Elizabeth Taylor
Page 5
“One of its more amusing songs, ‘Strictly on the Corny Side,’ just about epitomizes A Date with Judy. . . . Hollywood has developed an extensive and rigid set of conventions for its unceasing stream of comedies of adolescence, and Judy adheres carefully to all of them. But within the limits of this familiar pattern, the picture is pleasantly entertaining. The young people in the cast, Elizabeth Taylor, Jane Powell, and Scotty Beckett, are attractive to the eye and ear.”
—The New York Times (Thomas F. Brady)
Shots from this photo session at Malibu were used to publicize A Date with Judy. Roddy McDowall, seen in some of the images, was not in the film.
notes
THE TECHNICOLOR MUSICAL A DATE WITH JUDY OSTENSIBLY served as a vehicle to highlight the talents of singing star Jane Powell, the protégé of MGM producer Joe Pasternak. But the movie also turned out to be a showcase for a number of other players in the cast. Most notably there was the usually acerbic Wallace Beery playing against type as Jane’s father, Carmen Miranda as the outrageous Latin star who gives him rumba lessons, and Elizabeth Taylor as the glamorous teen who just cannot help being the center of male attention. These personalities helped the film musical cash in at the box office to the tune of $3.7 million. A Date with Judy, which originated as a popular radio series, also saw life as a short-lived television show of the early 1950s.
The film went into production on December 15, 1947, and was completed on January 27, 1948. During that time Elizabeth and Jane Powell became fast friends. Powell admired her for the rest of her life. In a 1981 interview, Powell said, “[Elizabeth’s] not afraid to say exactly what she feels. She’s not afraid to show it all. I think the public respects Elizabeth for her honesty. You can’t fool them for too long.” The movie featured a large ensemble cast—an MGM specialty during the studio era, when long-term contracts ensured that the services of a reliable stable of stars and character actors were always on call. Given the youth-oriented subject matter of A Date with Judy, with the exception of Beery it was not a company of longtime MGM stalwarts but a group of fresh young faces romping through the proceedings.
Powell, Elizabeth, costar Robert Stack, and friends Roddy McDowall, Marshall Thompson, Peter Lawford, and Margaret O’Brien, were all young MGM contract stars at the time who, to some degree more than others, were raised by the studio. It formed a familial bond between them all that Elizabeth cherished. Working in movies at such a young age did not allow her to have a normal childhood by any stretch of the imagination. The young actors were educated on set between takes and at MGM’s Little Red School House, as much as time permitted given their hectic schedules. No one took the lesson plans too seriously, and no matter what subjects they were learning, the actors were expected to retain little beyond their lines.
For Elizabeth, Powell, McDowall, and others, a life of being groomed for stardom was all they knew. Elizabeth said, “MGM taught me how to be a star . . . and I have never really known how to be anything else.” On a still darker note, she shared in 1966 that “I was bred and raised like a fine thoroughbred horse. . . . Stars, to their manipulators, are not human beings but investments.” The feelings of resentment and of being manipulated by the studio would grow in years to come, but in 1948 Elizabeth just did what was expected of her, and forever after appreciated and maintained the friendships formed around the studio and in films such as A Date with Judy.
“I think the public respects Elizabeth for her honesty. You can’t fool them for long.”
— JANE POWELL
Some of the ladies of MGM, with studio head Louis B. Mayer: Jeanette MacDonald, Margaret O’Brien, Elizabeth, and Greer Garson
Elizabeth and Jane Powell serve up burgers at a benefit held at a soda fountain.
Two photos from a rare photo session at Elizabeth’s home
Inspecting herself in her studio dressing room. Already she was interested in jewelry.
