A Place in the Sun
US (1951): Drama
A landmark, blockbuster melodrama about class striving and the loss of a man's moral bearings. This remake of the 1930 von Sternberg film based on the Theodore Dreiser novel An American Tragedy updates the setting to a '50s resort town in upstate New York. A beautiful, rich girl (Elizabeth Taylor) gives a handsome young laborer (Montgomery Clift) entry to her world of privilege through a powerful, overwhelming passion. Just as he sees himself leaving behind a lifetime of wage slavery, his plain, needy former girlfriend (Shelley Winters) reveals that she's pregnant. Wracked with guilt and longing, he takes her for a last ride on the lake. When she accidentally drowns, he is tried for murder. A national sensation, with performances that etched Taylor -- who was 17 when she was cast in the film -- and Clift, who began a lifelong friendship, in the public mind; even the party dress Taylor wears became a best-seller. Director George Stevens' cast also includes Anne Revere, Keefe Brasselle, Fred Clark, Raymond Burr and Frieda Inescort. Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture, Drama. (amctv.com)
9 nominations, 6 Awards
· Best Directing 1951: George Stevens
· Writing (Best Screenplay) 1951: Michael Wilson, Harry Brown
· Best Cinematography (Black and White) 1951: William C. Mellor
· Best Costume Design (Black and White) 1951: Edith Head
· Best Film Editing 1951: William Hornbeck
· Music Scoring Awards (Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) 1951: Franz Waxman
· Best Picture 1951: George Stevens - Producer (Paramount)
· Actor 1951: Montgomery Clift
· Actress 1951: Shelley Winters