A Place in the Sun (1951) - mixed messages (SPOILERS!!!)

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A Place in the Sun (1951) - mixed messages (SPOILERS!!!)

Рет қаралды 16,364

Күн бұрын

With this video, I'm also introducing PATREON membership for those interested in contributing, with my thanks! / shootmereviews
WARNING! Spoilers for A Place in the Sun (1951), a look at how a performance can affect the meaning of the story.
A special THANK YOU to "Akila Smith" and "P A" for requesting this subject matter. It was a film well worth revisiting! I welcome more suggestions/requests from any and all.
Disclaimers: I am not a film scholar and am presenting only my own observations, for what they're worth. While I hope some may find my insights interesting, I do not claim they are definitive or exhaustive.
LINKS to previous videos:
Casablanca (1941): • CASABLANCA (1942) -- a...
Nightcrawler (2014): • NIGHTCRAWLER (2014) --...
Persona (1966): • PERSONA (1966) - can w...
In the Bedroom (2001): / cd8f382p_yg
Black Swan (2010): • BLACK SWAN (2010) - ...
Enemy (2013): • ENEMY (2013) - It's al...
AI - Artificial Intelligence (2001): • AI - Artificial Intell...
The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017): • The Killing of a Sacre...
The Lobster (2015): • The Lobster (2015) - l...
Audition (1999): • Audition (1999) - what...
Color Out of Space (2019): • Color Out of Space (20...
Mandy: • Mandy (2018) - an appr...
The Lighthouse: • The Lighthouse (2019) ...
The Witch: • THE VVITCH (2015) - do...
Under the Skin: • Under the Skin - dro...
Blue Ruin: • Blue Ruin (2013) - a v...
Midsommar: • MIDSOMMAR (2018) - sum...
Suspiria (2018): • SUSPIRIA (2018) - It's...
Psycho: • Psycho Analysis: Motif...
"M":
• Fritz Lang's "M": Soun...
Strangers on a Train: • Strangers On A Train: ...
Perfect Blue (1997): • PERFECT BLUE (1997) - ...
Check out my movie reviews on Letterboxd: letterboxd.com...
This is intended for viewers who are familiar with the film, but if spoilers are not a deterrent, it is not necessary to have seen the movie to follow this video.
All clips taken from A Place in the Sun (1951), and promotional stills. This video was made for the purpose of film appreciation/criticism and I believe these contents fall under fair use IP laws.

Пікірлер: 54

@Joles0 Жыл бұрын

Shelley Winters' character is frightened and realizes George does not love her. She would be on her own with a baby to care for. What a nightmare!!

@marydaniels7314 Жыл бұрын

My thoughts ... George was driven by his shame of being impoverished and drenched in a fanatical religious upbringing. He wanted to use his name to forge ahead, whatever the cost. He used people too, like he did Alice. And then proceeded to throw her away when she demanded more of him. He was no different than the mercenary idolator, Morris, in "The Heiress." He was calculating and ruthless in a very unassuming manner. Angela's was the light (rich, beautiful), and Alice was the dark (working poor, average looking). All the while, he plotted to use both women. He got caught in a web of lies and murder. Yes, he was a vulgar parasite who was a predator. The movie was very well done, and I have watched it numerous times. Thanks for sharing your perspective, and I hope you enjoy mine.

@ShootMeMovieReviews Жыл бұрын

This tends to be my reading as well. I think the presentation is somewhat ambiguous. I'm not certain whether this is what we're meant to think. But I do find his character repellent.

@kathleenking47 Жыл бұрын

The story was based on a true story of the GILLETTE FAMILY..one of them killed a factory worker

@mc7477 Жыл бұрын

@@ShootMeMovieReviewsWoody Allen reworked this narrative into his screenplay Match Point, about a social-climbing tennis pro who woos a homely, rich British heiress for her money, then falls in love with a beautiful, honey blonde American after his marriage. Scarlett Johansen plays the blonde, and Jonathan Rhys-Davies is the mercenary protagonist who kills the blonde when she threatens to tell his rich wife's family that she is pregnant. The London cops believe he is the killer based on circumstantial evidence, but he gets away with it when a homeless man is discovered with the dead girlfriend's ring, thereby leaving the Rhys-Davies character to continue living his life as a hidden psychopath. I find the comparison to A Place in the Sun most intriguing, particularly since in the modern film the murderer is free to kill again. Woody Allen is a genius.