With her good friend Robert Stack
Julia Misbehaves
METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER
CAST
Greer Garson Julia Packett
Walter Pidgeon William Sylvester Packett
Peter Lawford Ritchie Lorgan
Elizabeth Taylor Susan Packett
Cesar Romero Fred Ghenoccio
Lucile Watson Mrs. Packett
Nigel Bruce Col. Bruce Willowbrook
Mary Boland Mrs. Gheneccio
Reginald Owen Benny Hawkins
Henry Stephenson Lord Pennystone
CREDITS
Everett Riskin (producer); Jack Conway (director); Monckton Hoffe, Gina Kaus (screenplay), based on novel The Nutmeg Tree by Margery Sharp; Joseph Ruttenberg (photography); Adolph Deutsch (music); Stanley Donen (dance director); Cedric Gibbons, Daniel B. Cathcart (art directors); Edwin B. Willis, Jack D. Moore (set decorations); Douglas Shearer (sound); John Dunning (editor); Irene (costumes); Sydney Guilaroff (hairstylist); Jack Dawn (makeup)
RELEASE DATE: August 8, 1948
RUN TIME: 99 minutes, black and white
SUMMARY: After splitting from her husband Walter, showgirl Julia Packett decided to leave their daughter, Susan, in the care of his affluent, respectable family. While working in a music hall twenty years later, she receives an invitation to Susan’s wedding in Paris and is determined to attend. Once in France Julia reestablishes her relationship with Susan and affects a change in partners for her when Julia sees Susan may be in love with another man—this is but one among many ways in which the stodgy William Packett’s staid existence is turned upside down by Julia in the days leading up to Susan’s wedding. Still, he must admit he finds her zaniness endlessly endearing, and may like her to stay forever.
With Peter Lawford, a crush at the time. They became fast friends.
REVIEWS
“Julia Misbehaves is a mighty undignified lady—and a might funny one. A riot of screwball slapstick that never takes itself seriously for a single moment, film is geared for grosses as hearty as its laughs. Greer Garson unbends in this one and the ballyhoo exploiting that unbending shapes it for big returns.”
—Variety (“Brog”)
“It is hard to conceive of [Greer Garson] attempting anything more impulsive or crude than the slapstick, bedroom-farce romance, which is what this explosion is. A little bit of frivolity—yes, that would be all right. And a little less emphasis on the sentiment would be quite welcome, too. But when the dignified lady starts scrambling about on the heads of a troupe of acrobatic tumblers as Lou Costello might do; when she goes down gurgling into a lake in a leaky rowboat and then ends up wrapped in a tablecloth, she’s out of her element. . . . Maybe Miss Garson’s wild adorers will think it the giddiest sort of lark, but it looks to this anxious observer like a fall on her beautiful face.”
—The New York Times (Bosley Crowther)
As Susan Packett
Greer Garson, Lawford, and Elizabeth. Julia is back in town for her daughter’s wedding but wonders if Susan might do better heading down the aisle with Ritchie (Lawford).
notes
SOME SEVENTY YEARS AFTER THE PEAK OF HER FAME GREER Garson is often overlooked or even forgotten, but in the 1940s she was a critically acclaimed, Oscar-winning actress as well as one of the top box-office stars in all of Hollywood. In 1945 she was the leading lady in Quigley’s annual list of top-ten stars who attracted the movie-going public, and films in which she starred opposite Walter Pidgeon, such as Mrs. Miniver, were among the most popular. By 1948 though, her name had fallen off the top-ten list and she had experienced back-to-back flops. MGM decided to give typically dramatic leads Garson and Pidgeon a change of pace with the comedy Julia Misbehaves.
A hairstyle test
Elizabeth was growing up fast before the eyes of movie audiences.
The movie began life in the form of a book by Margery Sharp called The Nutmeg Tree, which went on to play on Broadway as Lady in Waiting during the spring of 1940 starring Gladys George. In the film, fans used to the dignified, heroic image of Garson exempl
ified by Mrs. Miniver now encountered her playing an irrepressible dance-hall performer cum high-flying aerialist, trying to get back in the good graces of her estranged husband and their child. Elizabeth portrayed Garson’s daughter, a girl blossoming into womanhood and encountering love for the first time. The love interest in this case was Peter Lawford. Elizabeth formed a real-life crush on the actor, but he was a sophisticated twenty-four at the time and immune to charms of his sixteen-year-old costar. He enjoyed their time working together though, and they became lifelong friends.
