George Stevens, United States, 1949, Splendor Films
Comment
George, played my Montgomery Clift, works as a factory worker for a distant uncle, who he’s not yet met. This scene sees George meeting both his rich uncle and his uncle’s daughter Angela, played by Elizabeth Taylor.
The following scene was filmed in a studio during the age of classic American cinema and is lit by luxurious, extremely well crafted lighting. It takes place in a large, opulent billiard room where George has come to escape as he feels uneasy at this level of society, due to being unaware of the intricate codes of behaviour that such interactions require. The distance to be noticed here is twofold, firstly it is a social distance, where George is at the bottom of the ladder and Angela at the top, secondly it is a spatial distance, where the presence of the massive billiard table provides a very concrete and real object which keeps the two characters apart as they fall in love with each other.
Then, at the precise moment when they are, at last, in the same shot together with their faces coming close together primed to come into even closer contact, a third person, Angela’s father, enters the space and interrupts them. This brings about the return of social norms, keeping the two young people apart as he sends George to go and phone his Mother at the other end of the room.
Comment
George, played my Montgomery Clift, works as a factory worker for a distant uncle, who he’s not yet met.
This scene sees George meeting both his rich uncle and his uncle’s daughter Angela, played by Elizabeth Taylor.
The following scene was filmed in a studio during the age of classic American cinema and is lit by luxurious, extremely well crafted lighting. It takes place in a large, opulent billiard room where George has come to escape as he feels uneasy at this level of society, due to being unaware of the intricate codes of behaviour that such interactions require. The distance to be noticed here is twofold, firstly it is a social distance, where George is at the bottom of the ladder and Angela at the top, secondly it is a spatial distance, where the presence of the massive billiard table provides a very concrete and real object which keeps the two characters apart as they fall in love with each other.
Then, at the precise moment when they are, at last, in the same shot together with their faces coming close together primed to come into even closer contact, a third person, Angela’s father, enters the space and interrupts them. This brings about the return of social norms, keeping the two young people apart as he sends George to go and phone his Mother at the other end of the room.