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Downloaded from
YTS.MX
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Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX
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[clicking]
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[player clicks, tape hisses]
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[Richard Meryman] Testing...
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[Elizabeth Taylor] Do you have
your frickin' machine on?
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[Meryman] Yeah.
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Well, let-let's ease into it
a little. Uh...
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[Meryman and Taylor laugh]
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[Taylor] Okey-dokey.
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Let me think now.
Wait a minute. [laughs]
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- Would you like another drink?
- [Meryman] Yeah. You?
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[Taylor] Scotch and soda,
for my friend.
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Jack Daniel's [inaudible].
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[Meryman] Got a half bottle?
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[Taylor] ♪ The night
we invented champagne ♪
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[Taylor humming]
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- [Meryman] Excuse me.
- [Taylor] What's the matter?
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[both laughing]
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[Meryman] Uh...
I'm just fascinated
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by the phenomenon
of Elizabeth Taylor.
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[Taylor] Mm-hmm.
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[Meryman] What do you think
your public image is?
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- [Taylor] My public image?
- [Meryman] Yeah.
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[Taylor] Oh.
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[dramatic orchestral music
playing]
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I would think it was,
uh, an untrustworthy lady,
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completely superficial.
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Not too pretty.
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[Meryman] Not too pretty?
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[Taylor] I mean, inside.
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Not too pretty a picture.
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Maybe, because
of my personal life,
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I suggest something illicit.
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But I am not illicit.
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And I am not immoral.
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I have made mistakes.
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And I have paid for them.
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But still, it doesn't make up.
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I know that I will never
be able to pay the bill.
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But that is not something
you can put in the story.
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[dramatic music continues]
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[music fades]
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[Meryman] I'd like
to ask a little bit
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about your, you know, career.
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Do you feel that you sort of
created your career,
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or that it just happened
to you?
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[Taylor] What do you mean
by "created my career"?
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I don't know what kind
of a career you mean.
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- [laughs]
- [Meryman] Your movies.
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- [Meryman laughs] Uh...
- [Taylor] Well, I really...
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My career has been kind of odd.
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Um, you know, I've been
in films since I was ten.
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[bright jazz music playing]
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I really had
the most idyllic childhood.
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I remember going
to a public school
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in California
right after we'd moved there.
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And everybody's kid
is a producer's daughter
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or a director's son.
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It's such a small community.
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And we'd gone to the studio,
to have a look around.
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[tinkling, ethereal music
playing]
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- We're rolling.
- How are the cameras?
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All ready.
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- Bob, how are your lights?
- All set.
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[Taylor] I was very impressed.
It's so huge,
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all the studio stages.
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And at that time, you know,
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they were doing maybe 30 films
at once.
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So it was teeming with life.
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Alright, cut it.
Print it, Jane.
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[Taylor] People dressed up
in Greek clothes.
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People dressed up
in cowboy clothes.
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People dressed up as apes.
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And movie stars. [giggles]
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Of course everybody,
even the extras,
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- looked like movie stars.
- [Meryman] Yeah.
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[Taylor] And then I decided
I'd like to be an actress.
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[Meryman]
And you were...
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you were not pushed by
your parents at all?
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[Taylor] Oh,
the absolute opposite.
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No, if anything, they didn't
want me to be an actress.
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My father particularly.
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My mother was
more understanding
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because she'd been
an actress herself.
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But I was the one that pushed.
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[sentimental music playing]
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Poor Lassie.
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Poor Lassie.
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Poor girl.
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[Marx]
I was a producer at MGM,
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starting a film called
Lassie Come Home,
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and in it was
a charming little girl part.
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Francis Taylor, who ran
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the little art gallery
in the Beverly Hills Hotel,
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began talking to me
about his beautiful daughter,
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which is the sort of thing
producers hear often.
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So I wasn't paying
a lot of attention.
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And she walked in...
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[bright, soaring music playing]
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It was truly like
an eclipse of the sun.
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It blotted out everybody
that was in the office.
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I took her by the hand.
I walked her over to wardrobe.
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We never even tested her
in the part.
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We just took the chance.
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I knew my Lassie'd come home.
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[Roddy McDowall] Elizabeth and I
have been friends
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since we were
in Lassie Come Home.
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That's a very long time.
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So we've, uh,
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shared a lot
of life together, happily.
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What was your first impression,
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the first time you ever saw
Elizabeth on the set of Lassie?
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- Truthfully?
- [Peter Lawford] Of course.
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I was absolutely floored by her.
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She has
the most exquisite face.
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[gentle music playing]
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Please, Joe.
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What do you want?
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I hope you won't worry too much
about Lassie.
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[McDowall] Her eyes
were so astounding
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that the cameraman asked
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if her mother would please
have the mascara removed.
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And she said,
"I'm not wearing any."
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I mean, those top lashes.
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She was the most beautiful thing
I ever saw in my life.
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[sentimental music playing]
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[gentle, whimsical music
playing]
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[Taylor] The idea
of being in films
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was like the most magical
extension of make-believe.
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- Country's going to pot.
- Nonsense.
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- What's that?
- I said, "Nonsense."
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[Taylor] I didn't know
that it was a career.
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Didn't occur to me
that I was working for money.
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It just seemed like
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a more concrete extension
of make-believe.
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Isn't he beautiful?
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He's new.
I've never seen him before.
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[McDowall] How did you get
the part of Velvet Brown?
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[Taylor] I was under contract
to MGM at the time,
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and I desperately wanted
the part
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because it was me.
It was my whole life,
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my relationship
and love for horses.
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And the producer saw me,
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and he said, "Well,
I'm very sorry, Elizabeth.
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You're just too small.
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You know, no one
would believe it."
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00:07:01,671 --> 00:07:05,258
But, I mean, I was swinging
from doors to make myself grow.
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I did 40 jumps every morning.
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00:07:07,510 --> 00:07:11,056
I ate steak
for breakfast, lunch, dinner.
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[soaring music playing]
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[Taylor]
I literally stretched myself,
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and I grew three inches
in three months.
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And Pandro Berman,
the producer, he said,
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"With that kind of tenacity,
honey, you've got the part."
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Velvet, you're too young
to understand some things.
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Have you ever really felt keen
about anything?
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- Oh, yes.
- Horses.
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00:07:33,119 --> 00:07:34,829
[horses whinnying]
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Steady now.
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00:07:37,165 --> 00:07:40,251
- [bell rings]
- [crowd cheers]
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[upbeat, jazzy music playing]
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[announcer] Elizabeth is
about the best-looking
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15-year-old girl
known to the public at large.
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I christen thee
the MGM Mayer Ship.
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[announcer] She will soon
be appearing in Cynthia
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00:08:05,193 --> 00:08:06,695
and Life with Father.
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00:08:07,654 --> 00:08:08,863
Elizabeth is under contract
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00:08:08,863 --> 00:08:10,615
with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
in Hollywood
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and receives her education
at the MGM Studio school.
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[player clicks, tape hisses]
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00:08:17,163 --> 00:08:19,499
- [McDowall] Did you like school?
- [Taylor] I hated it.
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[somber music playing]
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[Taylor] I mean,
it was really so grim.
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[Meryman]
It was a studio school?
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[Taylor] Which used to be
Irving Thalberg's bungalow
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that they converted
into a school.
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I don't know.
There was something so false
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about trying to pack in
your education.
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00:08:43,648 --> 00:08:46,026
All it took was
three hours a day,
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00:08:46,026 --> 00:08:48,653
but you could be on the set
eight hours.
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00:08:49,070 --> 00:08:50,905
- Well, how's my big girl?
- Hello, Dad.
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00:08:50,905 --> 00:08:52,782
[Taylor] And during
that eight hours,
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you had to cram in
10 minutes here, 15 minutes.
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- [Meryman] Yeah.
- [Taylor] And in between times,
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you would have to go out
and act.
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00:09:00,999 --> 00:09:05,170
So your memory was split
between being the character,
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00:09:05,170 --> 00:09:08,089
and then being hauled
back into school,
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00:09:08,089 --> 00:09:11,551
and trying to snap your brain
back into place
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00:09:11,551 --> 00:09:12,844
and become a student.
