Our next end of summer movie actually takes place mostly over Labor Day weekend, so it's nearly the perfect choice. Starring Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor, it's a romantic drama with a very dark undercurrent, as Clift is a working class stiff who so badly wants to work his way into upper class society and be worthy of Liz Taylor that he treats his pregnant girlfriend (Shelley Winters) shabbily and even considers murdering his way out of the situation. Twists occur over the eventful Labor Day in which the film is set, and the haunting scene on the river between Clift and Winters is unforgettable in its impact. This is one of the classic films that made Taylor an icon as she crossed over from child star to adult sex symbol, but the movie belongs to Montgomery Clift as the desperate, tormented outsider who finds himself shut out of the American Dream.
Original 1951 Trailer:
