Ash Wednesday

"Ash Wednesday" opens with a series of sepia-toned, fabricated photographs putting a young, glamorous Elizabeth Taylor together with a lean, dark-haired Henry Fonda; it's a great credits-sequence, well pulled off, until we find out that all this fancy living has taken its toll on poor Liz, portraying a lawyer's wife from Detroit (couldn't they aim higher than that?). Figuring plastic surgery is the only way to win back her estranged husband's love, Taylor checks into a Swiss medical resort and receives a full-body lift, later trading in her gauze and bandages for Valentino wraps and elaborate fur ensembles for a vacation at the local chalet. There's nothing remotely engaging about this scenario, except to see La Liz in a series of delectable wardrobe changes. We know that when Fonda arrives and sees her, nothing will be different (this is telegraphed far in advance). The picture was probably ahead of its time in depicting the vanity in men as well as in women, but Taylor and Fonda have a tough time creating actual characters (the writing being hardly more than a sketch). Liz has a nice moment asking Fonda to sing with her as they walk home, also a strong scene arguing with her daughter (Margaret Blye, who is well-cast; her eyes are almost as beautiful as Taylor's). But this fairy-tale-that-isn't hasn't much to offer aside from its surface attributes, which are photographed in a maddening series of subdued colors. ** from ****

So I see Richard Burton hated this film. Well wouldn't go so far as to say I hated it. Still Ash Wednesday wil never rank as one of Elizabeth Taylor's best films.

It plays a lot like The Roman Spring Of Mrs. Stone. Maybe if someone like Tennessee Williams had written this it would have been better known and acclaimed.

Liz is in Switzerland for a little plastic surgery. A nip here, a tuck there and maybe some of that spark in her marriage to Henry Fonda will have some of that old time zip in it. She amuses herself in the meantime with both Keith Baxter and Helmut Berger.

The results just aren't what she hoped for,

Try as I may I just could not get interested in these rich people and their problems. Henry Fonda looked as bored as I was. At least he got a European vacation for his time.

For fans of the sars only.

Apparently, Elizabeth Taylor hated being called "Liz" but that didn't stop Mike Todd from naming his plane "The Lucky Liz", the plane that crashed and killed him. After his death Elizabeth leased a home in Tucson a few blocks from where I lived but she never stayed there the crowds were so bad. A girl I was dating happened to see Elizabeth at her girlfriend's home in Tucson and said she was more beautiful than you could imagine. The girlfriend's parents were Loews - the people who owned MGM and Elizabeth hid out at their home until she was able to leave Tucson. The house Elizabeth rented was owned by a customer of my dad's company, a TV sales and service concern, and it was quite posh but nothing compared to what Elizabeth was used to. Years later when I was working in the industry I would meet Elizabeth and her husband, Richard Burton, in Mexico. It was quite an experience. Rumor has it that Burton did not want Elizabeth to make this film but I am glad she did. In one scene after another she never looked so beautiful and that's really what this film is about - looking at the most beautiful woman in the world.

Elizabeth Taylor plays Barbara Sawyer, wife to Henry Fonda (who shows up late in the film) for 30 years who has not aged well (to say the least). She goes to Europe and receives plastic surgery in an attempt to save her marriage. Will her restored youth appeal to her husband or will she have to start life over and be strong enough to do so? This is the premise of Ash Wednesday, a syrupy soap opera in the ugly duckling to beautiful swan tradition. Maybe you're a fan of Liz Taylor and sought this movie out, or maybe you just managed to catch it on late night cable and there was nothing else on. Either way you probably realized that this movie wasn't exactly high caliber. But in humble defense I will praise an excellent musical score, beautiful on location scenery, and elegant Edith Head designed fashions. The premise of the movie is a good one and it could have made for a very interesting film had the screenwriter or director had any amount of talent. But the dialogue and direction are both flat. Certain scenes seem pointless and unfulfilled. However, the main point of the movie is to show loving close ups and profiles of 41 year old Taylor looking beautiful again. And, yes, with a lot more make-up and just the right camera angle, we the audience, are transplanted back to those fabulous 50's movies when Taylor didn't have to act or even speak to transfix your gaze upon her and hold it rapt. Rating for Ash Wednesday for any viewer. **(out of 4) For Liz Taylor fans. ***

I want to say, in 1973, it was fashionable to knock anything Elizabeth Taylor did. Not the greatest movie in the world, but a bitter story of how the aging process can affect us. Yes! It was a return to the gorgeous Liz! But, isn't that what a movie star is all about. So, Liz got fat, so did I! Liz drank and had her addictions. So do we all! Why judge a performance by an actor's trouble life? And, mirror, mirror on the wall, who has lived to survive it all? Elizabeth the Great! What more can I say? Sadly, bias and bigotry continue to blight the work of many great performers. Time will tell, or maybe it has told already, that Elizabeth Taylor and her body of work can stand up with the rest. P.S. Felt the same incredible sadness at"Ash Wednesday" in 1973 as I did at that other bitter pill "Brokeback Mountain."