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00:09:12,844 --> 00:09:14,220
[Meryman] The real business
of the day
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00:09:14,220 --> 00:09:15,555
is the acting.
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00:09:15,555 --> 00:09:18,641
- [McDowall] You bet yours.
- [all laughing]
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00:09:19,184 --> 00:09:22,062
[dreamy jazz music playing]
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00:09:22,062 --> 00:09:23,563
I admire you.
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00:09:24,105 --> 00:09:26,900
But I'm afraid you're
a little too noble for me.
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00:09:29,152 --> 00:09:30,695
[dreamy music continues]
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00:09:30,695 --> 00:09:32,489
[Taylor] Something funny
happened to me.
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00:09:32,489 --> 00:09:35,950
I was, like, a child actress,
200
00:09:36,659 --> 00:09:39,037
and then all of a sudden,
I was playing,
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00:09:39,037 --> 00:09:42,791
at the age of 16
but looking 24,
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00:09:42,791 --> 00:09:45,669
I was playing in a film
Robert Taylor's wife.
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00:09:47,587 --> 00:09:48,713
The awful thing is
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00:09:48,713 --> 00:09:51,257
I received my own
real-life kiss
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00:09:52,050 --> 00:09:55,345
one week before I received
my first film kiss.
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00:09:56,096 --> 00:09:59,516
I must say the film kiss was
better than my real-life kiss.
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00:09:59,516 --> 00:10:00,600
[Meryman chuckles]
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00:10:00,600 --> 00:10:01,935
[Taylor] But it was sort of like
209
00:10:01,935 --> 00:10:05,355
I was thrown
into the adult world
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00:10:05,355 --> 00:10:09,734
where I had to behave
like a sophisticated woman.
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00:10:10,443 --> 00:10:13,738
And in my own world,
I was a terrified little girl.
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00:10:14,406 --> 00:10:15,865
[dreamy orchestral music
playing]
213
00:10:15,865 --> 00:10:17,826
[announcer] Have you ever seen
a dream walking?
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00:10:17,826 --> 00:10:20,954
Well, I have. A dream with
peaches-and-cream complexion,
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00:10:20,954 --> 00:10:23,248
flowing raven locks,
and big blue eyes
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00:10:23,248 --> 00:10:24,499
that literally talk.
217
00:10:24,499 --> 00:10:26,668
She's five-foot-five
and 110 pounds
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00:10:26,668 --> 00:10:29,212
of glorious 16-year-old
cover girl beauty.
219
00:10:29,212 --> 00:10:31,548
You'll see her soon
in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's
220
00:10:31,548 --> 00:10:34,259
gay Technicolor musical comedy,
A Date with Judy.
221
00:10:34,259 --> 00:10:36,344
You're the prettiest girl
in Santa Barbara.
222
00:10:36,344 --> 00:10:37,470
That's obvious.
223
00:10:37,470 --> 00:10:40,098
Why, thank you very much.
224
00:10:40,098 --> 00:10:41,349
And you know it.
225
00:10:41,641 --> 00:10:43,309
That's also obvious.
226
00:10:45,020 --> 00:10:48,314
I mean, you know,
from a very, very early age,
227
00:10:48,815 --> 00:10:52,277
you represented
one of the most potent
228
00:10:52,277 --> 00:10:54,112
sex symbols in the world.
229
00:10:54,112 --> 00:10:55,780
[Taylor] It's because
I played with that horse
230
00:10:55,780 --> 00:10:57,657
when I was 12 years old.
231
00:10:57,657 --> 00:10:58,783
May I have a cigarette, please?
232
00:10:58,783 --> 00:11:00,076
[McDowall chuckles]
233
00:11:00,952 --> 00:11:03,329
Good evening, Carol.
Good evening.
234
00:11:03,329 --> 00:11:05,290
[gentle music playing]
235
00:11:05,290 --> 00:11:08,960
You look lovely tonight, Carol.
You really do.
236
00:11:09,544 --> 00:11:12,172
And you've, uh, grown too.
237
00:11:12,172 --> 00:11:13,631
You certainly have.
238
00:11:13,965 --> 00:11:15,800
[ethereal harp music playing]
239
00:11:15,800 --> 00:11:17,302
[Meryman] When you weren't
in school,
240
00:11:17,302 --> 00:11:19,387
there was someone with you
all the time,
241
00:11:19,387 --> 00:11:21,014
looking after you?
242
00:11:22,098 --> 00:11:24,809
[Taylor]
During my teenage years,
243
00:11:25,268 --> 00:11:29,272
my mother and a tutor
were with me all the time.
244
00:11:29,272 --> 00:11:32,400
But you can imagine
when you're almost 18,
245
00:11:32,859 --> 00:11:36,738
having, like, a nanny
take you in tow.
246
00:11:37,322 --> 00:11:40,825
You weren't even supposed to go
into the commissary alone.
247
00:11:43,536 --> 00:11:45,121
And it was only
when I was almost 18
248
00:11:45,121 --> 00:11:48,416
that I was allowed
to go anyplace by myself.
249
00:11:49,459 --> 00:11:50,960
[film rolling]
250
00:11:50,960 --> 00:11:54,089
["Easy Living" by Billie Holiday
playing]
251
00:11:54,089 --> 00:11:55,924
[reporter] Elizabeth,
what do you like to do
252
00:11:55,924 --> 00:11:57,467
when you're not making movies?
253
00:11:58,635 --> 00:12:00,345
[Taylor] Oh, dances and parties
254
00:12:00,345 --> 00:12:03,056
on Friday and Saturday nights,
for instance.
255
00:12:03,056 --> 00:12:06,184
Baseball and football games
on Saturday afternoons.
256
00:12:06,184 --> 00:12:08,728
Long horseback rides
with friends like Jane Powell.
257
00:12:08,728 --> 00:12:10,021
All those things
are a lot of fun.
258
00:12:10,021 --> 00:12:13,858
["Easy Living" continues]
259
00:12:19,989 --> 00:12:22,992
[Taylor] When I was at MGM
and very young,
260
00:12:22,992 --> 00:12:25,412
people in the press department
would suggest
261
00:12:25,412 --> 00:12:26,538
that I would date somebody.
262
00:12:26,538 --> 00:12:28,289
[Meryman laughs] For publicity.
263
00:12:28,289 --> 00:12:31,543
[Taylor] Publicity.
It was all pure fabrication.
264
00:12:31,543 --> 00:12:33,003
We would go out on dates.
265
00:12:33,003 --> 00:12:35,880
It was so virginal
that we kissed on the cheek.
266
00:12:35,880 --> 00:12:38,383
You know? I mean,
that's how serious it was.
267
00:12:38,383 --> 00:12:45,557
♪ For you, maybe I'm a fool
but it's fun ♪
268
00:12:46,599 --> 00:12:53,606
♪ People say you rule me
with one wave of your hand ♪
269
00:12:53,857 --> 00:12:56,985
♪ Darling, it's grand ♪
270
00:12:56,985 --> 00:12:59,904
♪ They just don't understand ♪
271
00:12:59,904 --> 00:13:03,116
[Meryman] You really wanted
to get married.
272
00:13:03,116 --> 00:13:06,077
[Taylor] Yes, I did, because
I was in love with love.
273
00:13:06,077 --> 00:13:07,996
I was infatuated with love.
274
00:13:08,455 --> 00:13:12,334
I was playing parts
that were so highly romantic.
275
00:13:12,917 --> 00:13:14,210
[Meryman]
The impression I get is
276
00:13:14,210 --> 00:13:16,338
that you really wanted
your freedom.
277
00:13:16,338 --> 00:13:19,841
[Taylor] Absolutely.
But I was so naive.
278
00:13:19,841 --> 00:13:22,552
I met Nick Hilton
at the age of 18.
279
00:13:22,552 --> 00:13:24,220
I was a virgin.
280
00:13:24,220 --> 00:13:28,141
Not only a virgin physically,
but mentally.
