FLASH FRIDAY: Toasting Ms. Taylor

Following the news this week of the passing of Elizabeth Taylor, we are taking a look back at some of her most memorable screen appearances over the years, beginning with LASSIE COME HOME and NATIONAL VELVET, and ranging from Vincente Minnelli's loveable comedies FATHER OF THE BRIDE and its equal sequel FATHER'S LITTLE DIVIDEND, to her unforgettable dramatic performance in A PLACE IN THE SUN, to the series of legendary pictures produced alongside her (sometime) husband and (always) love of her life Richard Burton, in roles ranging from Antony and Cleopatra in, of course, CLEOPATRA, to BOOM! Based on Tennessee Williams' THE MILK TRAIN DOESN'T STOP HERE ANYMORE - with a screenplay by Williams himself (his sole screen adaptation) - and one of the greatest films in cinematic history, based on one of the most important plays of the latter half of the twentieth century: Edward Albee's WHO'S AFRAID OF Virginia Woolf? That's not even mentioning her iconic performance in Williams' CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF and SUDDENLY, LAST SUMMER - plus, BUTTERFIELD 8 (her first Oscar win), A PLACE IN THE SUN and GIANT. Who knows, there may even be time for a little FLINSTONES action, as well! Here we have a surefire spangled salute to one of the last great stars Broadway and Hollywood has known.

National Violet Treasure

Who's afraid of Elizabeth Taylor? The answer: no one. She was rightfully much loved in her long and accomplished career, though she certainly did not produce as much memorable work in the latter half of her career as in her first (not counting her incredible activism and call to awareness of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s and beyond) - but, then again, who has? Who could? Will anyone, ever? From her blazing debut in LASSIE COME HOME and NATIONAL VELVET and her rise as a child star with roles in LIFE WITH FATHER and LITTLE WOMEN to her performances alongside Spencer Tracy and Joan Bennett in both FATHER OF THE BRIDE and its just-as-good sequel FATHER'S LITTLE DIVIDEND, both directed by cinematic master Vincente Minnelli, she grew by leaps and bounds as an actress, with always fire, passion, heart and soul coming through in her performances. Plus, her performances (and all the rest) in the FATHER films are pure comedy gold - as are the films themselves - showing she is one of the few actresses to be equally adept in comedy and drama, even from a very young age.

So, let's take a look back at some trailers for these early films before moving ahead to the next era of her career encompassing GIANT and the first of the Tennessee Williams-based films, beginning with her debut in LASSIE COME HOME:

Here is NATIONAL VELVET:

Next, a look at those warm and cuddly FATHER films from the father of perhaps the greatest movie star still living in the wake of Taylor's passing, Ms. Liza Minnelli, and legendary director Vincente Minnelli.

FATHER OF THE BRIDE trailer:

And FATHER'S LITTLE DIVIDEND trailer:

As good as these films are, it is with A PLACE IN THE SUN that Elizabeth Taylor found her, well, place in the scheme of things, and firmly established herself as a formidable dramatic actress. This is a film classic like few others - with a ravishing star beyond any compare. You are almost as wowed just watching this on mute as you would be hearing it. Perhaps Norma Desmond was right, some stars can act with their faces and facial features alone with no need for text. Heck, La Liz could act with just a few lavender-hued looks and battings of a lash!

Taylor really hit her stride in the 1950s with a string of highly challenging and surprising roles which she positively knocked out of the park more often than not. Even in her lesser performances, there is always something interesting going on behind those violently lavender eyes. An excellent example of Taylor's range is evident in the epic GIANT, in which she ages over forty years over the course of the near-four-hour film - and you believe every imagined wrinkle of it (if not so much the unfortunate grey wigs). One of the most enjoyably entertaining and dramatically surprising of the 1950s mega-events, GIANT is a film that holds up very well (few 50s films do) and the performances of Taylor, Rock Hudson and James Dean are remembered fondly to this day for very good reason. See why here, with the appropriately over-the-top original theatrical trailer as only this studio could do. They don't make 'em like this anymore - the films, the stars, or even the trailers, for that matter!

