"Every time you leave me for a minute, it's like goodbye. I like to believe it means you can't live without me."
***This is a VERY spoilery write-up. Don't read if you don't want to know how this movie ends!***
Plot: When George Eastman gets a job at his rich uncle's factory, he falls in love with a coworker, Alice Tripp. A forbidden romance ensues until George begins to ascend the societal ranks and meets the sophisticated Angela Vickers. George falls for Angela, only to then find out that Alice is pregnant. After a failed trip to an abortion clinic, a lovesick George plans to murder Alice by drowning her in a lake. He changes his mind at the last minute, but then Alice accidentally tips the boat over and George does not save her (she can't swim). Despite trying to cover his tracks, the cops link George to her death, and he goes on trial. Though there is no proof, he is convicted of Alice's murder, and the film fades to black as he walks to the electric chair.
My assumption is that this film made it onto the list due to its controversial subject matter. It was filmed in 1949 (released in 1951). Between a premarital affair and pregnancy, a trip to an abortion clinic, juggling two girls at once, and contemplated murder of a pregnant woman, this film was scandalous for its time to say the least. Throughout the whole thing, Lindsay Ray and I kept turning to each other and saying, "I can't believe this is happening in a movie this old!" That being said, I actually think it's a solid film that deserves to be on the list, controversial themes or not.
The performances by Montogomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, and Shelley Winters are all notable. The story was well-paced, and I never found my mind wandering. Director George Stevens and writers Michael Wilson and Harry Brown (all three won the Oscars for it, by the way) drew me in from the first scene, and I couldn't look away through the end. To be as old as it is, A Place in the Sun really had me on the edge of my seat, and I found myself anxiously awaiting the verdict on George's case.
Speaking of the verdict, one of the most ingenious twists in the film is that the viewer finds themselves rooting for George's innocence (at least I did). Despite the fact that he planned to kill her, my love of true justice hates that he gets convicted. He didn't actually kill her, so he should go free, right? But he thought about it, and he didn't save her when she fell in, so then he was guilty, right? That's the beauty of the film's finale. Even now, I'm still not sure how I feel. I love a movie that can do that. I'd definitely recommend this one to anybody who likes a good love triangle thriller.
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
6 down, 117 to go....
