--- title: "A Place in the Sun: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/a-place-in-the-sun/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/a-place-in-the-sun" critics_score: 82 critics_reviews: 8 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # A Place in the Sun (1951): what the critics said Critics' score 82 from 8 reviews: 7 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics admire it, and the praise lands in the same place almost every time: the pairing of Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor. Review after review names their chemistry as the film’s chief asset, the thing that makes its story of desire and ambition believable. George Stevens’ direction and his eye for detail draw steady credit, and the notices from 1951 and those written for its 2013 revival agree with each other to an unusual degree. The Times also singles out Edith Head’s costumes. The spread is narrow: seven positive reviews, one mixed and none negative. The dissent comes from Time Out, which finds the psychodrama overblown, the social satire dubious, the characters broadly drawn and Shelley Winters’s performance grotesque, while still conceding the leads. Empire allows that the film has failings but says the director’s conviction and the beauty of the stars carry it past them. Variety, by contrast, counts Winters among its strengths. ## Sight and Sound — Geoff Andrew Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 30 January 2013. The critic finds the film strong, adult and honest in its handling of desire, class and tragedy, and far more effective than most Hollywood romances. He singles out the ravishing physical beauty and chemistry of Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor as the element that most powerfully conveys irresistible passion. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/hollywoods-beautiful-people-place-sun) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 31 January 2013. This is a gripping noir masterpiece that merges suspense with romantic tragedy. The critic singles out the thrilling chemistry between Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor, along with George Stevens' masterly direction and eye for detail. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/jan/31/a-place-in-the-sun-review) ## The New York Times — Bosley Crowther Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 29 August 1951. The critic calls the film a work of beauty, tenderness, power, and insight, crediting Stevens' expert direction and the cast for creating a distinguished work that ranks among Hollywood's finest in years. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1951/08/29/archives/the-screen-dreiser-novel-makes-moving-film-a-place-in-the-sun-based.html) ## The Times — Kate Muir Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 February 2013. The film is a retro swoon with devilishly handsome Clift opposite angelically beautiful Taylor in a story of ambition and love at first sight. The critic singles out the glorious costumes by Edith Head. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/theatre-dance/article/a-place-in-the-sun-l0rxjn05nbz) ## Variety — Herb Golden Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 18 July 1951. The critic praises the updated adaptation of Dreiser's novel as distinguished in every way from its predecessor, with meticulous care in all aspects of production and strong performances from Clift, Winters, and especially Taylor. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1951/film/reviews/a-place-in-the-sun-1200417074/) ## Empire — David Parkinson Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2011. The film is an imposing studio achievement whose failings are largely subsumed by the director's conviction and the impossible beauty of its leads. It is worthwhile if only for the chemistry between Clift and Taylor. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/place-sun-review/) ## The New Yorker — John McCarten Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 1 September 1951. The review of 'A Place in the Sun' (paired with another film) highlights George Stevens' effective direction in delivering a strong cinematic version of the story. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1951/09/08/1951-09-08-101-tny-cards-000037156) ## Time Out — Tom Huddleston Rating 3/5. 29 January 2013. The review calls the film a manipulative psychodrama that is ludicrously overblown and dubious in its social satire, though it still won six Oscars. It praises the unmistakable chemistry between Clift and Taylor as one of cinema’s great portraits of untamed desire, while criticising the broadly drawn characters and Winters’s grotesque portrayal. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/a-place-in-the-sun) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/a-place-in-the-sun.md