To Stay in the Sun

The Great Imaginary Film Blogathon begins today over at Silver Scenes.  A "wishful thinking" event, this blogathon gives us the chance to do whatever we can imagine with a film. We might make a movie that's never been made, shake-up the cast of a perennial favorite, even use a different director or locale.  In my case, it's about imagining a non-existent scene in my all-time favorite movie. With nearly two dozen participants, this is sure to be a fantastic blogathon. Go HERE to visit all the other entries.

As stated, my addition to this terrific blogathon is a scene I've imagined from my all-time favorite movie, 1951's A Place in the Sun. Starring October's star of the month (and one of my most beloved guys), Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, and Shelley Winters, this George Stevens film won six Academy Awards (including Best Director for Mr. Stevens) and was nominated for three more.  I absolutely love love love this movie, and no matter how many times I watch it, I always wish it had a different ending than it does.  While I'm not one for spoilers and almost never give any, because of the scene on which my story is based, I will be letting out a bit of the story.  So, if you haven't seen A Place in the Sun, be warned---there are spoilers in this post.

You can read my full synopsis and review of this fantastic movie HERE.  However, for purposes of my imaginary scene, all you need to know is that I see Montgomery Clift's character in a sympathetic light.  While some (make that most) people I know consider George Eastman as no good and rotten to the core, I don't see him that way at all.  Since we're not privy to what is actually going on in George's mind in that very pivotal scene on the lake, I've imagined what he might be thinking.  Of course, my scene---had it actually been a part of the film---would give me the different ending I so desire. When George took the stand in his murder trial and was grilled by none other than beloved Perry Mason in a prosecuting role, these events would have been recalled, proving that Alice's death really was an accident.  While many of y'all may not agree, that is okay, as it seems I often march to the beat of my own drum. So, alone on the planet or not, this is how I see George Eastman.

After a long, hot summer, the early September evening air felt chilly----downright cold even---to George Eastman as he paddled the shabby canoe on the far side of Loon Lake.  A shiver racked George's body, but it wasn’t just the setting sun’s lack of warmth which brought about the shiver.  No, it was much more than that…it was the venomous, coldblooded thoughts coursing through his mind.

Like the proverbial “life flashing before the eyes” final thoughts of a dying man, the pictures flashing through George Eastman’s mind were coming fast and furiously…instantaneously almost…one right on top of the other.  Barely three minutes had passed, but an entire summer’s worth of living had been re-lived in his mind, bringing him to his reason for being on a remote lake just as the sun was setting.

Angela…her exquisite beauty had captivated him from the moment he saw her.  Never had he seen such a stunning creature; truly, she took his breath away.  Yet she hadn’t even noticed him…hadn’t given him the time of day---at first.  God must have been looking with favor upon him, though, because the next time he saw her---at the party at his uncle’s house---she had not only noticed him, but she had talked with him…and danced with him for hours.  By the time the evening ended, George knew there could never be any other woman for him---he was completely, totally, and forever in love with Miss Angela Vickers.

They saw each other again, and to the utter shock of a poor boy such as he, Angela---in all her beauty and wealth---loved him in return.  What he had ever done to be given such a gift, he didn’t know.  All he could do was thank his lucky stars that he was given it.  With Angela by his side and in his arms, life for George promised to be pure bliss.

George’s delirious joy---and the vivid image of Angela’s stunning beauty---was immediately eclipsed by the picture of another face…one which he did not love and, in fact, had come to hate.  He had never loved Alice…not for a minute.  She had been nothing more than a kindhearted person with whom he could spend time.  God knew how lonely he was…how starved for friendship…for someone to talk to.  Moving to California to take a job at his uncle’s factory, George had expected to be welcomed into the family fold…to be a part of their social circle.  Alas, nothing could have been further from what he got.  While his uncle gave him a job at the factory---feeling obligated to, no doubt---friendship with the family was not part of the deal.  They looked at him as the poor relation, and George knew it.  He wasn’t good enough to run in their social circle, so they ignored him….tended to look right through him as if he wasn’t there.  But George was there, and he was desperately lonely.  How he longed for a friend…and Alice offered that friendship.