Though not quite ripe enough for Lawford, Elizabeth’s childhood youth was fading at a rapid rate, as noted by reviewers of Julia Misbehaves. By leaps and bounds she was maturing into a breathtaking woman. Lawford gave Elizabeth her second onscreen kiss. Contrasting the baby-faced Jimmy Lydon, who gave Elizabeth her first cinematic smooch, playing opposite the urbane Lawford made her appear truly all grown up. Lawford and Elizabeth made an attractive pair and added spice to the proceedings of Julia Misbehaves, but it remained a mild offering in spite of being blessed with a top-notch cast and receiving ample press as a change of pace for Garson. The film did nothing to either harm or enhance Greer Garson’s career, but it proved to be most significant to the star on a personal level. On the set of Julia Misbehaves Peter Lawford introduced her to his friend, E. E. “Buddy” Fogelson, who became her third husband and to whom she would remain married until his death in 1987.
By leaps and bounds Elizabeth was maturing into a breathtaking woman.
Inspecting a bust of herself offscreen during Julia Misbehaves
Playing backstage with star Walter Pidgeon
A portrait of the happy young couple. Elizabeth and Lawford lent their youthful charm to the film.
Little Women
METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER
CAST
June Allyson Jo
Peter Lawford Laurie
Margaret O’Brien Beth
Elizabeth Taylor Amy
Janet Leigh Meg
Rosanno Brazzi Professor Bhaer
Mary Astor Marmee
Lucile Watson Aunt March
C. Aubrey Smith Mr. Laurence
Elizabeth Patterson Hannah
CREDITS
Mervyn LeRoy (producer/director); Sarah Y. Mason, Andrew Solt, Victor Heerman (screenplay), based on novel by Louisa May Alcott; Robert Planck, Charles Schoenbaum (photography); Adolph Deutsch (music); Cedric Gibbons, Paul Groesse (art directors); Edwin B. Willis, Jack D. Moore (set decorations); Douglas Shearer (sound); Ralph E. Winters (editor); Walter Plunkett (costumes); Sydney Guilaroff (hairstylist); Jack Dawn (makeup)
RELEASE DATE: April, 1949
RUN TIME: 122 minutes, color
Dressed up as Amy March
SUMMARY: In Civil War–era New England, the March sisters, Jo, Meg, Amy, and Beth, along with their mother, cope with life without their father. While he is away at war, they face numerous tribulations and circumstances that are at turns heartwarming and heart-wrenching. The independent Jo departs home to find herself; Meg takes the more conventional route of marrying a charming neighbor; Amy matures from vanity to selflessness through the gentle spirit of sickly sister Beth. Amy also finds love with Jo’s former romantic interest, Laurie; Jo, in turn, finds a kindred spirit in her loyal friend from New York, Professor Bhaer. Through it all, the March sisters remain devoted to each other and grow from little women to adulthood.
REVIEWS
“Cinematized in Technicolor by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer with great affections, charm, and elegant appointments, acted by a cast of admirable players. . . . Little Women is an excursion into authentic Americana. It is as gay as a Christmas card, as wondrous as childhood’s happiest dream.”
—New York Journal of Commerce (Russell Rhodes)
“In short, in the first part of this picture, Metro has managed to contain a pretty agreeable assortment of period fun and sentiment. Jo is the bold, dynamic leader; Meg is the sweet, ambitious lass; Amy is the vixen and Beth is the soulful baby sis. And, of course, the neighbor, Laurie, is the lad of whom maidens softly dream. You should find them all appealing—provided you have a sweet tooth. But the latter part of the picture, in which clouds of trouble descend and the fictions of girlish disposition take artificial command, has got away from the scriptwriters. . . . As Amy, Elizabeth Taylor is appropriately full of artifice.”
—The New York Times (Bosley Crowther)
A lobby card for Little Women
Reprimanded for her amusing caricature of the teacher, Amy is a spirited March sister.
notes
LOUISA MAY ALCOTT’S LITTLE WOMEN, OR MARGARET, JO, Elizabeth, and Amy (full original title) was first published in two volumes released in 1868 and 1869 and became an instant classic. An American favorite, it was not long after movies first came into being that the first screen adaptations of Little Women began to appear. By the time MGM took a crack at it, a critically acclaimed cinematic edition of the story had come from RKO in 1933, produced by David O. Selznick and starring Katharine Hepburn. In 1946, Selznick himself began mounting a new production of Little Women, planning to have his wife, Jennifer Jones, along with Rhonda Fleming, Shirley Temple, and Anne Revere among the cast. Ultimately Selznick abandoned the project and MGM took up the reins in 1948 for what was to be the most elegantly charming, if not the most universally respected, version of Little Women.
