The Dreiser novel becomes a disappointing film. Clift, Taylor, and Winters give interesting if uneven performances. Winters is made out to be so overly dowdy that it is hard to believe Clift would fall for her. It is a travesty that this is one of few films which received Best Director Oscar but not Best Picture, as Stevens' direction is overwrought and disjointed. Vincente Minnelli was robbed. Burr, who would play cripple Ironside and lawyer Perry Mason on TV, here plays a crippled lawyer and provides unintentional comic relief with his over-the-top performance. Everything in this film is overdone, including a ridiculous proposition about what constitutes guilt.
Review of A Place in the Sun
