Love Is Better Than Ever

I went into this with the full expectation of turning it off once I got the gist of it, and got a good look at Elizabeth Taylor just at the point her career and her beauty were reaching their heights. Surprisingly, I watched it all the way through and enjoyed several mildly humorous moments--no great belly laughs, but solidly amusing moments nonetheless.

The plot is paper thin, and it's a compliment that director Stanley Donen was able to get a full length feature out of what could easily been a short pilot for a sitcom. Also escalating the material are Old Pro character actors at the top of their game, such as Kathleen Freeman as a loyal seamstress and Ann Doran as the meddling mother of Elizabeth Taylor's dance rival, played by a very young (and blond) Elinor Donihue. It is no wonder these ladies enjoyed very lengthy careers in literally hundreds of films.

But the real heart of the film is Taylor's lovable, understanding father played by Tom Tully, as the type of Dad we wish we all had, but few actually did.

The only part of this film that hasn't aged well is the lead character, played by Larry Parks. This film was made at a time when male characters got away with far more sexist behavior than any man would get away with today. In fact, if a man in New York--no matter how well dressed or handsome--behaved in such ways toward a woman he just met today...well, she'd probably summon the nearest police officer! If you're willing to overlook that major flaw, you might enjoy this romantic comedy, especially the madcap children's dance recital at the end. The kids are terrible throughout the film, which makes it all the more funny.

This lightweight rom-com is probably only noteworthy for being one of several vehicles that MGM used in the early '50's to transition their former child/teen star, Elizabeth Taylor, into more adult roles. Here she plays a young Connecticut woman, still living with her parents, who falls for a free-wheeling NYC bachelor and decides to reel him to be her husband despite his repeated attempts to avoid her snares.

On the surface, this may have worked as very lighthearted romantic comedy similar to the 1948 film, "Every Girl Should Be Married" which featured a young woman (Betsy Drake) using all sorts of feminine wiles to ensnare a bachelor pediatrician (Cary Grant) into marriage. While "Every Girl Should Be Married" is certainly no great film, it was entertaining mainly because it had Cary Grant who could be believable as the object of a young woman's romantic obsession.

Unfortunately, "Love is Better Than Ever" doesn't have Cary Grant. Instead, it has Larry Parks. Who? Good question. From the opening moments of the film, one's jaw drops when a homely, middle-aged man walks onto the screen as the film's main character and the soon to be supposed romantic ideal for Elizabeth Taylor's character. Mr. Parks looks like somebody's dad or the nebbish next door. He does NOT look like the lead of a romantic comedy. His introduction as the film's lead almost instantly kills the film.

Mr. Parks was nearly 20 yrs older than Miss Taylor. Plus, in the looks department, Mr. Parks isn't in the same continent, let alone the same league as 19 yr old Liz. Yet, the audience was supposed to believe that her character would pursue him?!?! Movies often demand a suspension of disbelief, but this film demands way too much.

Yes, it was unfair that Mr. Parks' career was derailed by his testimony before HUAC just as it was really gaining momentum. (He got top billing over Miss Taylor for this film.) However, he was woefully miscast for this part, and that mistake pretty much killed this film from its very inception.

In sum: a tepid rom-com with a laughable male lead and an extremely pretty Liz Taylor who is often costumed in very skimpy dancing clothes. (As stated, her studio wanted to show her off as an adult actress.)

Jud Parker (Larry Parks) is a heartless agent on Broadway. He meets dance teacher Anastacia "Stacie" Macaboy (Elizabeth Taylor) in Connecticut. She comes to New York City for a convention where she runs into him again. They start going out which gets into the papers and rumors spread.

Of course, I'm watching this for Elizabeth Taylor. She is radiant. She deserves so much better than Larry Parks. Jud is a cold agent and Larry plays that well. That's a side character. That's not a romantic lead. Elizabeth Taylor is a superstar even at that time. She's young. She's hot. At best, she's 20 and trying to transition into adult roles but she is way above him in any case. Watching them side by side actually hurts my eyes. The movie keeps trying to say that she's desperate to get him when in reality, he's lucky to be in the same room.

Even though the performers are kid performers Love Is Better Than Ever suffers from the fact that a musical performer should obviously have been in the lead. I'm guessing that Debbie Reynolds must have been otherwise engaged because this was clearly a vehicle that would have been good for her. Similarly MGM could have cast Marge and Gower Champion in the leads and given the Larry Parks role a dancing background to make it fit Gower.

Instead Elizabeth Taylor was assigned the role of the young dancing hopeful looking for a big break and who runs a dancing school to keep the bills paid. Liz clearly does not look comfortable doing the musical parts although she doesn't have to worry about the kids outshining her.

She meets up with Larry Parks who is a theatrical agent and a player and although he breaks her heart at first, she's determined to trap him. In fact she makes it a family project with parents Tom Tully and Josephine Hutchinson in on the game.

MGM took this same idea and did it much better three years later with The Tender Trap starring Frank Sinatra and wait for it Debbie Reynolds. That film is told from the man's point of view, but it is infinitely superior to Love Is Better Than Ever.

MGM held up the release of Love Is Better Than Ever because of the blacklist which Larry Parks was prominently on. When they did release it was in deference to Elizabeth Taylor whom they were trying to build up. The film did neither of their careers any good.

Larry Parks is a fast-talking, streetwise agent who falls for a Connecticut dance teacher against his will in "Love is Better Than Ever," directed by Stanley Donen. Parks and Taylor have a whirlwind romance in New York while she's there attending a dance teacher convention. She falls in love, only to learn at the end of their week together that he's only interested in a good time. Heartbroken, she returns to Connecticut, where her father helps her hatch a plot that will bring him running to New Haven and into her arms.

This is a very slight comedy, but Taylor is exquisitely beautiful and in excellent shape. It's no wonder that cynical Larry Parks can't forget her, though he claims that he wants to. In one scene, they stand and talk in profile for several minutes, and all one can think about is how perfect Taylor's profile is. Larry Parks is another story - a very strange choice for a leading man. Had he not been blacklisted, it's likely he would have gone on to character roles fairly quickly. For a studio that boasted the likes of Clark Gable and Robert Taylor, it's curious that he was cast in leads. He is, however, a very good actor, though it's hard to see why Taylor would have been attracted to him. Sadly, he only made two films after this one.

There are some nice dance sequences with the children, including some dancing fruits. "Love is Better Than Ever" has some nice moments and a dazzling 20-year-old Taylor, and that's about it.