281
00:13:29,601 --> 00:13:31,978
♪ And I'm so in love ♪
282
00:13:31,978 --> 00:13:34,397
[Taylor] I was not prepared
to be an adult.
283
00:13:34,397 --> 00:13:36,107
I'd been sheltered, protected.
284
00:13:36,107 --> 00:13:40,612
The repercussions were that
I made horrendous mistakes.
285
00:13:40,612 --> 00:13:44,366
[triumphant horn music playing]
286
00:13:45,158 --> 00:13:46,743
[reporter] Hollywood's
wedding of the year
287
00:13:46,743 --> 00:13:48,286
at the Beverly Hills
Catholic Church,
288
00:13:48,286 --> 00:13:51,331
as lovely British-born
screen star, Elizabeth Taylor,
289
00:13:51,331 --> 00:13:52,415
arrives with her father
290
00:13:52,415 --> 00:13:54,459
for her marriage
to Conrad Hilton Jr.,
291
00:13:54,459 --> 00:13:57,170
crowning a romance
everybody's been interested in.
292
00:13:57,170 --> 00:13:59,089
The 23-year-old bridegroom
is heir
293
00:13:59,089 --> 00:14:01,091
to one of America's
richest men.
294
00:14:01,091 --> 00:14:04,177
Elizabeth, at 18, is famous
for her loveliness and charm.
295
00:14:04,177 --> 00:14:07,138
Her striking gown,
a gift from her studio friends,
296
00:14:07,138 --> 00:14:09,557
simply stagger the enormous
crowds at the wedding.
297
00:14:09,557 --> 00:14:13,103
[horn fanfare playing]
298
00:14:13,895 --> 00:14:16,856
[Taylor] The ceremony
was like a fairy tale.
299
00:14:16,856 --> 00:14:18,483
It was perfect.
300
00:14:18,483 --> 00:14:22,821
With this ring, I thee wed.
301
00:14:22,821 --> 00:14:24,447
[ethereal harp music playing]
302
00:14:24,447 --> 00:14:26,408
[Taylor] I thought something
would automatically
303
00:14:26,408 --> 00:14:27,659
happen to me inside.
304
00:14:27,659 --> 00:14:30,078
I thought
I would obtain maturity...
305
00:14:30,995 --> 00:14:34,082
just because I was a missus
instead of a miss.
306
00:14:34,666 --> 00:14:37,544
Of course, it had nothing to do
with it. [laughing]
307
00:14:38,128 --> 00:14:40,296
[shutters clicking]
308
00:14:41,172 --> 00:14:44,175
[Taylor] Then we drove away,
and there was a big reception.
309
00:14:48,304 --> 00:14:49,848
For the first time in my life,
310
00:14:49,848 --> 00:14:51,891
I'd had two glasses
of champagne.
311
00:14:52,976 --> 00:14:55,228
Then I had three glasses
of champagne.
312
00:14:55,895 --> 00:14:59,232
And the time came to leave,
313
00:14:59,232 --> 00:15:01,693
and I became
more and more petrified.
314
00:15:01,693 --> 00:15:03,361
[somber music playing]
315
00:15:03,361 --> 00:15:05,864
Because I really had
no idea what was coming.
316
00:15:06,781 --> 00:15:09,200
[announcer] Conrad Hilton Jr.
and Elizabeth Taylor sail
317
00:15:09,200 --> 00:15:12,162
on the Queen Mary
for three months in Europe.
318
00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:16,875
[Taylor] And went to the place
319
00:15:16,875 --> 00:15:18,918
where we spent
our wedding night.
320
00:15:20,211 --> 00:15:22,339
I locked myself
in the bathroom,
321
00:15:22,339 --> 00:15:24,007
and changed, and...
322
00:15:24,632 --> 00:15:27,552
I didn't wanna unlock the door,
I was so petrified.
323
00:15:27,552 --> 00:15:29,971
Finally, I did unlock the door.
324
00:15:31,598 --> 00:15:33,391
And, um...
325
00:15:33,391 --> 00:15:36,644
I guess Nick saw
that I was so terrified.
326
00:15:38,063 --> 00:15:40,899
Anyway, nothing happened
for three days. [laughing]
327
00:15:40,899 --> 00:15:42,567
[Meryman laughs]
328
00:15:44,235 --> 00:15:46,654
Okay, stop. [laughing]
329
00:15:46,654 --> 00:15:47,697
[recording stops]
330
00:15:47,697 --> 00:15:51,034
[upbeat big band music playing]
331
00:15:52,452 --> 00:15:55,622
It was just wonderful.
We had such a gay time.
332
00:15:55,622 --> 00:15:56,706
We love Europe.
333
00:15:56,706 --> 00:15:58,416
[music continues]
334
00:16:05,215 --> 00:16:08,635
Hello, everybody. I'd like you
to meet my new dog, Bonko.
335
00:16:08,635 --> 00:16:11,096
He's three months old,
and he's a true Frenchman.
336
00:16:11,096 --> 00:16:13,056
Won't you say hello in French?
337
00:16:13,056 --> 00:16:15,100
Bonko. Bonko. [laughs]
338
00:16:15,100 --> 00:16:18,395
[upbeat jazz music playing]
339
00:16:20,438 --> 00:16:21,773
[music ends]
340
00:16:21,773 --> 00:16:24,067
[Meryman speaking]
341
00:16:24,067 --> 00:16:26,778
- [Taylor] Dark blue.
- [Meryman] Not violet or...?
342
00:16:26,778 --> 00:16:28,113
[Taylor laughs] No.
343
00:16:28,113 --> 00:16:31,074
That's some
romantic journalist's idea.
344
00:16:31,074 --> 00:16:33,284
[tense music playing]
345
00:16:33,284 --> 00:16:36,079
[roaring]
346
00:16:37,706 --> 00:16:40,041
[Meryman] Are there
relatively few opportunities
347
00:16:40,041 --> 00:16:43,211
for a good actress to be good?
348
00:16:43,211 --> 00:16:45,046
[Taylor] I fought
against the studio
349
00:16:45,046 --> 00:16:46,840
to get a good role or a film.
350
00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:48,258
Come with me.
351
00:16:48,633 --> 00:16:49,843
[Taylor] I couldn't.
352
00:16:49,843 --> 00:16:53,054
It was like
walking in molasses.
353
00:16:53,054 --> 00:16:55,932
No matter how hard I tried,
354
00:16:56,558 --> 00:17:00,687
they were going to keep me
stuck as an ingenue.
355
00:17:00,687 --> 00:17:01,938
Why are you so quiet?
356
00:17:01,938 --> 00:17:03,648
[Taylor] I wanted a challenge,
357
00:17:03,648 --> 00:17:05,650
something with meaning.
358
00:17:05,650 --> 00:17:06,693
Yeah.
359
00:17:07,110 --> 00:17:09,612
[sentimental music playing]
360
00:17:09,612 --> 00:17:11,322
Do I make you nervous?
361
00:17:15,035 --> 00:17:16,661
Yes. [chuckles]
362
00:17:17,787 --> 00:17:19,080
You look like an Eastman.
363
00:17:19,080 --> 00:17:21,207
- Are you one of them?
- Mm-hmm.
364
00:17:21,207 --> 00:17:23,293
I'm a nephew. My name's George.
365
00:17:24,002 --> 00:17:25,337
I'm Angela.
366
00:17:25,337 --> 00:17:28,506
The first time I played
a so-called adult role
367
00:17:28,506 --> 00:17:33,178
was in A Place in the Sun
with Montgomery Clift.
368
00:17:34,429 --> 00:17:38,016
And I was absolutely terrified
because Monty, first of all,
369
00:17:38,016 --> 00:17:40,852
was, you know,
the New York stage actor,
370
00:17:40,852 --> 00:17:42,145
and I felt very much
371
00:17:42,145 --> 00:17:45,023
the inadequate, teenage,
372
00:17:45,023 --> 00:17:47,525
Hollywood sort of puppet
373
00:17:47,525 --> 00:17:50,153
that had just worn
pretty clothes
374
00:17:50,153 --> 00:17:53,656
and hadn't really acted
except with horses and dogs.