@ShootMeMovieReviews Жыл бұрын

@@mc7477 The murderer getting away references back to Crimes and Misdemeanors as well (playing against the premise of Crime and Punishment). It seems that Allen was on a 'what if conscience is the only reason not to kill' kick. But you're right. It's an interesting comparison. I'll have to revisit Match Point.

@raquelramos1619 11 ай бұрын

Montgomery Clift was such a handsome man. Sherlley Winters and Elizabeth Taylor were great actresses as well as Montgomery Clift. I love this movie !

@renee8437 Жыл бұрын

Perry Mason is so underrated. He was one of the greatest actors of all time! What a Legend!

@emerybayblues 7 ай бұрын

Raymond Burr.

@yvonneplant9434 12 күн бұрын

The public had no idea that he was gay....same with Clift. 😮

@monicadasilva9288 3 жыл бұрын

I thoroughly enjoyed the Shout Me Reviews of "The Heiress", "Casablanca", "Strangers on a Train" & "A Place in The Sun". Fascinating reviews. The acting of all the major players was very good. My standout was Olivia deHavilland, deserving of the Academy Award for Best Actress.

@ShootMeMovieReviews 3 жыл бұрын

If you like the older films, I'm going to be covering Wuthering Heights (1939) soon.

@olive3700 18 күн бұрын

Thank you for this great review. After I watched this last night all I could think of was Alice's awful, hopeless predicament. She held onto her virtue while dating George for quite a while and only "gave in" after he invited himself into her room and almost forced himself on her. Later on, she went to a doctor hoping he would "help," her but he made it clear he would do no such thing. At that time pregnant women could not work and she knew she would be fired as soon as she started to show. This left her in a desperate situation, leaving her with no choice but to nag and then yell at George to do the right thing. It bothered me to read the reviews of this on IMBD where most of the talk is about the great tragic love story between the two beautiful actors, Clift and Taylor. How quick we are to sympathize with good looking people and write off a plain girl with a whiney voice, as though her death was not as important as George's.

@elisabettanucifora616 3 жыл бұрын

As the movie is based on Dreiser's "An American Tragedy", I have always thought it can also stand for the other side of the much talked-about "American Dream" which accurately keeps away those who do not belong to certain social groups, despite the common belief that "everybody can become President". On the other hand, one is also invited to think about the "quality" of such dream: as in "The Great Gatsby", a lot depends on easy money, an empty life granted by someone else who worked hard to achieve social and economical success, absence of moral values that not even religious zeal can supply.

@orlandocordova4381 Жыл бұрын

Well spoken or comment!

@dsrtflwr6093 3 жыл бұрын

Angela doesn't have to do anything; she's beautiful.

@audreydaleski1067 Жыл бұрын

He lied, too. In court he said the fell over on opposite sides of the boat. They fell over together on the same side of the boat.

@ginnylorenz5265 Жыл бұрын

Really interesting. I think I'll do some binge watching! Thank you!!

@usual10suspects 11 ай бұрын

enjoyed your entrospection, classic film

@jackilynpyzocha662 Жыл бұрын

Is Alice "Grace Brown" and George "Chester Gillette"?

@LemonThyme1933 Жыл бұрын

Yes.

@howardkerr8174 Жыл бұрын

As I understand it, the movie IS NOT at all faithful to the book. I would think a lot of the ambiguity in George's would be non-existent is the movie had followed the story laid out in the book.

@sharonrojas9569 Жыл бұрын

This is based on the actual murder of Grace Brown by a young up and coming man who was her supervisor. He fell in love with a young woman but the problem is he had gotten Grace pregnant. His solution of his problem is both tragic and cruel.

