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This is what I would call a film noir melodrama. Elizabeth Taylor, playing debutante socialite Angela Vickers, is a stunning beauty. She is not a standard femme fatale, but the effect is the same.
The film tracks George Eastman (Montgomery Clift), a disconnected nephew of a wealthy industrialist raised on religion and coming from a lower-class existence, and his ambitious attempt to fit into high society, and the tragic consequences of his ambition. Montgomery Clift, provides, as always, an astonishing performance. You simply can't take your eyes off him on screen, even when Elizabeth Taylor arrives, which is not a small thing.
Eastman goes to work for his uncle, starting at the bottom in an office pool in a factory. There Eastman meets and quickly falls for exceedingly plain (by design, Winters was severely scarred by her being set up as the opposite of Taylor) co-worker Alice Tripp (Shelly Winters). They have a passionate romance and, on date on a particularly rainy night, Eastman is forced to stay overnight, and Tripp ends up pregnant.
This is a significant problem. Eastman and Tripp have kept their relationship secret. There is a strict rule against office romances, and the scandal would be especially egregious given Eastman's name and ambition. Eastman fears it would tank his career.
The dilemma is made worse by Eastman's lust-at-first-sighting of Vickers, who is everything that Tripp is not - and represents exactly what Eastman is striving to achieve. She is high class, glamorous, gorgeous, charming, and in an upper-class bubble. She falls in love with George, who must keep his relationship with Alice a secret. George is smart enough to realize he must do the same with Alice resulting in George leading a double life.
Tripp, played marvelously by Shelly Winters, is a complex, fully-realized character. Realizing the breadth of her problem, she seeks an abortion, though the film, observing the Hays Code, labors not to ever say the word, and much is done by implication. Her doctor's refusal to help leads to the film's great tragedy.
Needless to say, the ending is inevitable from the first time Clift sets eyes on Taylor. Without ruining things, I'll say only that things don't end well for Alice.
Unlike most noirs, the moral failing the protagonist has is not criminal in nature. It is unfettered ambition and envy. Self-hatred and class shame. This makes the tragedy even more poignant.
The film has often been criticized for its melodrama. There is no doubt that the performances are well - BIG, somewhat reminiscent of the style of say Written on the Wind. I don't have any issue with it. This is essentially a noir fairy tale. In my view, the performances suit the script and direction perfectly.
This is a great film, and one that is often, unfairly overlooked. I recommend it without reservation.
The film tracks George Eastman (Montgomery Clift), a disconnected nephew of a wealthy industrialist raised on religion and coming from a lower-class existence, and his ambitious attempt to fit into high society, and the tragic consequences of his ambition. Montgomery Clift, provides, as always, an astonishing performance. You simply can't take your eyes off him on screen, even when Elizabeth Taylor arrives, which is not a small thing.
Eastman goes to work for his uncle, starting at the bottom in an office pool in a factory. There Eastman meets and quickly falls for exceedingly plain (by design, Winters was severely scarred by her being set up as the opposite of Taylor) co-worker Alice Tripp (Shelly Winters). They have a passionate romance and, on date on a particularly rainy night, Eastman is forced to stay overnight, and Tripp ends up pregnant.
This is a significant problem. Eastman and Tripp have kept their relationship secret. There is a strict rule against office romances, and the scandal would be especially egregious given Eastman's name and ambition. Eastman fears it would tank his career.
The dilemma is made worse by Eastman's lust-at-first-sighting of Vickers, who is everything that Tripp is not - and represents exactly what Eastman is striving to achieve. She is high class, glamorous, gorgeous, charming, and in an upper-class bubble. She falls in love with George, who must keep his relationship with Alice a secret. George is smart enough to realize he must do the same with Alice resulting in George leading a double life.
Tripp, played marvelously by Shelly Winters, is a complex, fully-realized character. Realizing the breadth of her problem, she seeks an abortion, though the film, observing the Hays Code, labors not to ever say the word, and much is done by implication. Her doctor's refusal to help leads to the film's great tragedy.
Needless to say, the ending is inevitable from the first time Clift sets eyes on Taylor. Without ruining things, I'll say only that things don't end well for Alice.
Unlike most noirs, the moral failing the protagonist has is not criminal in nature. It is unfettered ambition and envy. Self-hatred and class shame. This makes the tragedy even more poignant.
The film has often been criticized for its melodrama. There is no doubt that the performances are well - BIG, somewhat reminiscent of the style of say Written on the Wind. I don't have any issue with it. This is essentially a noir fairy tale. In my view, the performances suit the script and direction perfectly.
This is a great film, and one that is often, unfairly overlooked. I recommend it without reservation.