George Stevens’ 1951 film eschews his usual screwball comedy genre for a melodrama focusing on an extremely toxic love triangle.
Montgomery Clift is George Eastman, a social climber who dates Alice Tripp (Shelley Winters) a dowdy co-worker in a local factory. But when he discovers the beautiful Angela Vickers (Elizabeth Taylor) a society lady, he falls for her, and falls hard.
Its a wonderful film, a heady character study in how insidious narcissistic behaviour is incentivised if the narcissist in question is charming and attractive. Clift is superb in this role, all cheekbones and sleazy corruption, who tires of one lady as easily as he could change his underwear. So he sets about a plan to rid himself of Alice, and by extension, improve his station. Stevens’ direction is immaculate, sucking out the poison from beneath the myth of the American Dream.
The camera follows Clift’s every twitch and glower, and although he and Taylor have obvious chemistry and are gorgeous together, the ending is anything but pretty. It’s like a sour fairytale.
Hit The North 