The four March sisters would be played by two of the studio’s top moneymakers, June Allyson and Margaret O’Brien, and two of their up-and-coming stars, Elizabeth Taylor and Janet Leigh. Elizabeth was to portray the beautiful, vain, but big-hearted Amy. It is fitting that it was a role she inherited from her future famous onscreen mother of Father of the Bride, Joan Bennett, who played Amy in the 1933 edition. The touch of pretentiousness and blond wig notwithstanding, among the March sisters it was the character of Amy that suited Elizabeth best. As a result she gave one of the finest performances of her early career.
The touch of pretentiousness and blond wig notwithstanding, among the March sisters it was the character of Amy that suited Elizabeth best.
Test shots of Elizabeth as Amy March
A Danish magazine cover depicting Elizabeth and Peter Lawford in Little Women
MGM publicity of up-and-coming “little women”: Janet Leigh, Elizabeth, Jane Powell, and Ann Blyth
Elizabeth and screen sister Janet Leigh
Five years apart in age makes a difference to teenagers. Costar Margaret O’Brien appreciated that Elizabeth played with her.
Director Mervyn LeRoy admired her during the making of Little Women in 1948 as well as decades later, when he said, “Elizabeth has always had a lot of warmth and heart. The public has always been able to recognize that quality in her—and has responded with adulation.” As usual, Elizabeth got along well with her costars, too. She was reunited with Peter Lawford, who again was the man with whom her character would end up in a romantic twist of fate. Eleven-year-old Margaret O’Brien, who played Beth, enjoyed her time in Elizabeth’s company, later commenting, “Here was a little girl who was very nice and not at all pretentious. She wasn’t snooty. She would jump rope and play with me.” Elizabeth may have been given to airs as Amy onscreen, but she was far more down to earth off the screen.
Production on MGM’s Little Women wrapped in September 1948 and the film hit theaters in April 1949. It took in $3.6 million at the box office and brought home an Academy Award for Best Art Direction.
Famously brunette Elizabeth was still a brunette while filming Little Women. This portrait is from that period. Her blondness onscreen came by courtesy of a wig.
Oscar time with best friend Roddy McDowall. That evening Little Women was nominated for two Academy Awards and won one.
In costume for Little Women, Elizabeth visits Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly on the set of their film, Take Me Out to the Ballgame.
At turns dramatic and euphoric, a photo shoot at Elizabeth’s home during the making of Little Women
Co
nspirator
METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER
CAST
Robert Taylor Major Michael Curragh
Elizabeth Taylor Melinda Greyton
Robert Flemyng Captain Hugh Ladholme
Harold Warrender Colonel Hammerbrook
Honor Blackman Joyce
Marjorie Fielding Aunt Jessica
Thora Hird Broaders
Wilfred Hyde-White Lord Pennistone
Marie Ney Lady Pennistone
Jack Allen Raglan
CREDITS
Arthur Hornblow, Jr. (producer); Victor Saville (director); Sally Benson, Gerard Fairlie (screenplay), based on novel by Humphrey Slater; F. A. Young (photography); John Wooldridge (music); Alfred Junge (art director); Dora Wright (production manager); A. W. Watkins, Sash Fisher (sound); Frank Clarke (editor)
RELEASE DATE: July 29, 1949 (U.K.);
March 24, 1950 (U.S.)
RUN TIME: 87 minutes, black and white
Taylor and Taylor, together for the first time in Conspirator
SUMMARY: While visiting a friend in London, Melinda Greyton enters into a whirlwind romance with a high-ranking officer in the British Army, Major Michael Curragh. Not long after they marry, Michael’s secretiveness and mysterious absences mount to an alarming degree, but Melinda has no inkling that her new husband is actually a communist spy reporting secrets of British Intelligence to the Soviets. He cannot keep the secret from his wife for long. Melinda discovers his covert identity and his Soviet commanders order Michael to kill his wife because she knows too much. Melinda becomes haunted not only by the secrets she has discovered, but by the fact that Michael may be trying to murder her.