Well I found a remedy for my malady and that was watching A Place in the Sun with Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor, I had such high expectations for this movie, I've had it for a while but as it required maximum concentration I waited until I had a time when I wouldn't be disturbed. I wasn't disappointed, I knew I'd love it from the first when the credits rolled. The cinematography is great, Montgomery Clift is not only a great actor, the camera loved him, his face was wasted on Broadway, it deserves to be seen on the big screen and in big close ups. I felt sorry for Shelley Winters Alice (a great performance), she plays a plain woman who is also endowed with quite a whiny personality, not without reason as George/Monty moves out of her orbit and into that of his rich family and friends. What surprised me were the love scenes between them at the beginning, George managed to fall in love/lust with her, he pushed the relationship forward only to be blinded by Elizabeth Taylor's Angela.
Did George really love Angela, or was he blinded by something else? I believed she loved him but she had no depth or experience and was wring for his character. Maybe I look to deeply into the motivation of the characters. Did he murder her? The fall from the boat was an accident but could he have saved her? or did he willingly decide to let her die or subconciously fail to save her. Why was the baby never mentioned at the trial? One thing I sympathised with his character, even though he entertains thought of murder I didn't dislike his character.
So many great scenes and acting in this movie, so much is told by the thoughts and feelings that cross George's face, a great performance, now why didn't he get the Oscar? .
A Place in the Sun
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charliechaplinfan
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A Place in the Sun
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
Re: A Place in the Sun
CCFan, if I might just digress for one brief moment. I'm looking at a little of "JANE EYRE" (1940). Peggy Ann Garner (who looks like today's Anna Paquin) has her first scene in facing Agnes Moorhead AND Henry Daniell two of the deadliest character actors in Hollywood. Elizabeth Taylor has a brief scene in the first five minutes. She's eight years old, with black curly hair, those famous eyes...and she's absolutely stunning!
"A PLACE IN THE SUN." A textbook motion picture by George Stevens. But Monty was surely set-up...and so was the audience, as accomplice's to Shelley's murder.
C'mon, yu know its true. Weren't you rooting for Monty to get La Liz? Didn't it feel like Shelley was in the way of true love. Didn't we all just tip that canoe over a little? I love when directors make me an accomplice as well. Remember Hitchcock in "Psycho" when Norman was dumping the car in the lake...and then it stopped sinking?
See?
"Did George really love Angela, or was he blinded by something else? I believed she loved him but she had no depth or experience and was wring for his character."
Perhaps George did want entree into Angela's world of the rich and famous, but I believe he was besotted by love of Angela; or was he besotted by her love for him. Me, I'm a romantic. I think he settled for Alice and then Cupid shot a thunderbolt at George. The baby not being mentioned at the trial (interesting). I think since the Code (and the book) took care of Alice being pregnant out-of-wedlock by punishing her with death, no need to talk of the baby.
Yes, I agree...so many great performances; Monty and Elizabeth go without saying. But there's also George's mom played by Anne Revere, sad quiet dignity...dreamy close-ups,
s-l-o-o-w dissolves, lush music underscoring big emotions. Monty and Elizabeth's swooning beauty, and that close-up of their kiss is the scene of all scenes....
This is one of my favorite movies.
"A PLACE IN THE SUN." A textbook motion picture by George Stevens. But Monty was surely set-up...and so was the audience, as accomplice's to Shelley's murder.
C'mon, yu know its true. Weren't you rooting for Monty to get La Liz? Didn't it feel like Shelley was in the way of true love. Didn't we all just tip that canoe over a little? I love when directors make me an accomplice as well. Remember Hitchcock in "Psycho" when Norman was dumping the car in the lake...and then it stopped sinking?
See?
"Did George really love Angela, or was he blinded by something else? I believed she loved him but she had no depth or experience and was wring for his character."
Perhaps George did want entree into Angela's world of the rich and famous, but I believe he was besotted by love of Angela; or was he besotted by her love for him. Me, I'm a romantic. I think he settled for Alice and then Cupid shot a thunderbolt at George. The baby not being mentioned at the trial (interesting). I think since the Code (and the book) took care of Alice being pregnant out-of-wedlock by punishing her with death, no need to talk of the baby.
Yes, I agree...so many great performances; Monty and Elizabeth go without saying. But there's also George's mom played by Anne Revere, sad quiet dignity...dreamy close-ups,
s-l-o-o-w dissolves, lush music underscoring big emotions. Monty and Elizabeth's swooning beauty, and that close-up of their kiss is the scene of all scenes....
This is one of my favorite movies.
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charliechaplinfan
- Posts: 9040
- Joined: January 15th, 2008, 9:49 am
Re: A Place in the Sun
I can see why it would be one of your favorite movies and I loved the close up shot of their kiss too. I want to watch it again, I'll have to wait until hubby is out, he doesn't understand wanting to revisit a film so soon.