375
00:17:54,115 --> 00:17:56,659
I'm getting on
pretty well here, Mama.
376
00:17:58,078 --> 00:17:59,746
I'm happy here, too.
377
00:18:00,538 --> 00:18:01,831
[cork pops]
378
00:18:02,207 --> 00:18:03,541
Who's there with you, George?
379
00:18:03,541 --> 00:18:06,378
It's me, Mama.
380
00:18:06,378 --> 00:18:10,423
George encouraged me so,
because he didn't make me feel
381
00:18:10,423 --> 00:18:12,050
like a puppet.
382
00:18:12,050 --> 00:18:14,552
He gave indications
of what he wanted
383
00:18:14,552 --> 00:18:17,847
but didn't tell you
specifically what to do.
384
00:18:17,847 --> 00:18:19,474
[tender big band music playing]
385
00:18:19,474 --> 00:18:21,726
This is nice.
I don't wanna spoil it.
386
00:18:21,726 --> 00:18:24,688
[Taylor] When we were doing
the dance scene,
387
00:18:24,688 --> 00:18:29,401
- and Monty says, "I love you."
- I love you.
388
00:18:29,401 --> 00:18:33,071
[Taylor] And my instinct was
to look up into his eyes,
389
00:18:33,071 --> 00:18:35,073
and George said, "No.
390
00:18:35,073 --> 00:18:37,867
Just have some expression
on your face,
391
00:18:37,867 --> 00:18:39,619
whatever it is you're feeling."
392
00:18:39,619 --> 00:18:41,454
[music continues]
393
00:18:41,454 --> 00:18:44,708
You're the fella that wondered
why I invited you here tonight.
394
00:18:46,668 --> 00:18:48,253
I'll tell you why.
395
00:18:49,421 --> 00:18:50,922
I love--
396
00:18:50,922 --> 00:18:52,173
Are they watching us?
397
00:18:52,173 --> 00:18:55,468
[music swells]
398
00:18:56,094 --> 00:18:57,887
I love you, too.
399
00:18:57,887 --> 00:18:59,389
It scares me.
400
00:19:00,015 --> 00:19:01,766
I loved doing that film.
401
00:19:02,267 --> 00:19:06,104
And I think I was bitten.
402
00:19:06,104 --> 00:19:10,483
I loved
the possibility of acting.
403
00:19:10,483 --> 00:19:15,780
I loved being given the chance
of maybe becoming an actress.
404
00:19:15,780 --> 00:19:19,617
And I took it.
I took it between my teeth,
405
00:19:19,617 --> 00:19:21,369
like a horse does.
406
00:19:22,037 --> 00:19:23,538
And I ran.
407
00:19:24,122 --> 00:19:25,999
And it seemed to work.
408
00:19:25,999 --> 00:19:29,127
[applause]
409
00:19:29,127 --> 00:19:30,962
[announcer]
Eager fans see Elizabeth Taylor
410
00:19:30,962 --> 00:19:32,130
with Montgomery Clift.
411
00:19:32,130 --> 00:19:33,381
[laughs]
412
00:19:33,381 --> 00:19:34,924
Haven't seen you in a long time.
413
00:19:34,924 --> 00:19:36,468
Thank you. How are you?
414
00:19:36,468 --> 00:19:39,304
[Meryman] You talked about
making horrendous errors.
415
00:19:39,304 --> 00:19:41,931
What sort of things were those?
416
00:19:43,141 --> 00:19:44,934
[Taylor] Well, I think...
417
00:19:44,934 --> 00:19:46,644
[sighs]
...trying to rush things,
418
00:19:46,644 --> 00:19:48,229
trying to force things.
419
00:19:49,522 --> 00:19:50,940
I mean,
there's nothing to be said
420
00:19:50,940 --> 00:19:52,442
about my first marriage.
421
00:19:54,152 --> 00:19:56,196
[Meryman] Okay, um...
422
00:19:58,323 --> 00:20:01,368
This is a delicate area,
and I don't know how to...
423
00:20:01,368 --> 00:20:02,827
how it should be handled.
424
00:20:02,827 --> 00:20:05,413
[Taylor] I don't want to talk
about Nick Hilton,
425
00:20:05,413 --> 00:20:07,165
about his kicking me
in the stomach
426
00:20:07,165 --> 00:20:08,958
and causing me
to have a miscarriage.
427
00:20:08,958 --> 00:20:11,711
That's the kind of thing
that nobody in the world knows.
428
00:20:11,711 --> 00:20:14,005
[Meryman] I think
the great interest in this is
429
00:20:14,005 --> 00:20:16,257
to find out
what you have to say
430
00:20:16,257 --> 00:20:18,343
about all these things.
431
00:20:19,344 --> 00:20:20,345
[Taylor] Yeah.
432
00:20:20,345 --> 00:20:22,389
[ethereal harp music playing]
433
00:20:22,389 --> 00:20:24,599
[Taylor] The wedding was lovely.
434
00:20:25,100 --> 00:20:27,769
Then came disillusionment.
435
00:20:28,353 --> 00:20:30,689
Also a few split lips.
436
00:20:31,690 --> 00:20:34,275
Um, I had left
437
00:20:34,275 --> 00:20:36,903
because Nick was always
in a temper,
438
00:20:36,903 --> 00:20:38,613
or stoned, or something.
439
00:20:39,239 --> 00:20:41,950
I couldn't really go back
to that life of...
440
00:20:43,118 --> 00:20:46,538
such mental and physical abuse.
441
00:20:47,664 --> 00:20:50,375
And our marriage
was over and done with.
442
00:20:51,918 --> 00:20:54,546
[somber music playing]
443
00:20:54,546 --> 00:20:57,590
[gentle jazz music playing]
444
00:20:59,676 --> 00:21:02,721
Anyway,
after the whole thing,
445
00:21:02,721 --> 00:21:05,682
I stayed at the Plaza Hotel
in New York.
446
00:21:06,224 --> 00:21:09,227
The first kind of free,
independent time
447
00:21:09,227 --> 00:21:11,396
I'd ever had in my life.
448
00:21:11,396 --> 00:21:13,732
I was a divorcée,
449
00:21:13,732 --> 00:21:15,150
and I was 19.
450
00:21:15,608 --> 00:21:18,486
Roddy was there with me,
and Monty.
451
00:21:18,486 --> 00:21:21,072
Just having fun with my chums,
452
00:21:21,072 --> 00:21:22,741
doing all kinds
of crazy things.
453
00:21:24,743 --> 00:21:27,704
[bombastic percussive music
playing]
454
00:21:33,918 --> 00:21:35,920
[Taylor] If I wanted to go
ice skating
455
00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:37,922
at 9:00 at night, we would.
456
00:21:37,922 --> 00:21:40,216
Or we'd just have hotdogs
all day long.
457
00:21:40,216 --> 00:21:43,386
Completely irresponsible
sort of behavior.
458
00:21:43,386 --> 00:21:45,263
I didn't have
to keep proper hours.
459
00:21:45,263 --> 00:21:47,515
I didn't have
to do anything properly.
460
00:21:48,016 --> 00:21:49,559
And I had a ball.
461
00:21:49,559 --> 00:21:52,479
And, of course, Roddy and Monty
were such marvelous friends,
462
00:21:52,479 --> 00:21:56,149
and they took, uh,
great care of me.
463
00:21:56,483 --> 00:21:58,485
[gentle piano music playing]
464
00:21:58,485 --> 00:22:01,071
[seagulls squawking]
465
00:22:08,203 --> 00:22:10,789
Elizabeth surrounded herself
466
00:22:10,789 --> 00:22:12,123
with gay men.
467
00:22:12,665 --> 00:22:15,210
She worshiped Montgomery Clift.
468
00:22:15,210 --> 00:22:17,379
She loved Rock Hudson.
469
00:22:17,379 --> 00:22:21,591
She just cherished
those relationships.
470
00:22:21,591 --> 00:22:24,594
They were never going
to come on to her,
471
00:22:24,594 --> 00:22:27,430
and I think
she really appreciated that.
472
00:22:29,432 --> 00:22:31,184
She saw people around her,
473
00:22:31,184 --> 00:22:33,228
particularly her closest friends,
474
00:22:33,228 --> 00:22:35,980
Monty Clift, I think,
and Rock Hudson,
475
00:22:35,980 --> 00:22:37,732
who were hidden
476
00:22:37,732 --> 00:22:40,402
in this kind
of Hollywood facade.
477
00:22:40,402 --> 00:22:43,571
But they weren't willing
to come out at that stage.
478
00:22:43,571 --> 00:22:46,241
'Cause we lived
in such a different world then.
479
00:22:46,241 --> 00:22:48,368
It was just not possible.
480
00:22:49,202 --> 00:22:50,620
[Taylor]
Roddy has been, I guess,
481
00:22:50,620 --> 00:22:53,665
my most consistent friend,
482
00:22:54,290 --> 00:22:56,001
my longest friend.
483
00:22:57,293 --> 00:22:59,587
He makes you feel cherished,
484
00:22:59,587 --> 00:23:02,382
just as you really are.
485
00:23:02,966 --> 00:23:06,720
A lot of my friends,
they've always been kind of...
486
00:23:07,929 --> 00:23:09,556
a sanctuary.
487
00:23:11,016 --> 00:23:14,102
[gentle piano music playing]
488
00:23:16,187 --> 00:23:17,814
[movie reel whirring]
489
00:23:17,814 --> 00:23:20,525
[bombastic orchestral music
playing]
490
00:23:20,525 --> 00:23:21,693
[announcer 1]
A traditional way
491
00:23:21,693 --> 00:23:23,194
of greeting the new year
in London
492
00:23:23,194 --> 00:23:25,363
is the Chelsea Arts Ball
at the Royal Albert Hall.
493
00:23:25,864 --> 00:23:28,533
Clad in very fancy dress,
they danced the old year out
494
00:23:28,533 --> 00:23:30,243
without much regret,
I should imagine.
495
00:23:30,243 --> 00:23:33,121
[band playing upbeat music]
496
00:23:33,121 --> 00:23:34,372
[crowd cheering]
497
00:23:34,372 --> 00:23:37,876
[dramatic music playing]
498
00:23:37,876 --> 00:23:40,545
[announcer 2] All cameras
at London airport are focused
499
00:23:40,545 --> 00:23:42,213
on two people
very much in love,
500
00:23:42,213 --> 00:23:45,216
Britain's Michael Wilding
and Elizabeth Taylor.
501
00:23:45,759 --> 00:23:47,886
[laughing] I'm very glad.
502
00:23:47,886 --> 00:23:51,389
I'm glad to see you too
as a matter of fact.
503
00:23:51,389 --> 00:23:53,391
[Taylor] Then, of course,
I met Michael,
504
00:23:53,391 --> 00:23:56,311
and he's... he was
a great stabilizer.
505
00:23:56,686 --> 00:23:58,480
[Wilfred Smith]
Is there anything I can do?
506
00:23:58,772 --> 00:23:59,898
Look, I don't know your trouble,
507
00:23:59,898 --> 00:24:02,025
but you don't look very well
to me.
508
00:24:03,234 --> 00:24:05,403
[Meryman] Kind of went
from one extreme to another.
509
00:24:05,403 --> 00:24:06,863
[Taylor] Oh, yes. Quite clearly.
510
00:24:06,863 --> 00:24:09,699
I mean, Michael is
20 years older than I am,
511
00:24:09,699 --> 00:24:14,913
so, uh, it was a bit
of the father figure thing.
512
00:24:14,913 --> 00:24:16,748
How do you do?
Awfully good to see you.
513
00:24:16,748 --> 00:24:18,875
[Taylor]
He represented tranquility,
514
00:24:18,875 --> 00:24:21,044
security, maturity.
515
00:24:21,044 --> 00:24:23,463
[brooding music playing]
516
00:24:23,463 --> 00:24:25,298
[singer] All together now!
517
00:24:25,632 --> 00:24:27,550
[Taylor]
He represented all the things
518
00:24:27,550 --> 00:24:30,011
that I needed in myself.
519
00:24:31,805 --> 00:24:34,891
[upbeat rock music playing]
520
00:24:34,891 --> 00:24:36,434
[announcer 1]
No Hollywood premiere
521
00:24:36,434 --> 00:24:37,644
could ever compete with this,
522
00:24:37,644 --> 00:24:39,562
the siege of Caxton Hall,
523
00:24:39,562 --> 00:24:41,606
as thousands of fans fought
for just a glimpse
524
00:24:41,606 --> 00:24:44,275
of these glamorous stars
on their wedding day.
525
00:24:45,860 --> 00:24:47,112
[announcer 2]
Normally staid Londoners
526
00:24:47,112 --> 00:24:49,280
mobbed the newlyweds
as the well-wishers
527
00:24:49,280 --> 00:24:52,659
surged forward to get a better
look at the Wildings.
528
00:24:55,578 --> 00:24:57,914
[rock music continues]
529
00:25:09,300 --> 00:25:10,969
[music ends]
530
00:25:10,969 --> 00:25:12,429
[horn honking]
531
00:25:12,429 --> 00:25:13,805
[film reel clicking]
532
00:25:13,805 --> 00:25:16,558
[gentle harp music playing]
533
00:25:16,558 --> 00:25:18,935
[Taylor] I was dying
to have children.
534
00:25:19,602 --> 00:25:22,147
But I was at least
realistic enough to know
535
00:25:22,147 --> 00:25:24,107
that I was not ready.
536
00:25:24,107 --> 00:25:25,483
I was 20 years old,
537
00:25:25,483 --> 00:25:28,945
and I was so inexperienced.
538
00:25:28,945 --> 00:25:33,158
And brought up in a world
of such protection.
539
00:25:33,158 --> 00:25:35,160
People did things for me.
540
00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:37,120
But I wanted to be a good wife.
541
00:25:37,120 --> 00:25:39,998
I really wanted to be
a splendid mother.
542
00:25:42,334 --> 00:25:43,668
[announcer] A new personality
543
00:25:43,668 --> 00:25:45,837
makes his film debut
in Hollywood.
544
00:25:45,837 --> 00:25:48,506
With his lovely mother,
MGM star Elizabeth Taylor,
545
00:25:48,506 --> 00:25:50,133
directing the performance,
546
00:25:50,133 --> 00:25:51,885
Michael Howard Wilding
547
00:25:51,885 --> 00:25:54,971
makes his bow to the great
movie audience.
548
00:25:54,971 --> 00:25:57,932
[dramatic music playing]
549
00:25:57,932 --> 00:26:00,060
[Taylor] Then I went back
to MGM,
550
00:26:00,727 --> 00:26:03,730
and I was forced to do things
that I hated.
551
00:26:04,647 --> 00:26:07,567
I was given such shit
that you should choke on.
552
00:26:10,195 --> 00:26:11,738
[elephant trumpeting]
553
00:26:11,738 --> 00:26:14,491
[announcer] Elizabeth Taylor
as the beautiful young girl
554
00:26:14,491 --> 00:26:16,743
who recklessly loved a man
she hardly knew.
555
00:26:16,743 --> 00:26:19,204
The dark depths within him
a mystery
556
00:26:19,204 --> 00:26:21,164
she had still to discover.
557
00:26:21,164 --> 00:26:23,583
[Taylor] And that kind of
made me sick.
558
00:26:23,583 --> 00:26:25,543
I died inside.
559
00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:28,588
Because of year after year
of reading reviews
560
00:26:28,588 --> 00:26:33,051
that said I was a vacuous,
pretty face
561
00:26:33,051 --> 00:26:36,930
that quite clearly couldn't
read a line upside down.
562
00:26:37,347 --> 00:26:40,392
I can't just turn it on when you
want it, like a light switch,
563
00:26:40,392 --> 00:26:42,102
and turn it off when you don't.
564
00:26:42,102 --> 00:26:45,647
There was a kind of rebellion
that started within me.
565
00:26:45,647 --> 00:26:47,982
I thought maybe
I'd start to fight then.
566
00:26:48,817 --> 00:26:50,568
And then I did start to fight.
567
00:26:50,568 --> 00:26:53,571
[heavy, grim music playing]
568
00:26:53,571 --> 00:26:55,699
[plane engine roaring]
569
00:26:56,783 --> 00:26:58,410
[announcer] Out of a special
chartered plane
570
00:26:58,410 --> 00:27:00,161
stepped Elizabeth Taylor,
571
00:27:00,161 --> 00:27:03,623
Rock Hudson,
director George Stevens.
572
00:27:03,623 --> 00:27:06,668
[swelling, majestic music
playing]
573
00:27:10,588 --> 00:27:11,673
Hello.
574
00:27:11,673 --> 00:27:13,216
[Dr. Horace Lynnton]
Why, Leslie!
575
00:27:13,216 --> 00:27:15,385
- Good morning.
- Good morning.
576
00:27:18,096 --> 00:27:19,806
[Taylor] The opportunity
was marvelous
577
00:27:19,806 --> 00:27:22,517
because the character
starts from 18
578
00:27:22,934 --> 00:27:28,106
and ends up a very manicured,
well-coiffed 50.
579
00:27:29,733 --> 00:27:33,987
And that is difficult
to portray if you are 22,
580
00:27:34,404 --> 00:27:35,697
which I was.
581
00:27:35,697 --> 00:27:37,949
[cattle bellowing]
582
00:27:40,410 --> 00:27:42,370
- How you doin'?
- Ooh!
583
00:27:44,289 --> 00:27:45,415
Tired, honey?
584
00:27:45,415 --> 00:27:47,792
Now don't you worry about me.
585
00:27:48,835 --> 00:27:50,879
I'm a tough Texian now.
586
00:27:52,422 --> 00:27:56,051
I started the film, and again,
all the method actors
587
00:27:56,051 --> 00:27:59,763
that still give me
an inferiority complex,
588
00:27:59,763 --> 00:28:01,931
Jimmy Dean, Carroll Baker...
589
00:28:01,931 --> 00:28:04,726
- Now, Luz.
- She was a character.
590
00:28:04,726 --> 00:28:06,811
...she played my daughter!
591
00:28:06,811 --> 00:28:09,814
And she's two years
older than I am. [chuckles]
592
00:28:09,814 --> 00:28:12,942
[crowd chatter, whooping]
593
00:28:18,573 --> 00:28:21,159
- Eat it while it's hot!
- [whooping]
594
00:28:22,786 --> 00:28:26,331
[dramatic orchestral music
playing]
595
00:28:28,375 --> 00:28:30,835
[Taylor] George and I
had gotten on so well
596
00:28:30,835 --> 00:28:32,671
on A Place in the Sun.
597
00:28:33,171 --> 00:28:36,633
But I don't know, in this,
it's like, uh...
598
00:28:36,633 --> 00:28:39,511
it's hard to say.
We got off on a bad start.
599
00:28:39,969 --> 00:28:41,846
Just difference of opinion
600
00:28:41,846 --> 00:28:43,515
to do with the character.
601
00:28:44,182 --> 00:28:47,227
And in front of the whole crew,
everyone,
602
00:28:47,227 --> 00:28:50,355
he said clearly,
I would never become an actress
603
00:28:50,355 --> 00:28:52,941
because I was so concerned
604
00:28:52,941 --> 00:28:55,026
about being pretty.
605
00:28:56,820 --> 00:28:59,656
He constantly reminded me
that I was a movie star,
606
00:28:59,656 --> 00:29:01,491
not an actress.
607
00:29:01,491 --> 00:29:03,576
He constantly misinterpreted...
608
00:29:04,369 --> 00:29:07,914
ideas of mine
that did not gel with his.
609
00:29:08,873 --> 00:29:11,292
Please do go on talking,
I'd love it.
610
00:29:12,711 --> 00:29:14,379
This is men's stuff.
611
00:29:15,088 --> 00:29:17,507
Leslie, how 'bout
a cup of coffee,
612
00:29:17,507 --> 00:29:19,509
or a drink or something?
613
00:29:23,138 --> 00:29:24,973
"Men's stuff"?
614
00:29:26,433 --> 00:29:27,976
Lord have mercy.
615
00:29:28,435 --> 00:29:31,646
[McDowall] And did you ever
think of taking acting lessons
616
00:29:31,646 --> 00:29:32,897
- or did you--
- [Taylor] No.
617
00:29:32,897 --> 00:29:34,315
- You never thought that?
- No.
618
00:29:34,315 --> 00:29:36,484
[Meryman] Have you ever taken
acting lessons?
619
00:29:36,484 --> 00:29:38,862
[Taylor]
No. I believe that, uh,
620
00:29:38,862 --> 00:29:42,115
any technique or talent
that I might have
621
00:29:42,115 --> 00:29:45,577
is not technique,
it's instinct.
622
00:29:46,536 --> 00:29:48,413
It's very impolite, I know.
623
00:29:49,205 --> 00:29:51,458
[whispers] But in principle,
I was absolutely right!
624
00:29:51,458 --> 00:29:54,836
If I am feeling something
emotional in a scene,
625
00:29:54,836 --> 00:29:58,340
I sweat... real sweat
626
00:29:58,340 --> 00:30:00,550
and I shake real shakes.
627
00:30:01,217 --> 00:30:05,638
A great deal of effort goes
into making it seem effortless.
628
00:30:05,638 --> 00:30:08,558
When are you gonna settle down
and behave, like everybody else?
629
00:30:10,435 --> 00:30:11,936
Never!
630
00:30:13,772 --> 00:30:17,525
[Rosenberg] Rock Hudson and
Elizabeth became very close
631
00:30:17,525 --> 00:30:20,195
when they were filming Giant.
632
00:30:20,195 --> 00:30:23,365
Rock had had a very
public marriage
633
00:30:23,365 --> 00:30:26,951
to sort of put the nail
in the coffin
634
00:30:26,951 --> 00:30:30,205
of this rumor that he was gay.
635
00:30:30,205 --> 00:30:31,956
Of course, it was all a sham.
636
00:30:31,956 --> 00:30:33,958
Elizabeth knew it was a sham.
637
00:30:34,626 --> 00:30:36,961
Rock trusted her,
638
00:30:37,504 --> 00:30:39,422
and she protected him.
639
00:30:39,422 --> 00:30:40,632
[mechanical rumbling]
640
00:30:40,632 --> 00:30:42,217
[man shouts indistinctly]
641
00:30:42,842 --> 00:30:45,512
[gentle music playing]
642
00:30:47,013 --> 00:30:49,974
[Taylor] It was 120
in the shade.
643
00:30:50,558 --> 00:30:52,060
It was boiling.
644
00:30:52,060 --> 00:30:55,980
But we were like a very
tightly-knit family.
645
00:30:55,980 --> 00:30:57,982
[gentle music continues]
646
00:30:57,982 --> 00:31:01,236
Marfa, Texas, had a population
of 2,000, I think,
647
00:31:01,236 --> 00:31:04,197
so we were like
the real Martians.
648
00:31:06,157 --> 00:31:07,617
We all had little, tiny houses
649
00:31:07,617 --> 00:31:10,370
that were sort of across
the road from each other.
650
00:31:10,829 --> 00:31:12,664
And sometimes, Jimmy and I
651
00:31:12,664 --> 00:31:16,209
would sit up until, like,
3:00 in the morning, talking.
652
00:31:17,085 --> 00:31:19,587
He would tell me about
some of the grief
653
00:31:19,587 --> 00:31:21,256
and unhappiness in his life,
654
00:31:21,256 --> 00:31:25,343
and some of his loves
and tragedies.
655
00:31:25,343 --> 00:31:27,637
And the next day on the set,
I'd say,
656
00:31:27,637 --> 00:31:29,055
"Hi, Jimmy."
