A Place in the Sun

A Place in the Sun is a 1951 American tragedy film directed and produced by George Stevens from a screenplay by Harry Brown and Michael Wilson, based on the 1925 novel An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser and its 1926 stage adaptation by Patrick Kearney. It stars Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Shelley Winters and Keefe Brasselle. The story was inspired by the murder of Grace Brown by Chester Gillette in 1906, which resulted in Gillette's conviction and execution by electric chair in 1908. The novel had previously been adapted for the screen under its original title in 1931. Released by Paramount Pictures on April 5, 1951, the film was a critical and commercial success, winning six Academy Awards (including Best Director and Best Screenplay) and the first-ever Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama. In 1991, A Place in the Sun was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".