Love Is Better Than Ever

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.

I just saw this film this morning on Turner Movie Classics, and was actually very surprised. The film is certainly pleasant to watch, and some of it is actually funny and very appealing. The two stars merit comment. Larry Parks, of course, turned out to be a truly tragic figure in Hollywood, and he was virtually decimated by the Hollywood black list in the 1950's. As the head reviewer on this page said, Parks would probably have evolved into an excellent character actor had his career not been destroyed (his wife, actress Betty Garrett, herself said in an interview that Park's life was ruined by the Hollywood blacklisting. To our country's shame, many others shared the same fate. In this film, he is convincing and moderately successful, but opposite Elizabeth Taylor, one would have expected a more handsome leading man. Elizabeth Taylor, at age 20, is, of course, drop-dead gorgeous, but more importantly, she exudes an appeal and demeanor that is altogether winning. She had this same quality in such films as "The Last Time I Saw Paris", "Father of the Bride", and "Giant". Then she entered her most intense period with the films that brought her Oscar nominations (as well as two Oscars). It's a shame that after "Virginia Woolf", her second Oscar-winning performance, she essentially kept repeating the same loudmouthed strident type of demeanor. She was never able to regain the vulnerability and tenderness that she so beautifully demonstrated during the early and middle 1950's. Of course her much publicized personal life played a major part. In essence, she became a parody of herself in the late 1960's and never recovered. Whatever the case, "Love is Better than Ever" is worth watching for the light entertainment, the uniqueness of Larry Parks, and above all, for the charm and sweetness Elizabeth Taylor brought to the screen at this stage of her career.

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.

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.

Stanley Dornen directed this cute love story about a dancing teacher (wow Taylor really is gorgeous here) and she goes to New York for a convention but gets sidetracked into her first love affair with Larry Parks, who really doesn't want to give up his solo life. Things change at the dancing school where people talk about it like a big scandal as she is so much younger than he. But with all the waiting and shenanigans they finally end up in eachother's arms after a false wedding announcement. The story is cute, the dancing is terrific, and acting is superb, and even a Giant Baseball player, George Metkovich is in it. Larry Parks was the Giant fan.