He had never loved Alice…he had liked her, yes, but he had never loved her, and he had never lied and told her that he did.  So how it was that they ended up in bed together, he was never sure.  Just loneliness, he guessed….loneliness which engulfed both of them.  Things had just gone too far that evening, and he ended up spending the night at her place.  Oh, how he wished he could turn the clock back and relive that night…how he wish he would have walked away from Alice’s apartment before indulging in---as his mother would have said---the sins of the flesh.  It was that one mistake…that one “should never have done it” moment…which was now coming back to haunt him…threatening to rob him of Angela and the happiness he knew with only her.

A new image moved into George’s mind….that of a baby.  He couldn’t believe his one night of passion with Alice had resulted in pregnancy.  And now she was insisting that he marry her…something he did not want to do…something he could not do.   To marry Alice would be to lose Angela forever, and he would just as soon die as be without her.  Angela was his reason for living, his sun, moon, and stars all rolled into one.  To be separated from her would be more torturous than anything he had ever known.  If only there was no baby…if there was no Alice.

No Alice…well, there was a way to remove Alice from his life, and the image of that moved into George’s mind.  He knew Alice couldn’t swim, and it was for that reason that he had come up with the plan to take her out in a canoe.  It was easy...all he had to do was capsize the canoe and Alice would drown.  He would swim to safety…back to Angela.  Alice would die on the far side of Loon Lake, and no one would ever be the wiser…no one would know that it wasn’t an accident…no one would know that George, in fact, had murdered her.

With the word “murder,” the image of his devoutly religious mother came to George’s mind.  She and his late father had devoted their entire lives to the call of God, and they had instilled a knowledge of God’s Word into their son.  Commandment Number 6, “Thou shalt not murder” filled his mind.  It was a sin to kill someone, George knew that.  But, his mind argued, no one would ever know it was murder; they would think it was an accident, and George would be in the clear.   On the heels of that thought came Jeremiah 16:17,  “I am watching them closely, and I see every sin.  They cannot hope to hide from me.”    Someone would know what he had done.  While he might be able to hide the truth from everyone else, and while he might even be able to deceive himself, he could not pull the wool over God’s eyes.  Even now, God could see the evil that was in his heart.  God would always know that he had broken the commandment against killing, and no matter where he went, no matter what he did, he would never be able to hide from God.

Brokenhearted because he knew Angela would be lost to him forever, George realized that he couldn’t go through with his plan…he could not murder Alice.  It was one thing to hide his actions from everyone else, but it was entirely another thing to hide from God.  To stay in the sun---that beautiful, warm, radiant, breathtaking place he knew with Angela---would require him to try to hide from God for the rest of his days, and he knew that such an endeavor was futile.  He would have to leave the sun in order to be able to live with himself.

The image of Angela’s beautiful, beloved face and their time spent together moved once more into George’s mind.  “Goodbye, my darling.  I will always love you” were his final thoughts before Alice stood up in the far side of the dilapidated canoe, causing it to tip precariously to one side and then capsize completely, sending them both into the dark waters of the mountain lake.  By the time George resurfaced, Alice was nowhere to be seen…

If you have never seen A Place in the Sun, I highly, highly, highly recommend it.  It is a 5-star, "love it," "can't get enough of it" film for me.  The story is meaty, intense, and thought-provoking; the acting is fantastic---both Montgomery Clift and Shelley Winters received Lead Performer Academy Award nominations for their work here (Monty is spectacular in all of his 17 films, but for me, this is the performance of his career---he is absolutely brilliant); Clift and Elizabeth Taylor are both breathtakingly beautiful; and the chemistry between them is fantastic.  Everything about this film just works perfectly.  And if you throw in my scene, well, you will get the happy ending you long for!

