Elizabeth Taylor - An Intimate Portrait

Elizabeth Taylor: An Intimate Portrait (1975)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Made-for-TV documentary hosted and narrated by Peter Lawford that discusses the life and career of Elizabeth Taylor. Even though this was made in 1975, Taylor is referred to as a legend, which was certainly true but it's also quite amazing considering all the things that hadn't yet happened in her life. The documentary does a fairly good job at talking about her days before Hollywood, how she got her start and what made her become so famous. The documentary takes a look at her personal life as well as her movies and for the most part this was very detailed for the era. With that said, there's no question that a lot more was needed in order to make this work. There are many times when boring stories are being told and just dragged along to the point where you lose focus in what the person is saying. This happens several times during the segments where Taylor's mother is interviewed, which is rather shocking because you'd think she'd have some better stories to tell. The highlight of the film comes when director Richard Brooks talks about working with her on CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF, which was during a period where her husband at the time was killed in a plane crash. The gimmick he used to make her eat was a rather touching and funny story. Fans of Taylor will probably want to check this out but she certainly deserves a much better documentary.

Some good clips are present in this TV biography of Elizabeth Taylor, but the people who speak about her are frequently a bit ridiculous. Peter Lawford, who hosts the show, sounds like he is reading the overblown dialogue off cue cards while half sloshed. Miss Taylor's mother tells long rambling stories about her daughter that could be any mother rambling on about her daughter when the guests are about.

The one good sequence shows director Richard Brooks speaking about the death of her husband, Mike Todd and the making of CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF -- parts of his comments are bleeped out. The rest of it consists of macho guests like Roddy McDowall and Rock Hudson speaking of how beautiful she is.

Peter Lawford hosts this 1975 documentary about Elizabeth Taylor.

There is some wonderful footage and interviews with her mother Sara, dress designer Helen Rose, Roddy McDowall, Vincente Minnelli, Richard Brooks, and Samuel Marx, the man who ultimately discovered her.

The previous reviewer mentioned "macho" men like Rock Hudson and Roddy McDowall being interviewed. They were truly her good friends, and one reason was, they didn't hassle her the way straight men would have.

I thought their interviews were fine; all of the interviews were conducted in a relaxed atmosphere, and I found Peter Lawford not sloshed but congenial.

Most interesting were the interviews with Richard Brooks and Samuel Marx. Marx explains how he came to "discover" her, adding that if it hadn't been him, it would have been someone else, as her family was interested in getting her into films. Brooks talks about filming Cat on a Hot Tin Roof during the time that her husband, Mike Todd, died.

Elizabeth Taylor comes off as a woman who was used to publicity and tried not to let it bother her. She was a loyal and generous friend. She had a complicated love life (this we knew).

All in all, she sounds absolutely lovely, and this documentary dovetails beautifully with an article in Vanity Fair written by someone who befriended her during Cleopatra -- that she cared about humans and animals and didn't mind handing producers a big fat bill for dinner.

There was so much more to her life, but since this is from 1975, you won't hear it. Still, it was fun to watch. Somehow, as beautiful as she was, people could relate to her because of the warmth she exuded and how amazingly human someone that gorgeous could be.