Elizabeth Taylor in "BUtterfield 8" (1960)

Elizabeth Taylor in "BUtterfield 8" (image from JSR Pages)

REVIEW:
At the end of the 1950's decade, Elizabeth Taylor was the greatest movie star in the world. Her movies were mega-hits at the box office, and she was nominated every year at the Oscars for her performances in "Raintree County" (1957), "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (1958) and "Suddenly, Last Summer" (1959). Taylor's personal life was as dramatic as her films. After a happy marriage with her third husband (Mike Todd), that was suddenly ended by his tragic death in a plane crash, Taylor begins a love affair with Todd's best friend, singer Eddie Fisher. Thus, in a few months, Taylor, the woman for whom the whole America suffered, moves on to the image of a home wrecker, blamed by the entire public opinion. In 1959, after many years at M.G.M., Taylor was coming to the end of her 18 years long contract. According to the agreement made ​​by Mike Todd, Taylor thought she was free to accept the most stunning offer, made by 20th Century Fox: one million dollars plus 10% of the gross to star in Cleopatra. Hoping to take advantage of Taylor's reputation and her box-office clout, M.G.M. announces that if she accepts to play in "BUtterfield 8", then she is free. Taylor hated this but she was forced to accept. By doing so, she demanded ​​drastic conditions: the shooting was to be done in New York, Helen Rose was to make her costumes, Sydney Guilaroff was to do her hair and Eddie Fisher, her new husband, was to be given a role in the movie.

The bestseller "BUtterfield 8" (1935), by John O'Hara, has been inspired by a story that talked about the discovery of the lifeless body of a young woman on a beach in New York. The circumstances of her death have never been elucidated, but O'Hara - based on this tragedy - imagines the life of that woman in New York, in the early 1930's, during the Prohibition and the great economic depression. The novel's action covers a period of almost a week, it is alert and kaleidoscopic. The film rights were purchased by M.G.M. many years ago. "BUtterfield 8" was considered a shocking book, being banned in Australia until 1963. When released, the film was a mega-hit. Its title (uppercase "B" and "U") comes from how to form a U.S. phone number in those years - now a modern "288" should be used instead of "BUtterfield 8", which was a telephone network in Manhattan's Upper East region. When one formed "BU", the figures "2" and "8" were actually formed, equal to "288" - the first three digits from a total of seven.

FILM TITLE
"BUTTERFIELD 8" (U.S.A./M.G.M./1960)

PROMO
"She is the most desirable woman in town, and the most available. All you have to do is call ... BUtterfield 8" (MGM).

OVERVIEW
"I was the biggest slut of all time!" says Elizabeth Taylor in the role that brought her the Oscar. Taylor plays Gloria, a top model with questionable morals who discovers the last chance of living a true love when she meets Weston Ligget, with whom she spends an entire week. He had an unhappy marriage (he married for money, and he hates himself for that). Gloria and Weston are in love, but before they find happiness, they must confront what is wrong with themselves. "BUtterfield 8" is a high-class melodrama, colorful, with elegant clothes, spontaneous responses, disturbing emotions, but above all, the film is crossed by a heartbreaking sadness. No other actress could have played simultaneously anger and sincerity the way Elizabeth Taylor does. The film seems encysted in the 30's - 50's morality, but the interpretation of Gloria by Elizabeth Taylor is a mixture of pain, anger and vulnerability, a heroine who goes beyond her times and morals. It's easy while watching this film to realize why Elizabeth Taylor was considered the most beautiful and the sexyest woman in the world. Her presence on the screen is great. "BUtterfield 8" is a really interesting film, although it is very depressing and quite predictable.

CAST
Elizabeth Taylor (Gloria Wandrous), Laurence Harvey (Weston Liggett), Eddie Fisher (Steve Carpenter), Dina Merrill (Emily Liggett), Mildred Dunnock (Mrs. Wandrous), Betty Field (Mrs. Fanny Thurber).
DIRECTED BY
Daniel Mann.
SCREENPLAY
John Michael Hayes, Charles Schnee, after John O'Hara's novel.
PRODUCED BY
Pandro S. Berman.
PRODUCTION DATES
between January and March 1960.
RELEASED
November 1960.
COLOR
Metrocolor.
DURATION
109 minutes.
GENRE
drama.

Watch THE OSCAR CEREMONY WITH ELIZABETH TAYLOR here.

NOMINATED at
- Oscar for Best Picture (Charles Harten, Joseph Ruttenberg);
- Golden Globe for Best Actress (Elizabeth Taylor).
AWARDS
- Oscar for Best Actress (Elizabeth Taylor).

TRIVIA
- Elizabeth Taylor hated this movie, and even after learning that it is a great success, she declared: "I still tell you that this movie is a mess!"
- critics have agreed with Elizabeth Taylor and demolished the film, but praised the actress for her interpretation;
- Many scenes of Eddie Fisher were cut, considered to be mediocre and unconvincing;
- when Elizabeth Taylor saw the film - a preview at the M.G.M. - she threw her shoes at the screen and wrote with lipstick on the producer's door: "No Sale", like her character in the film;
- for this movie, Elizabeth Taylor received 125,000 dollars;
- Elizabeth Taylor's life-long friend, Shirley McLaine, was also nominated for an Oscar that year, and when she learned she had lost, she said: "I lost to a tracheotomy", referring to the wave of sympathy following Elizabeth Taylor's near death illness in London;
- Pandro S. Berman was the producer who produced the film that made ​​Elizabeth Taylor a star back in 1944: "National Velvet".