@WalterLiddy Жыл бұрын

Elizabeth Taylor's performance is great as well - very nuanced. You can read every thought in her expressions.

@yvonneplant9434 4 ай бұрын

She was only 18.

@larrynelson3329 11 ай бұрын

He is self absorbed and will do anything including murder to get what he wants.

@rickytoddbotelho9555 Жыл бұрын

One of the best movies in place in the history of the World🌏🌏

@orlandocordova4381 Жыл бұрын

Love this film!

@williamlouie569 Жыл бұрын

The remade with Robert Wagner was good too!

@lizzy-wx4rx 6 ай бұрын

It wasn't ambition that led to his downfall. He was told his first day on the job not to date his female coworkers, and he immediately romantically pursued and then seduced Alice. A truly ambitious person would have followed the rules to get ahead in the company. He was dishonest, self-indulgent and totally lacking in integrity. I found it hard to care what happened to him.

@larky368 6 ай бұрын

He was ambitious in the sense that whatever he desired at the moment he must have. He was unfeeling since it never occurred to him that she would suffer the consequences of breaking the rules more than him.

@jeanettea12345 2 жыл бұрын

A good movie for its time. The pregnant 'poorer' girlfriend and the beautiful all-together other girl who has the honorable 'sellable package'. Sometimes its reversed whereby the poor girl is the better woman. Oftentimes the male counterpart can't see the forest for the trees. If you come from a 'normal honorable life' you have a big advantage over the other girl even if in the long run you are the better 'catch'. Note: I agree with your 'take' on this story 100%.

@georgesunday9855 4 ай бұрын

First, A Place in the Sun, is NO An American Tragedy, the book it’s based on. With that out of the way, the film on its own and with your review, seems much richer than I remember it. I will look at it again soon, with your review as a guide. When Clift played both George and Morris, the characters seem a tad more sympathetic than they should be. His voice, mannerisms and especially his eyes make me feel he can’t possibly be the scoundrel the characters definitely are. It’s like the directors in both films are deliberately setting up the viewer to keep us uncertain.

@Pomoscorzo 2 жыл бұрын

Sounds like the story of a very immature man who thought he could have everything. Maybe he was fooled by the idea that money and consequence can buy you away from every consequence. But in the end, he pushed to hard, and had to face his crimes despite all.

@elainebmack Жыл бұрын

Subscribed!

@ShootMeMovieReviews Жыл бұрын

Thanks!

@lindauribe6872 Жыл бұрын

He kept doing the wrong thing he couldn't wait,

@larky368 6 ай бұрын

Don't feel too sorry for George. Most people would never have even contemplated murder let alone the murder of a sweet girl you thought you loved and is carrying your child. Just because he couldn't finish the job due to a last second attack of conscience doesn't mean he wouldn't have gone through with it under different circumstances.

@jamalsmith5073 6 ай бұрын

I would say the Shelley Winters character was at fault for capsizing them, not the Montgomery Clift character. The only point I received from watching is that he made no effort to save her from drowning.

@ShootMeMovieReviews 6 ай бұрын

Yes, that's correct. He doesn't tip the boat, but she panics and falls out. The only information we have that he may have actively contributed to her death is that we're told she had a blow to the head that he may have delivered after she fell in.

@jamalsmith5073 6 ай бұрын

@@ShootMeMovieReviews I believe they established in court that it was the boat that gave the blow. They did emphasize that he had his mind so much on the other female, it was neglectful manslaughter but because of this initial plot to kill mixed in , bumped him up to first degree. Plus he evades the authorities as he knows probably what happened.