George develops during the course of the picture, he plainly doesn't expect anything of his relatives and is happy to find a girl of his own kind to associate with until he gets the entry to his uncle's world. Even then, he would have been happy-ish with Alice, though the girl didn't do herself any favours by being so whiny.
He was blinded and flattered by her love for him, not only is she stunning, she is rich, stylish, refined and plainly head over heels for him. I should just accept it for the love story that it is, of course they should have been happy ever after. I was just so into George/Monty that I don't think Liz/Angela was good enough for him.
Is this the first film where Liz played a lover?
George develops during the course of the picture, he plainly doesn't expect anything of his relatives and is happy to find a girl of his own kind to associate with until he gets the entry to his uncle's world. Even then, he would have been happy-ish with Alice, though the girl didn't do herself any favours by being so whiny.
He was blinded and flattered by her love for him, not only is she stunning, she is rich, stylish, refined and plainly head over heels for him. I should just accept it for the love story that it is, of course they should have been happy ever after. I was just so into George/Monty that I don't think Liz/Angela was good enough for him.
Is this the first film where Liz played a lover?
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
Re: A Place in the Sun
I'm always drawn to this movie whenever it airs. Coming from a poor family in Brooklyn I can relate to Clift's ambition to break away and live the good life. I felt for him when he first met his hoity-toity relatives all dressed to the nines and ready to go out and dine. He wasn't at the mansion but five minutes when he was dismissed.
The production values and performances are top notch in the movie.
One regret I have is that Anne Revere's role as Clift's mother was cut to ribbons due to the HUAC at the time. She had said it was one of her best performances and sadly we will never see it.
The production values and performances are top notch in the movie.
One regret I have is that Anne Revere's role as Clift's mother was cut to ribbons due to the HUAC at the time. She had said it was one of her best performances and sadly we will never see it.
Joseph Goodheart
Re: A Place in the Sun
Hi there folks...Mongo...
If you want a wonderful sampling of another fine Anne Revere performance turn to TCM on Friday,
October 30th, 2009 and see:
5:30 PM Devil Commands, The (1941)
A scientist kills innocent victims in his efforts to communicate with his late wife. Cast: Boris Karloff, Richard Fiske, Anne Revere. Dir: Edward Dmytryk. BW-64 mins, TV-14.
You think I'm joking? You'd be wrong.
If you want a wonderful sampling of another fine Anne Revere performance turn to TCM on Friday,
October 30th, 2009 and see:
5:30 PM Devil Commands, The (1941)
A scientist kills innocent victims in his efforts to communicate with his late wife. Cast: Boris Karloff, Richard Fiske, Anne Revere. Dir: Edward Dmytryk. BW-64 mins, TV-14.
You think I'm joking? You'd be wrong.
Re: A Place in the Sun
.
Just a quick look at imdB showed me Ms. Revere was a direct descendant of Paul Revere, but the sad part is she claimed the 5th and ended up blacklisted by HUAC. The ironic thing is that she was married to a Jewish man, and she played the wonderfully, understanding mother of Gregory Peck in Gentleman's Agreement previously in 1947.
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Just a quick look at imdB showed me Ms. Revere was a direct descendant of Paul Revere, but the sad part is she claimed the 5th and ended up blacklisted by HUAC. The ironic thing is that she was married to a Jewish man, and she played the wonderfully, understanding mother of Gregory Peck in Gentleman's Agreement previously in 1947.
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Anne
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klondike
Re: A Place in the Sun
Whenever I watch A Place in the Sun, I feel as though I'm constantly reacting to a sort of subaudible music that bypasses the normal channels and swells my heart.
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charliechaplinfan
- Posts: 9040
- Joined: January 15th, 2008, 9:49 am
Re: A Place in the Sun
I'm reading about Montgomery Clift at the moment, discovering all kinds of things I never knew about him. He disliked the film especially Shelley Winters playing of Alice wanting her to be wistful and sweet and played instead by Betsy Blair.
The first draft of An American Tragedy had George much more of a money seeker and did have a bigger part for Ann Revere. George's relationship with his mother could have been explored further but I thought it was cut to up the tempo of the movie. My reading of the film was that George was that he was dazzled by the wealthy members of his family and wanted their respect, was in love with Angela and although he thought about killing Alice, didn't actually do it. The character in An American Tragedy was completely different and Montgomery Clift himself wanted to play it more like the character from the novel.
The first draft of An American Tragedy had George much more of a money seeker and did have a bigger part for Ann Revere. George's relationship with his mother could have been explored further but I thought it was cut to up the tempo of the movie. My reading of the film was that George was that he was dazzled by the wealthy members of his family and wanted their respect, was in love with Angela and although he thought about killing Alice, didn't actually do it. The character in An American Tragedy was completely different and Montgomery Clift himself wanted to play it more like the character from the novel.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin