A Place in the Sun - George Stevens (1951)
It's always great to discover some classic gems. This may be a familiar movie to a lot of people but it went under my radar until now. Apparently it was a huge hit at the time, and I can see why. Very engaging, very emotional, real and relatable. I have to say that I didn't really pay attention so much to Montgomery Clift as an actor so I had no idea he was one of the original method actors. His performance is on another level. Elisabeth Taylor is pretty good too. And of course, Shelley Winters is devastating in her role. What is also surprising is how good the direction is. Stevens' name isn't really familiar to me but he has directed some pretty familiar films, like
Swing time,
Shane and
Giant. Lovely surprise.
All That Heaven Allows - Douglas Sirk (1955)
Some similarities with APITS (closeted main actors, dealing with social taboos) but very different experiences. The most obvious being the talent level of the actors which is nowhere near that of APITS. Everything is prim and proper, cookie-cutter, unrealistic, fake. The acting is theatrical, the direction standard and dull. The only thing that saves it is the topic it tackles (a widow falling in love with a slightly younger man outside of her class, gasp!) but even in that it's too didactic and obvious (although I guess it makes sense for the time it was made).