@cliffgaither 5 ай бұрын

@@ShootMeMovieReviews:: That doesn't seem likely. He fell very far from her and it was dark. He would have had to swim to find her in the water, in the dark and then clobber her on the head.. Your assessment of George was pretty brutal. He seems so lost, out of his depth, but your inner analysis of George was scary as I never even imagined he was sociopathic ; but, you gave plenty to think about when viewing the film again. Much-appreciated❕️

@aucoin2013 3 жыл бұрын

I enjoy your class commentary. If the rich girl got pregnant, it seems highly likely her wealthy family would have either secured an abortion, or sent her on a nine-month vacation, and found an adoptive family. So even when George missteps, it's clear that his lowly status perpetuates itself. Also, I suspect that his deeply religious upbringing wouldn't have encouraged much sex education. While there was no pill back then, I imagine there were condoms?

@ShootMeMovieReviews 3 жыл бұрын

I think more to the point, George was very aggressive going after Alice, knowing full well that not only was there a risk of pregnancy, but that he was forbidden expressly to date the female employees. It's like he did it out of a perverse desire to restrict his own potential - or as an act of defiance in the face of an 'authority' he didn't respect. I find it a bizarre characterization, personally. The only thing that's really clear to me about George is that he presses his advantages wherever he sees an opening, which makes me suspect him of being almost completely without conscience. But that's only my impression, and I get that a lot of fans find him so charming that they want to side with his character. And ultimately, no one in the story is likely entirely innocent any more than George is entirely guilty.

@aucoin2013 3 жыл бұрын

@@ShootMeMovieReviews Yes, you hit the nail on the head: the lead's charisma and handsomeness does manipulate the viewer. You're right that he was quite aggressive in pursuing Alice. I wonder if we're viewing that behaviour through a "me too " lens, and maybe back in the 50's, his sexual pushiness was more tolerated? I don't know. If so, it's good the times have changed! Wanted to mention that your editing was so clever, and called attention to some details I missed. I never thought about how the rich girl could afford to be thoughtless and carefree; I recall her ripping up a speeding ticket, after carelessly speeding and hiding from the cops. Only the most priveleged of us could afford to be so cavalier in front of the law. Also, liked your commentary about the evolution/devolution of George's wardrobe.

@ShootMeMovieReviews 3 жыл бұрын

There were a number of clips I considered using, and the ticket was one of them. By the way, thanks to you for suggesting this one. Revisiting some of these classic films, I'm really struck by the excellence in the direction, and how efficient the story-telling is. Contrasted with movies of today, when those elements are so rarely done at this level, it makes me nostalgic for the Golden Era.

@aucoin2013 3 жыл бұрын

@@ShootMeMovieReviews I agree, it seems like people had the patience to actually watch films. So many people call old movies, slowly paced. Well, I call that telling a story. It's funny, there's so much in this film to dissect and explore. I first saw it as a quite young person, and I missed a lot of the darker, more disturbing elements. I guess I was caught up in the glamour of the leads. Now, I can really see unsettling moments, such as the dog barking, repeatedly, that kind of thing.

@Rockstarlgnd Жыл бұрын

I disagree with some of the assessment in this vid.. if u never grew up in a staunch religious household you won’t understand the unexpected uncontrollable feeling that comes when you are away from the prying eyes of the people that lorded over you. Happened to me when I left my state and parents and went to college far away.. I got into soo much trouble, not because I was a predator but because I was always told I couldn’t do these things because they were wrong. I liked your overall commentary however I believe you missed out on George’s upbringing being the reason he aggressively pursued Alice. It was because he didn’t have his mother (checks and balances) there to stop him and it was the freedom of doing all the wrong things he was told he couldn’t do. My grandfather introduced me to this film back in 87 and I own it on DVD, this is the movie that made me fall in love with Ms Taylor.. plus that Fran’s Waxman score is killer.. Monty is top 3 greatest method actors of all time.. Woody Allen’s take is also pretty decent with Scarlett Johansen and Jude Law

@michaelmcdonagh5104 11 ай бұрын

Stevens made it intentionally ambiguous so that the audience can weigh the rights and/or wrongs of its characters. It's never black or white in his films because he understands and respects human behavior. He was supremely intelligent but always respected his audience. .