A Place in the Sun (5 stars)

For the next two days, the "Gone Too Soon" blogathon will be taking place here in blogland.   A way of remembering the many stars who left this world much too soon, this great event is being hosted by Comet over Hollywood.  Since the star I am remembering during the blogathon is the fabulous Montgomery Clift, I decided now was the perfect time to re-work one of my very earliest posts (which I did before I had even one blog reader).  So, in honor of Mr. Clift...

A Place in the Sun, from 1951, is a powerful romantic drama starring Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, and Shelley Winters.  Winner of six Academy Awards and nominated for three more, this fabulous film is high on my list of all-time favorites.  In fact, it's very near the top, coming in anywhere from  #1 to #3 (depending on my mood).  I absolutely love this movie and could watch it every couple of months.  It's one of those films which I always hope has a different ending than the one it has.

Montgomery Clift is George Eastman, a rather down on his luck young man from the wrong side of the tracks. He arrives in town and at the home of his wealthy uncle, who owns a factory.  Though the uncle had told George to look him up if he ever came to town, it is quite obvious that the older man never really expected George to do that.  Feeling obligated, though, he gives his nephew a job at his factory---with the strict instruction to not fraternize with the employees.  Not really accepted by his wealthy relatives, though, George is lonely and soon finds himself spending time with factory worker Alice Tripp (Shelley Winters).

In short time, George and Alice have begun having a physical relationship, which results in pregnancy.  Although Alice hopes to have an abortion, her doctor will not perform one.  (Although the actual word "abortion" is not used, you know that's what she is after.)  George is extremely distraught at the news of Alice's pregnancy...not only because he doesn't love her...but because he has fallen in love with wealthy socialite, Angela Vickers (played by an amazingly beautiful, 19 year-old Elizabeth Taylor).

After all the loneliness and rejection he's known, George has finally found love and acceptance. But his happiness is quelled by Alice's insistence that he marry her...something he does not want to do.  So he begins to ponder a way of getting Alice out of the picture.

Does anything happen to Alice?  Does George marry her? What happens to the baby? And what about Angela and George's love for each other?  These are the questions which play out in the balance of this incredible film.

As I said, this is not a feel-good movie at all . In fact, I find it haunting...not in a scary sense, but in the fact  that every time I see it, it stays in my mind for days.  It is also a great "discussion piece"  kind of film.  I've discussed it with other classic movie fans (including my 20-ish daughter), and it is amazing how two people can look at the same thing and see things completely differently from one another.  While some people look at George as a "scum bag" who used Alice and then wanted to drop her when something better came along, I don't see him that way at all.  Instead, I see him in a sympathetic light.  (And you won't hurt my feelings if you disagree with me.)  Also, despite the snobbiness of her upper class friends and family, Angela possessed a real inner beauty, as she exhibited completely unconditional love for George.  Since real and true love isn't based upon the perfect behavior of the recipient and is offered even when the recipient screws up, Angela's love for George was real and very beautiful.

The acting in this film is brilliant!   Montgomery Clift's performance was beyond fantastic---the way the emotions played across his face and in his eyes as he struggled with his conscience was incredibly vivid.  Truly, I think this was the best performance of a career in which all the performances were spectacular.  He received a Best Actor Academy Award nomination for his work here, and I, for one, think he deserved the win that year.  (Sorry to you Humphrey Bogart/African Queen fans.)  Shelley Winters, who received a Best Actress Academy Award nomination, was amazing in her role too.  Elizabeth Taylor was perfect as well.  Not one of them could have been improved upon.

Just as an aside, I think Montgomery Clift is one of the most beautiful men I have ever seen---at least prior to his May, 1956, car accident. (After his accident, which left his face partly paralyzed, his looks were dramatically different.) He is fabulously good-looking in this movie. And while I'm not an Elizabeth Taylor fan, I think she is stunningly beautiful here. It's easy to see how she became the major star that she did.  The two of them, who were very dear friends off camera, have incredible chemistry with one another in this film.  Their passion is real and believable...and extremely sensual.

This incredibly moving drama is out on DVD, so it should be quite easy to track down.  If you like mature, meaty, thought-provoking dramas, definitely make it a point to see A Place in the Sun.

Happy viewing!!