A Place in the Sun is a 1951 movie based on Theodore Dreiser’s novel, An American Tragedy. The film was directed by George Stevens and involves issues of sexual desires and class division. The story is based on a real incident where Chester Gillette killed his pregnant lover, Grace Brown, in 1906. Gillette was then arrested and sentenced to death where he was executed in 1908. Grace was drowned by her boyfriend in a lake. In this movie, a poor young man, George Eastman, meets a poor girl, Alice Tripp, at a factory belonging to his uncle, Charles Eastman, and the two fall in love.
However, while the girl is serious about the love, the young man starts falling for someone else. After climbing the corporate ladder, the young man eyes another woman of his current social status. Sensing that she has been dumped, Alice threatens to expose George. George tricks Alice to go to the lake where the latter drowns. Initially, George is portrayed as an outcast by the Eastmans. Still, Charles has a soft spot for him. As a result, he hires him in his factory and George shows an exemplary performance.
Success can sometimes lead people to do undesirable activities. When George starts achieving success in his uncle’s factory, he changes his social life and begins cheating on his pregnant girlfriend. George perceives Alice as of lower social status. Indeed, he willingly hurts her and eventually makes her to drown. The film teaches the audience that when success gets into one’s head, it can be disastrous.