Then comes the Tennessee Williams triptych (with more on BOOM! in a little bit), cited by many as her ultimate celluloid legacy - and rightfully so. It is with larger-than-life, dare I say theatrical, characters, that Taylor soared to the loftiest heights. And it is with CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF that Taylor proved she was not only the most beautiful woman in the world, but also a very fine actress who could hold her own onscreen opposite the very best in the business. Co-starring Paul Newman and Burl Ives, the Williams text may have had to be gutted to pass the censors, but the power of the language and the sexual crisis at the center of the drama still shone through in Taylor and Newman's inimitably alluring and riveting portrayals of Brick and Maggie the Cat.

Teaming up with Katharine Hepburn and Montgomery Clift, SUDDENLY, LAST SUMMER was not quite the unforgettable masterpiece that CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF was, but Taylor showed that she had real range and took on a role about as far from Maggie the Cat - at least in the Tennessee Williams canon - that an actress could get. What a punch this film packs in those closing moments!

It would not be until BUTTERFIELD 8 that Taylor would be christened with a well-deserved Academy Award (and another near the end of that decade). Check it out here.

Brad and Angelina? Bogey and Bacall? Not even close. There is only one true super couple in film history and it will forever be Taylor & Burton. No one was hotter. No one was more talented. No one was in higher demand. The powder keg pairing of Burton and Taylor in CLEOPATRA, both onscreen and off-screen (though both were married at the time - but not for long) ushered in a new age of celebrity, grandiosity and wealth that the world had never seen before - even in movie stars. Taylor & Burton defined what it was to be film royalty. It was a magical time, and while many of the films they co-starred in during this period were less than successful (artistically or otherwise), their palpable chemistry onscreen was a true treat for audiences to behold and relish - and still is to this very day. You can palpably feel the heat coming off the screen - even in something like X, Y AND ZEE. Check out the infamous first kiss in CLEOPATRA to see what all the hubbub is all about, then and now.

Here is the CLEOPATRA trailer:

It is particularly illuminating to note that both Taylor/Burton's greatest triumph and most risible failure both came within a few years of each other, both with properties based on controversial (some would say problematic, at least to adapt to film) stage plays. These two stage-inspired pairings mark perhaps both the heady highs and absolute nadir of Liz and Dick's time as the top Hollywood dynasty - BOOM! and WHO'S AFRAID OF Virginia Woolf? In a word (or two): BOOM! is incomprehensible and WOOLF? is a masterpiece. Unadulterated camp and pure, solid gold. For even a casual Taylor fan, both films are essential, required viewing, if only to see the two ends of the spectruM. Taylor would never be better than she was in Edward Albee's astonishing work of genius, directed by Mike Nichols (making his directorial debut). This is simply one of the best trailers ever - and one of the best American films, period. Additionally, Taylor's utterance of the last line - giving the title its meaning - is one of the great line readings you will ever witness. What a trailer, though!

And then there's BOOM! There are simply just no words…

While the 1970s and 1980s failed to match the 1950s and 1960s insofar as what roles were available or offered to her, Taylor remained quite busy, appearing in a number of lesser efforts during this period, such as THE MIRROR CRACK'D, ASH WEDNESDAY, NIGHT WATCH and - a favorite joke among Broadway babies - the putrid screen version of Stephen Sondheim's A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC. While the film (uncharacteristically directed by Harold Prince) is pretty terrible, Taylor's performance has some moments of luster and loveliness - see for yourself what you think of her take on "Send In The Clowns" opposite original NIGHT MUSIC stage star Len Cariou. Note: she was recovering from a severe motorcycle accident at the time of filming, thus her fluctuating weight and, at times, pained expression.

Now, in her last big screen feature film appearance - bringing it all full-circle to the light comedies that we began this retrospective with today - check out a hilarious and delightful cameo by Ms. Taylor in THE FLINTSTONES film, co-starring John Goodman and Rosie O'Donnell. "Take a hike, shorty!"

Let's hope the conga line never ends for Ms. Taylor, wherever she is. After all, if life was the prom, she was the queen.

Rest in peace, violet angel.

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