Silver Screen Magic with Elizabeth Taylor

British-American actress Elizabeth Taylor was among the best actresses during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She had a scandalous personal life with eight marriages to seven different men. She made a great impression during her acting career, being on the silver screen for more than forty years.

Director Daniel Mann directed the 1960 American drama film "Butterfield 8." The film was based on a 1936 novel of the same name by John O’Hara. It starred Elizabeth Taylor and Laurence Harvey, and earned Taylor her first Academy Award for her performance in a leading role.

In the plot, Gloria Wandrous (Elizabeth Taylor) is a high-class prostitute who enters into a dangerous love affair with a married man, Weston Liggett (Laurence Harvey). She gets some help from childhood friend and pianist Steve Carpenter (Eddie Fisher). At this time Fisher was married to Taylor.

Director Richard Brooks directed the 1958 American drama film “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." It was based on the 1955 Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name by Tennessee Williams. It was the first Williams’ play Taylor starred in. The film starred Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Burl Ives, Jack Carson, and Judith Anderson. This became the third highest-grossing film of that year for MGM.

The plot follows the strained marriage between "Brick" Pollitt (Paul Newman) and Margaret "Maggie the Cat" Pollitt (Elizabeth Taylor). The couple visits Brick’s dysfunctional family in Mississippi for his father, Harvey "Big Daddy" Pollitt's (Burl Ives), 65th birthday.

Director Joseph L, Mankiewicz directed the 1963 American epic historical drama "Cleopatra." The film was adapted from the 1957 book “The Life and Times of Cleopatra” by Carlo Maria Franzero. The film starred Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Roddy McDowall, and Martin Landau. This is one of eleven films starring Taylor alongside her husband, Richard Burton.

It chronicles the struggles of the young queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt (Elizabeth Taylor) to resist the imperial ambitions of Rome along with Mark Anthony (Richard Burton) and Julius Caesar (Rex Harrison).

Director George Stevens directed the 1956 American epic drama film "Giant." It was adapted from the 1952 novel of the same name by Edna Ferber. The film starred Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, and James Dean. This was the last of Dean’s three films as a leading actor since he was killed in a car crash before the film was released.

The plot tells of Leslie Lynnton (Elizabeth Taylor), a socialite who falls into a whirlwind romance with Jordan "Bick" Benedict Jr. (Rock Hudson). After getting married, the two return to Bick’s Texas ranch, and Leslie gets to meet some interesting people, among them Luz Benedict, Bick’s resentful sister, and his ranch hand Jett Rink (James Dean).

Director George Stevens directed the 1951 American tragedy film “A Place in the Sun." The film was based on the 1925 novel “An American Tragedy” by Theodore Dreiser and a 1926 play of the same name. The story was inspired by the murder of Grace Brown by Chester Gillette in 1906, which resulted in Gillette’s conviction and execution by electric chair in 1908. The film starred Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Shelley Winters, and Keefe Brasselle. Impressed by the performance of Raymond Burr, TV producer Gail Patrick cast the actor as Perry Mason. This film won six Academy Awards and the very first Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama.

The plot tells of George Eastman (Montgomery Clift) starting to work for his rich uncle Charles Eastman (Herbert Heyes). At work at the factory, George starts secretly dating factory worker Alice Tripp (Shelley Winters). At an Eastman social event, he meets the rich socialite, Angela Vickers (Elizabeth Taylor). They have a mutual attraction and fall in love. But then Alice tells him she is pregnant and expects him to marry her.

Director Edward Dmytryk directed the 1957 American epic historical romance/western/American Civil War film “Raintree County” for MGM. The movie was based on the 1948 novel of the same name by Ross Lockridge Jr. The film starred Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Eva Marie Saint, Nigel Patrick, and Lee Marvin.

The plot is set both in the American Midwest and the American South against the backdrop of the Antebellum South and the American Civil War. It tells the story of a small-town Midwestern teacher and poet named John Shawnessy (Montgomery Clift), who meets and marries Southern belle Susanna Drake (Elizabeth Taylor); however, her emotional instability leads to an unsuccessful marriage.

Director Joseph L. Mankiewicz directed the 1959 American Southern Gothic psychological drama/mystery “Suddenly Last Summer." The film was adapted from the 1958 play of the same name by Tennessee Williams. It starred Katharine Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, and Montgomery Clift with Albert Dekker, Mercedes McCambridge, and Gary Raymond. Elizabeth Taylor became known for her great adaptations of plays by Tennessee Williams, with this film being the second out of three. Taylor received a Gold Globe Award for her portrayal.

The plot centers on Catherine Holly (Elizabeth Taylor), a young woman who, at the insistence of her wealthy aunt Violet "Vi" Venable (Katharine Hepburn), is being evaluated by a psychiatrist, Dr. John Cukrowicz (Montgomery Clift), to receive a lobotomy after witnessing the death of her cousin Sebastian Venable while traveling with him on the fictional island Cabeza de Lobo the previous summer.

Director Mike Nichols directed the 1966 American drama film “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” It was based on the 1962 play of the same name by Edward Albee. The film starred Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal, and Sandy Dennis. The film won five Oscars, one of them the second Academy Award for Best Actress for Taylor.

The plot follows the late-night gathering of college professor George (Richard Burton) and his drunken wife Martha (Elizabeth Taylor) as they spend a tense evening with another younger couple, Nick (George Segal) and his wife Honey (Sandy Dennis). In her outstanding portrayal, Taylor walks the line between seductive and scary.