George Eastman (Montgomery Clift) is a poor young man who gets a job working for his wealthy uncle, packing boxes of women’s clothing. While working and earning a solid income, he begins to chase one of the young female co-workers who catches his eye.  This co-worker also expresses an interest towards George and the two begin to see one another without anyone knowing, including George’s uncle. The relationship gets quite serious and soon George discovers his girlfriend is pregnant. 

You see, George is not deeply invested in this relationship.  Also, George is interested in another woman who he would rather pursue. George now feels he is in love with two different women and he is keeping the dark secret all to himself. What will he do? Can he do the right thing to make matters right? Or perhaps he will make matters worse?

The film’s setup is quite positive. We are greeted with the leading character of George and learn about his current situation in life. We also learn that George is seeking a relationship of some sorts.  He is quite good at his job and has desires to one day get promoted and earn more money. But it is quite interesting- the more we learn about George, the more we find there are some elements which are quite disheartening about him.  For instance, he is a dishonest man and lies to his girlfriend when it comes to him falling for another woman. As a plot, it is quite dramatic, and I personally had no idea upon my first watch what the outcome would be for George and the two women whom he claims to love.

Performances by all leading actors are wonderful, but I cannot help thinking that Elizabeth Taylor unintentionally steals the screen whenever she appears.  I found her presence on screen just terrific as she is full of energy and emotion. 

Thanks to Imprint Films, this film has come to life once again with a pleasant transfer to blu-ray. The film remains as it originally was presented with a black and white picture. To my surprise, the blu-ray edition includes a 5.1 surround sound track along with the standard LPCM 2.0 Stereo track. English subtitles are also included which I always find welcoming when watching an older film. The film’s visuals, considering the age, were extremely good and the same can be said about the film’s audio.

Overall, A Place in the Sun is quite a heart breaking and dramatic film. It is a dark story about a man who falls head over heels in love only to fall for another and become unsure of what to do. It is certainly a classic film in its style, risks, and dramatic themes.  At no one point was this film predictable and the film’s ending only shocked me (in a good way). Thanks to Imprint Films I am pleased to see yet another cinematic classic on blu-ray.

7.1/10

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Review Written by Peter Walkden