A Place in the Sun (1951 film)

A Place in the Sun
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGeorge Stevens
Screenplay byMichael Wilson
Harry Brown
Based onAn American Tragedy
1925 novel
by Theodore Dreiser
An American Tragedy
1926 play
by Patrick Kearney
Produced byGeorge Stevens
StarringMontgomery Clift
Elizabeth Taylor
Shelley Winters
CinematographyWilliam C. Mellor
Edited byWilliam Hornbeck
Music byFranz Waxman
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release dates
  • April 5, 1951 (1951-04-05) (Cannes Film Festival)
  • August 14, 1951 (1951-08-14) (Los Angeles)
Running time
122 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2.3 million
Box office$7 million

A Place in the Sun is a 1951 American drama film based on the 1925 novel An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser and the 1926 play, also titled An American Tragedy. It tells the story of a working-class young man who is entangled with two women: one who works in his wealthy uncle's factory, and the other a beautiful socialite. Another adaptation of the novel had been filmed once before, as An American Tragedy, in 1931. All these works were inspired by the real-life murder of Grace Brown by Chester Gillette in 1906, which resulted in Gillette's conviction and execution by electric chair in 1908.[1]

A Place in the Sun was directed by George Stevens from a screenplay by Harry Brown and Michael Wilson, and stars Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, and Shelley Winters; its supporting actors included Anne Revere and Raymond Burr.[2][3] Burr's performance impressed TV producer Gail Patrick, and would later lead to her casting him as Perry Mason.

The film was a critical and commercial success, winning six Academy Awards and the first-ever Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama. The film is sometimes considered one of the greatest American films ever made.[4] In 1991, A Place in the Sun was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

  1. ^ York, Michelle (July 11, 2006). "Century After Murder, American Tragedy Draws Crowd". The New York Times. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  2. ^ "A Place in the Sun". Variety (Film review; poor reproduction quality). Vol. 183, no. 6. New York, New York. July 18, 1951. p. 6. Retrieved February 12, 2021 – via mediahistory collection at Internet Archive.
  3. ^ ""A Place in the Sun" with Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor and Shelley Winters". Harrison's Reports (Film review). Vol. XXXIII, no. 29. New York, New York. July 21, 1951. p. 115. Retrieved February 12, 2021 – via Media History Digital Library at Internet Archive.
  4. ^ "The 100 greatest American films". www.bbc.com. Retrieved February 26, 2023.

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