Elizabeth Taylor in "Conspirator" (1949)

Elizabeth Taylor in "Conspirator" (image from JSR Pages)

REVIEW:
The first adult role of Elizabeth Taylor! The beauty and the sex appeal of the young 17 years-old Elizabeth Taylor determined restrictions while shooting her in order to prevent that the film might be rejected due to the Hays Code. Thus, her cleavage was covered with an orange ribbon, so that the camera will never shoot below it, and this way, the producers won't risk that Liz Taylor's more than generous bust be publicly displayed...

A few years after the end of the Second World War, Hollywood moguls decided to make films in Europe and sent their stars and directors (Tyrone Power, Spencer Tracy, Ray Milland, Orson Welles, George Cukor etc) to work at their studios in England, France or Italy. In full Cold War era, the two famous Taylors, Robert and Elizabeth, were sent to London in late 1948 to shoot an espionage film. Moreover, this film fitted perfectly to the "Red Fear" trend, the phenomenon that drove America into the nightmare of McCarthyism until the mid '50s.

FILM TITLE
"CONSPIRATOR" (U.S.A./M.G.M./1949)

PROMO
"The man she loves is a spy, forced to kill her!" (M.G.M.).

OVERVIEW
London, 1949. A beautiful young American girl, Melinda Greyton (Elizabeth Taylor) falls for the English Major Michael Curragh (Robert Taylor). The problem is that the Major is a Soviet spy, and the naive young wife accidentally discovers his secret. She asks him to stop being a spy, but he tries to lure her on the Soviet side. Meanwhile, Moscow forwards him the order to kill his wife...Will Melinda be safe? How will the Major reconcile his love with his political beliefs?

CAST
Robert Taylor (Major Michael Curragh), Elizabeth Taylor (Melinda Greyton Curragh), Robert Flemyng (Captain Hugh Ladholme), Harold Warrender (Colonel Hammerbrook), Marjorie Fielding (Aunt Jessica).
DIRECTED BY
Victor Saville.
SCREENPLAY
Sally Benson.
PRODUCED BY
Arthur Hornblow Jr.
DURATION
87 minutes.
GENRE
drama, espionage.
PRODUCTION DATES
between November 1948 and February 1949.
RELEASED
December 1949.

TRIVIA
- after Robert Taylor kissed her during shooting (according to the script), Elizabeth Taylor couldn't cease to marvel herself: "I've been kissed by Robert Taylor himself!";
- in turn, Robert Taylor (who was 37 years at the time) admitted that he was put to a severe test by the charm and sensuality of his younger partner;
- the shooting was interrupted every 3 hours, according to the law, in order to allow Elizabeth Taylor to attend her school hours on the set!

Watch a FILM CLIP here.