657
00:31:29,055 --> 00:31:31,099
And it was almost as if
he didn't want
658
00:31:31,099 --> 00:31:34,144
to sort of recognize
that he had revealed
659
00:31:34,144 --> 00:31:37,313
so much of himself
the night before,
660
00:31:37,313 --> 00:31:40,316
and it would just be a cursory
nod of the head.
661
00:31:40,316 --> 00:31:42,235
And it would take maybe
a day or two
662
00:31:42,235 --> 00:31:44,988
for him to become
my friend again.
663
00:31:44,988 --> 00:31:46,698
One lump,
or do you like two?
664
00:31:46,698 --> 00:31:49,367
[film reel clicking]
665
00:31:52,996 --> 00:31:55,081
[Taylor] The night
that Jimmy was killed,
666
00:31:55,081 --> 00:31:56,791
we were in the projection room
667
00:31:56,791 --> 00:31:58,877
watching the rushes,
668
00:31:58,877 --> 00:32:02,422
and George
turned the sound off,
669
00:32:02,422 --> 00:32:05,884
and he said,
"Ladies and gentlemen,
670
00:32:05,884 --> 00:32:07,677
I have an announcement to make.
671
00:32:08,470 --> 00:32:10,138
Jimmy Dean is dead."
672
00:32:10,138 --> 00:32:12,390
[somber music playing]
673
00:32:12,390 --> 00:32:15,477
[news anchor]
It occurred on US 466.
674
00:32:15,477 --> 00:32:18,521
It was a sideswipe,
head-on collision.
675
00:32:19,230 --> 00:32:22,067
The dead was James Byron Dean,
676
00:32:22,067 --> 00:32:25,070
D.O.A., or dead on arrival,
at the hospital.
677
00:32:25,070 --> 00:32:28,323
[poignant, dramatic music
playing]
678
00:32:30,575 --> 00:32:34,412
[Taylor] He was only 24.
And it seemed impossible.
679
00:32:35,038 --> 00:32:36,456
I'd just been with him
that day,
680
00:32:36,456 --> 00:32:39,417
driving around the studio
in his, uh, Porsche.
681
00:32:40,418 --> 00:32:43,088
He was so alive.
He was so vital.
682
00:32:44,297 --> 00:32:46,549
I couldn't believe
that he was dead.
683
00:32:48,426 --> 00:32:50,011
[Meryman] Okay.
684
00:32:52,931 --> 00:32:54,432
[Taylor] Then, after that,
685
00:32:54,808 --> 00:32:59,270
I went into a whole, kind of,
period, examining...
686
00:32:59,688 --> 00:33:02,524
- [Meryman] Mm-hmm.
- [Taylor] ...my own life.
687
00:33:02,524 --> 00:33:05,527
[solemn music playing]
688
00:33:13,326 --> 00:33:16,454
With Michael,
we were married five years,
689
00:33:16,454 --> 00:33:19,499
and for three,
it was just sort of...
690
00:33:20,625 --> 00:33:22,794
I mean, it just wasn't
working out.
691
00:33:25,839 --> 00:33:27,465
Uh...
692
00:33:28,466 --> 00:33:31,094
I'm afraid I gave him
rather a rough time.
693
00:33:35,473 --> 00:33:38,643
I tended to be a bit stronger
than he was.
694
00:33:49,320 --> 00:33:51,156
Our divorce was friendly,
695
00:33:51,156 --> 00:33:53,158
if you can call a divorce
being friendly.
696
00:33:53,158 --> 00:33:55,243
[Meryman] Did you have any
worries about the children?
697
00:33:55,243 --> 00:33:57,078
- [Taylor] Uh, worried?
- You said, "My children are
698
00:33:57,078 --> 00:33:58,580
very remarkable people."
699
00:33:58,580 --> 00:34:00,373
- What did you mean?
- [Taylor] I love my kids.
700
00:34:00,373 --> 00:34:03,918
But I absolutely cannot talk
about them.
701
00:34:03,918 --> 00:34:06,796
I feel terribly protective.
702
00:34:07,255 --> 00:34:09,591
They have the right to privacy.
703
00:34:14,179 --> 00:34:16,514
What kind of a woman
did you say she was?
704
00:34:17,682 --> 00:34:19,642
How many kinds are there?
705
00:34:20,352 --> 00:34:22,896
[Brynner] Elizabeth, she never
had all these boyfriends,
706
00:34:22,896 --> 00:34:24,189
you know, like other people.
707
00:34:24,189 --> 00:34:27,150
She fell in love, got married,
708
00:34:27,150 --> 00:34:28,568
and then got divorced.
709
00:34:29,110 --> 00:34:30,528
I once said to Elizabeth,
710
00:34:30,528 --> 00:34:32,113
"Why do you have to marry
all these fellas?
711
00:34:32,113 --> 00:34:34,866
Why can't you just be
a mistress or whatever?"
712
00:34:35,325 --> 00:34:37,202
And she said to me,
713
00:34:37,202 --> 00:34:39,537
"Because I want to be a bride."
714
00:34:40,205 --> 00:34:42,999
And then came the love
of her life,
715
00:34:42,999 --> 00:34:44,542
Michael Todd.
716
00:34:44,542 --> 00:34:46,378
[film reel clicking]
717
00:34:48,380 --> 00:34:51,049
Mr. Todd, are you planning
to star Elizabeth Taylor
718
00:34:51,049 --> 00:34:53,218
in any of your
forthcoming films?
719
00:34:53,218 --> 00:34:54,719
I didn't get the name.
720
00:34:54,719 --> 00:34:56,554
[interviewer] Elizabeth Taylor.
721
00:34:56,554 --> 00:34:57,430
Oh.
722
00:34:57,430 --> 00:34:59,265
Oh, you mean the cinema actress?
723
00:34:59,265 --> 00:35:00,892
- Yes.
- Oh, yes, yes.
724
00:35:00,892 --> 00:35:03,228
Well, I read Elizabeth Taylor
725
00:35:03,228 --> 00:35:05,605
is not going to make like
an actress very much longer.
726
00:35:05,605 --> 00:35:07,982
[interviewer] She's going
to marry you, I'm told.
727
00:35:08,441 --> 00:35:10,777
- Huh?
- Marry you, Mr. Todd.
728
00:35:10,777 --> 00:35:12,112
I didn't hear you very well.
729
00:35:12,112 --> 00:35:14,406
The acoustics. The airplanes.
730
00:35:14,989 --> 00:35:16,408
[upbeat jazz music playing]
731
00:35:16,408 --> 00:35:18,660
[announcer] Producer
Michael Todd led a rich career,
732
00:35:18,660 --> 00:35:20,161
most of it on Broadway.
733
00:35:20,995 --> 00:35:24,374
But it was his first movie,
Around the World in 80 Days,
734
00:35:24,374 --> 00:35:27,085
that made his name
an international byword.
735
00:35:27,419 --> 00:35:29,295
Are you formally
challenging me to undertake
736
00:35:29,295 --> 00:35:32,257
a journey around the world
in 80 days?
737
00:35:34,300 --> 00:35:37,262
[Meryman] What kind of a man
is Mike Todd?
738
00:35:37,679 --> 00:35:40,348
[Taylor]
Oh, Mike was one of the...
739
00:35:40,348 --> 00:35:42,684
most flamboyant characters
740
00:35:42,684 --> 00:35:44,185
I've ever known.
741
00:35:44,185 --> 00:35:48,231
There was a joy about being
alive, and a vitality.
742
00:35:48,648 --> 00:35:51,776
Uh, and he was a real
con artist.
743
00:35:51,776 --> 00:35:54,612
He could con the gold
out of your teeth.
744
00:35:54,612 --> 00:35:56,823
Hello? Yes. What?
745
00:35:57,115 --> 00:35:58,950
Don't want orchestras
for the boats,
746
00:35:58,950 --> 00:36:00,910
I want bands, and in uniform.
747
00:36:01,661 --> 00:36:03,496
[Taylor] It was during
the period that Mike
748
00:36:03,496 --> 00:36:06,708
was producing 80 Days
that I became part of his life.
