| by Dr. Jeffrey Lant First you saw two of the most beautiful people you had ever seen, Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift. That was reason enough to pay attention. Then, all of a sudden, the film made a quantum leap from eye-candy to the profound mysteries of sexuality, eroticism, desire. And Elizabeth Taylor was no longer merely the spoiled teenaged daughter of the country club set. She was a man's ultimate desire... because she understood that desire is not about who you are... it's about understanding what the other person needs, deep down inside... and making it, if only for an instant, temptingly available. "Tell mama," she whispered, "Tell mama all." It was unexpected! It was erotic! It was kinky! This was the woman you'd kill for... as Montgomery Clift's character did... it couldn't be any other way. This was Elizabeth Taylor... on the prowl, mesmerizing, entrancing, a woman who used her deep psychological insights to ensnare the man she wanted, the man who would ultimately bore her and so trigger another installment of the great game that was hers to play. Was she just a character in "A Place In The Sun" (1951)... or was this the exciting, desirable woman herself? We didn't know... but we definitely wanted to find out, whatever the cost. And we knew there would be a cost, a terrible cost. "Tell mama... tell mama all." We wanted the opportunity to do just that. And they say the 'fifties were dull.... Not when Elizabeth Taylor was around. She didn't know the meaning of the word and always chose mayhem over the placid and serene. Now the woman is gone... but her great renown, her celebrity, the legend all remain to titillate, captivate, thrill. All that will never be gone. Elizabeth Rosamond Taylor, born February 27, 1932 in London. Her father was an American art dealer, in London to open a gallery. Her mother,was an actress. Although only 7 years old when her parents decided to remove her from war-threatened England and return to Los Angeles, there was always a faint hint of an English girl about her. But she was American through and through for all that Queen Elizabeth II in 1999 made her a Dame of the British Empire. And always remember this: at the supreme moment of American hegemony, Elizabeth Taylor was the woman we made one of our signature images. We were her co-conspirators every step of the way. "National Velvet" (1944). Taylor's parents wanted her to be an actress. They packaged her like laundry soap and made the rounds of the studios. She did a successful screen test for Universal Pictures with her eyes -- violet and soon to be world famous -- the subject of comment. They always were. That contract was brief and undistinguished, although she was paired with Carl Switzer ("Alfalfa" from the "Our Gang" movies) in the comedy "Man or Mouse". It was the last moment of her life when she would be unknown to the world... although not the last where both the film and her performance were underwhelming. She got used that. Her character, Velvet Brown, was a horse crazy adolescent. But what Hollywood and the discerning public saw was the way she talked about horses -- she visibly throbbed with emotion. Her eyes -- those famous eyes -- gleamed, and her whole body shook with passion. "National Velvet" was a great hit... and it made Taylor, the mistress of passion, one of the hottest people on earth. She was just 12 years old, a real life Lolita. People talked about her; people always would. The real problem was finding the suitable vehicle for her undeniable talent. It took 7 years -- and a series of not-quite-right roles; (can you say "Conspirator" with Robert Taylor, 1949?)... but at last it all came together in "A Place In The Sun." Velvet Brown no longer was passionate about ponies; now she wanted men... when she wanted them, even if they had to kill so she could have them. In that moment of profound psychological insight, Taylor realized that power and satisfaction grew out of the ability to be what every person needed. As she leaned into Monty Clift's ear she was telling him she understood him and his needs and was ready to deliver. No wonder audiences thrilled. Women wanted to be her, so they could profit from this insight. And men? They would tell mama all; knowing that she would give them just want they wanted... and they would give her the world. This role, this insight lead to everything that followed. Her motto now was "Let them come to you." And they did... a worldwide caravan of admirers, followers, fans... including the men she selected to share her journey, then discard. Of her 7 husbands (if you count Richard Burton twice), Michael Todd, showman, dynamo, impresario, was the most important. She might not have stayed with him, either. However he would have known how to fight for her... and she would admire that. She understood the crucial difference between men who desired her... and men who knew what she needed: a fighter. Tragically, he died in 1958, in a plane crash. It was the year of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof", where she elevated insistent sensuality and the demands of desire to an art form. What "Maggie" wanted, Maggie got. Good women called her a "slut." But, when honest, women cheered her for doing what they could only dream of doing, with male management on top of the list. Elizabeth Taylor was never a hypocrite, something the hypocrites could never forgive. Her boldness affronted them, irritated them, infuriated them. It made the rest of us admire. If Elizabeth Taylor cared, she never showed it or complained. It all worked to make her Larger than Life, the world riveted by every little move she made, with new husband in tow, or between "I do's." Her last role was her finest, using the death of friend Rock Hudson from AIDS (1985) not as something to be ashamed of and forgotten, but as what it was: a medical challenge to be confronted directly, honestly. If there were any justice, the Vatican would make her a saint. Predictably they vilified her for "erotic vagrancy." It never said that about men and their amatory gyrations... Dead at 79, March 23, 2011. Now the lady is dead, a figure of history and lore... a creature of astonishing beauty with those violet eyes and talent, too, though not always seen in her films. Reports said she died of congestive heart failure, but that cannot be right, for she had nothing if not heart. It's what defined her. That's why we believed her when she said,"Tell mama. Tell mamma all." We knew she meant it and had the heart to carry through, even unto our most secret needs. We had to have such a person in our lives... and would do anything to keep her there. Now she abides with each of us alone, forever. |
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