| Remembering Elizabeth |
| Monday, 11 April 2011 20:11 | |||
|
April 7, 2011 – Since her death late last month, many journalists, writers and bloggers have been composing and presenting their thoughts about Elizabeth Taylor, a much-admired woman, and the iconic representation of the definition of “movie star.”
Some of those writers were too young to have had the opportunity to have been young when Elizabeth (she did not like the nickname “Liz”) was moving up the star ladder, but I was one of the fortunate ones. The first two Taylor films I saw, “Lassie Come Home” and “National Velvet,” were movies I attended with my parents, and even though I don’t remember much about them, (in those days I was more attracted to horses and dogs than people) I remember the young star, with her lilting voice, powerful presence and gorgeous violet eyes. As a novice movie buff, I connected many of her acting efforts that followed to something else — an event (like a dance), a girl or possibly the theatre where I sat and enjoyed the film; as a result, they remain in my memory forever. These were the days when I saw “Life with Father” and “Father of the Bride,” where her beauty and acting ability were in double display. These works were followed by “A Place in the Sun”, an extraordinary film based on Dreiser’s An American Tragedy. It was in this production where Elizabeth Taylor was to me her most beautiful. If you’ve not seen it, by all means, go out and rent it now. As she grew older, Elizabeth became even better known — for the antics taking place on both sides of the camera during the filming of “Cleopatra”, her fantastic performance in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” and her academy-award-winning role as a high-priced call girl in “Butterfield 8”. But the one film for which I will always remember her best is “Giant”. First, there was the family name — Benedict, which is my last name. Next was having already read the book, and anticipating seeing what George Stevens had done in his efforts to bring it to the screen. Following that there was James Dean. It was his last film, and we knew it because after seeing him in “East of Eden” and “Rebel Without a Cause” just a few years before, “Giant” was released a few months following his accidental death on September 30, 1955. As Leslie Benedict in “Giant”, Elizabeth Taylor combined an acting prowess honed from the days when she was just a child, now embellished with her earthy adult beauty and incredible warmth. Sitting in the dark in the theatre taking this all in, It was a nice time to be a young man. But Elizabeth Taylor also spoke to women through her on-screen roles. In the scene from “Giant” where she refuses to “stay with the womenfolk” and instead walks over and stands among the men as they discuss business and politics, she was making a statement, and when women in the audience took in the power of that scene, plus those from “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and “Virginia Woolf,” the idea of being secondary to men took a significant step backward. She left us too soon, but her influence remains. If you missed growing up with Elizabeth Taylor, I recommend you check out her celluloid history, and then consider some serious renting.
|