In'tertainment

A tribute to Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011) - movie goddess, business woman, AIDS activist.

Elizabeth Taylor was nine-years-old when the first casting director said she had nothing. her eyes were too old; she didn't have the face of a child star. Starring in more than 70 films, Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor was an English-born American actress. She became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age, and one of the world's most famous film stars. Taylor was recognized for her acting ability, her glamorous, and sometimes scandalous, lifestyle, her stunning beauty and distinctive violet eyes. She was an AIDS activist and founded The American Foundation for AIDS Research. It's said that amongst all the glamour and gossip, she possessed a very down-to-earth character and was a good and loyal friend to all she worked with.

From her filmography, I have chosen these films to add to your DVD collection:

CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF (1958)
Paul Newman, Elizabeth Taylor
Directed by Richard Brooks, Burl Ives, Jack Carsen

The fifth Tennessee Williams play to reach the screen about a wealthy Mississippi plantation owner and his family. Favored son, Brick (Newman), an alcoholic ex-football player, drinks his days away and resists the affections of his wife, Maggie (Taylor). His reunion with his father, Big Daddy (Ives), who is dying of cancer, jogs a host of memories and revelations for both father and son.

Taylor is unforgettable as Brick's wife. Beautiful and desirable, she tries unsuccessfully to coax her husband away from the bottle, while alternately enticing and taunting him about his obsession with his deceased best friend and the guilt about their relationship. Filmed entirely on a sound stage, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is well casted and performed. I chose this film to highlight Taylor's beauty, as well as her performance. (4 stars)

GIANT (1956)
Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean
Directed by George Stevens
While visiting Maryland to buy horses, Texan rancher Bick Benedict (Hudson) brings home more than a horse. He meets and falls in love with the horse owner's daughter, Leslie, played by Taylor. They are married immediately and return to his ranch. The story of their family and its rivalry with cowboy, and later oil tycoon, Jett Rink, unfolds across two generations.
This epic film has multiple subplots: it portrays how the oil industry transformed Texas ranchers into the super rich, the prejudice toward Mexicans and how Taylor's character strives for equal respect as a woman. I chose this Taylor film to highlight her transformation of character over several decades. (5 stars)

CLEOPATRA (1963)
Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton,
Rex Harrison, Roddy McDowall
Directed by Joseph Mankiewicz
This film is infamous for being over budget, having numerous set changes and being laden with scandal. It nearly bankrupted the studio partly due to the film's elaborate, complicated sets, and costumes and props that had to be constructed twice. Although it didn't initially get critical acclaim, it won four Oscars.

I chose this film because it was the first time a Hollywood actress was awarded $1 million dollars for a role. I loved the costume design and how Taylor wore each outfit. And, of course, there is the magnetic chemistry between Marc Antony and Cleopatra (Burton and Taylor) .what can I say, it's historic! (4 stars)

Donne Paine, film enthusiast, once lived around the corner from the Orson Wells Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts where her strong interest in films, especially independent ones, began. She is a member of the Hilton Head Second Sunday Film Society, and frequent visitor to the Sundance Film Festival. To support her habit of frequent movie going, Donne is an executive recruiter and staff development consultant. If you would be interested in forming a local film commission let her know at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Join me and other film enthusiasts every Thursday evening for "Movie Chat" at Park Plaza Theater's Par le Vous cafe.