George Stevens

 George Stevens



Swing Time (1936)

The More the Merrier (1943)

A Place in the Sun (1951)




RANKED:

3. The More the Merrier (1943)


Centering on a romance between a landlady and her tenant during the Washington D.C. housing crisis in the middle of the second World War, 1943's "The More the Merrier" signaled an end to an era for both director George Stevens and lead actress Jean Arthur. The two made the film to complete their contract in full to Columbia Pictures. After making this comedy, Stevens traveled to North Africa with the U.S. Army's combat photography unit and after his return, would never make another comedy again. As for Jean Arthur, who is the one who got this whole production off the ground, her contract with Columbia was concluded and she would go on to only make 4 more films until her retirement in 1953 after teaming up one last time with George Stevens to make his iconic "Shane."



2. Swing Time (1936)


As George Stevens' career in Hollywood was just starting to begin, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers' collaboration was coming to a close. 1936's "Swing Time" was the sixth of the ten films starring the iconic dancing duo, however it was the last great commercial standout. In fact, it is this and "Top Hat" from the year prior that cements Astaire and Rogers icon status. There are scenes, images, and dances from "Swing Time" that live on in the halls of film history to this day. Perhaps the zenith of their collaboration, "Swing Time" spares no expense and is considered the best dancing the duo ever put onto the film screen.




1. A Place in the Sun (1951)


With 1951's "A Place in the Sun," George Stevens was able to get his second wind as a Hollywood studio director, which ignited perhaps his greatest artistic period. "A Place in the Sun," adapted from a 1925 novel about a real-life murder, stars Montgomery Clift as a man desperate to attain the usher echelons of wealth and comfort through his attempts to romance Elizabeth Taylor's Angela, a young socialite. In order to secure his arrangement, he must first murder his pregnant fiancé. The film is a dark and uncomfortable reflection of the American Dream and the moral collapse of attaining a higher economic class. It was also reflective of the 'noir' trend in Hollywood at the time, as it paralleled the themes regarding the corruption of one's soul to maintain themselves in a modern American landscape.

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