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A Place in the Sun (1951): Film vs Book
Film · 1951 · Directed by George Stevens · Starring Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Shelley Winters
About the film
A poor young man rises in a rich family's factory and is torn between two women.
How close is it to the book?
Loosely based on the bookThe film condenses the long novel and gives it a Hollywood gloss, with more focus on the romance.
Read or watch first?
The novel is a large and serious study of American ambition.
What the book gives you
An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
A gripping, sweeping story that keeps you turning pages and thinking about society.
Who will like it: Readers who like big, absorbing classics about ambition and choice.