neill  Actor 
Gertrude Astor  Actor 
Mike Pat Donovan  Actor 
Martin Mason  Actor 
Billy Sheehan  Actor 
Frank Yaconelli  Actor 
Frances Driver  Actor 
Robert Anderson  Actor 
Laura Elliot  Actor 
Frank Hyers  Actor 
Jay Morley  Actor 
Marion Gray  Actor 
Ralph Dunn  Actor 
Len Hendry  Actor 
Lee Miller  Actor 
Ann Frederick  Actor 
Sam Harris  Actor 
Robert Malcolm  Actor 
Wallace Scott  Actor 
Ian Wolfe  Actor 
Pat Combs  Actor 
James Horne, Jr.  Actor 
Ken Christy  Actor 
Al Ferguson  Actor 
Hans Moebus  Actor 
Dolores Hall  Actor 
Louis Lane  Actor 
Eric Wilton  Actor 
Joe Recht  Actor 
Philip Kieffer  Actor 
Jim Horne  Actor 
Harry Brown  Screenwriter 
Franz Waxman  Composer (Music Score) 
Michael Wilson  Screenwriter 
George Stevens  Director 
George Stevens  Producer 
Montgomery Clift  Actor 
Elizabeth Taylor  Actor 
Shelley Winters  Actor 
Anne Revere  Actor 
Keefe Brasselle  Actor 
Fred Clark  Actor 
Raymond Burr  Actor 
Herbert Heyes  Actor 
Shepperd Strudwick  Actor 
Frieda Inescort  Actor 
Kathryn Givney  Actor 
Walter Sande  Actor 
Ted de Corsia  Actor 
John Ridgely  Actor 
Lois Chartand  Actor 
William Murphy  Actor 
Douglas Spencer  Actor 
Charles Dayton  Actor 
Paul H. Frees  Actor 

Country: USA