749
00:36:07,500 --> 00:36:09,085
I'd seen Mike and knew him.
750
00:36:09,085 --> 00:36:11,129
It was fun being with him.
751
00:36:11,129 --> 00:36:13,923
I was attracted to him,
but not overly.
752
00:36:15,925 --> 00:36:18,261
The day after my separation
from Michael Wilding,
753
00:36:18,261 --> 00:36:20,638
Mike called me and said
he had to see me right away.
754
00:36:20,638 --> 00:36:23,600
He said I was to meet him
at MGM.
755
00:36:23,600 --> 00:36:25,560
And Mike charged in.
756
00:36:25,560 --> 00:36:27,270
We went into a deserted
office,
757
00:36:27,270 --> 00:36:29,773
he sort of plunked me down,
pulled a chair around,
758
00:36:29,773 --> 00:36:31,691
started in on a spiel
759
00:36:31,691 --> 00:36:33,276
saying that he loved me.
760
00:36:33,276 --> 00:36:35,153
And that there was no
question about it,
761
00:36:35,153 --> 00:36:37,238
but we were
going to be married.
762
00:36:37,989 --> 00:36:39,366
I looked at him,
763
00:36:39,366 --> 00:36:42,035
like a rabbit, I imagine,
looks at a mongoose.
764
00:36:42,035 --> 00:36:43,745
[Meryman laughs]
765
00:36:43,745 --> 00:36:46,331
And I thought,
you know something?
766
00:36:46,331 --> 00:36:48,708
I think he's right!
He talked me into it.
767
00:36:48,708 --> 00:36:51,753
That's what I mean, he could
con the gold off your teeth!
768
00:36:51,753 --> 00:36:53,046
[Meryman laughs]
769
00:36:53,046 --> 00:36:56,341
- [gentle music playing]
- [distant applause]
770
00:37:02,931 --> 00:37:06,351
When she married Mike,
I was her matron of honor.
771
00:37:06,810 --> 00:37:08,645
And I was married
to Eddie Fisher.
772
00:37:08,645 --> 00:37:12,357
♪ I greet the dawn
when I awaken ♪
773
00:37:12,357 --> 00:37:14,609
[Reynolds] Mike Todd
was Eddie's best friend,
774
00:37:14,609 --> 00:37:17,862
and the four of us
had a lot of fun together.
775
00:37:17,862 --> 00:37:20,031
♪ But yes, indeedy ♪
776
00:37:20,031 --> 00:37:23,910
♪ Give me the simple life ♪
777
00:37:23,910 --> 00:37:27,247
[Reynolds] Elizabeth, she was
madly in love with Mike Todd,
778
00:37:27,247 --> 00:37:31,584
who was really
a charismatic guy.
779
00:37:31,584 --> 00:37:33,920
[Taylor] When Mike bought me
my engagement ring,
780
00:37:33,920 --> 00:37:37,507
he said it was, um,
29 and 7/8ths carats,
781
00:37:37,507 --> 00:37:39,884
because 30
would have been vulgar.
782
00:37:40,260 --> 00:37:43,054
[giggles] I call it
my ice-skating rink.
783
00:37:43,847 --> 00:37:45,515
- What do you wanna ask me?
- I'd like to ask about
784
00:37:45,515 --> 00:37:47,475
some of the presents
you've given to her.
785
00:37:47,475 --> 00:37:49,019
Oh, I wouldn't want
to discuss that,
786
00:37:49,019 --> 00:37:51,521
but I can hear you loud and
clear when you talk about--
787
00:37:51,521 --> 00:37:53,398
Did you say Miss Taylor?
You mean Mrs. Todd?
788
00:37:53,398 --> 00:37:54,899
- I beg your pardon.
- Oh, yeah.
789
00:37:54,899 --> 00:37:58,236
Well, Mrs. Todd is my favorite
person in the whole world.
790
00:37:58,236 --> 00:37:59,571
There's no secret about it.
791
00:37:59,571 --> 00:38:01,990
And, uh, I'm very fortunate
792
00:38:01,990 --> 00:38:05,994
to get my hands on a few
dollars occasionally,
793
00:38:05,994 --> 00:38:09,372
and I think there's no better
way in the world of spending it
794
00:38:09,372 --> 00:38:10,874
than trying to spoil Elizabeth.
795
00:38:10,874 --> 00:38:14,419
You can't-- Somebody once said,
"Is Elizabeth spoiled?"
796
00:38:14,419 --> 00:38:16,296
And I said, "I know nothing
more pleasant
797
00:38:16,296 --> 00:38:18,131
than trying to spoil her."
798
00:38:18,131 --> 00:38:19,966
I won't be able to,
I don't think.
799
00:38:19,966 --> 00:38:23,261
["Le Paradis Pour Toi"
by Gillian Hills playing]
800
00:38:23,261 --> 00:38:24,888
[Taylor] We traveled all over
the world together
801
00:38:24,888 --> 00:38:27,182
to promote
Around the World in 80 Days,
802
00:38:27,182 --> 00:38:29,184
and we couldn't have had
more of a ball.
803
00:38:29,184 --> 00:38:32,479
[Gillian Hills
singing in French]
804
00:38:50,246 --> 00:38:51,664
[reporter]
Mike, some of your critics say
805
00:38:51,664 --> 00:38:54,918
that much of your success
is due to luck. You agree?
806
00:38:54,918 --> 00:39:00,131
Mm-hmm. It proves that it's much
better to be lucky than smart.
807
00:39:00,131 --> 00:39:02,467
Which I'm a living example of.
808
00:39:02,467 --> 00:39:05,470
And ending that sentence
with a preposition proves it.
809
00:39:05,470 --> 00:39:08,640
- Around the World in 80 Days.
- [audience cheering]
810
00:39:08,640 --> 00:39:10,767
[announcer] For Best Picture,
producer Mike Todd
811
00:39:10,767 --> 00:39:12,185
receives his Oscar.
812
00:39:12,185 --> 00:39:14,312
[Taylor] Mike was self-educated.
813
00:39:14,896 --> 00:39:17,816
Not really out of books
but by out of listening,
814
00:39:17,816 --> 00:39:19,442
curiosity.
815
00:39:20,318 --> 00:39:24,155
For me, I always had
a feeling of inadequacy
816
00:39:24,155 --> 00:39:25,824
as a student
817
00:39:25,824 --> 00:39:27,325
and as a human being.
818
00:39:27,826 --> 00:39:32,205
With Mike, I learned to enjoy
life much more,
819
00:39:32,205 --> 00:39:34,916
and not to feel ashamed because
you don't know about something,
820
00:39:34,916 --> 00:39:36,292
which I had before.
821
00:39:36,292 --> 00:39:38,545
Not to be ashamed
of being curious.
822
00:39:38,545 --> 00:39:41,089
That curiosity
was a marvelous thing.
823
00:39:43,675 --> 00:39:46,344
One time, I was teasing him
unmercifully,
824
00:39:46,344 --> 00:39:49,514
and some photographer
got a picture.
825
00:39:49,514 --> 00:39:51,474
[reporter] Mike,
there's been a lot of publicity
826
00:39:51,474 --> 00:39:53,018
about your public spats.
827
00:39:53,018 --> 00:39:55,562
- I think something about--
- What? Bite your tongue.
828
00:39:55,562 --> 00:39:57,480
Would you suggest a good fight
now and then?
829
00:39:57,480 --> 00:39:58,898
[Todd] We're not introverts.
830
00:39:58,898 --> 00:40:01,026
If we have something to say,
I say, "Hey, Liz!"
831
00:40:01,026 --> 00:40:02,610
She hollers, "Hey, Mike!"
832
00:40:02,610 --> 00:40:05,405
If you make a Dreyfus case
out of that, it's too bad.
833
00:40:05,405 --> 00:40:08,700
But we're very, uh--
Well, we're so happy--
834
00:40:08,700 --> 00:40:11,202
It doesn't matter. I don't
really care what anybody thinks,
835
00:40:11,202 --> 00:40:13,538
because we know.
836
00:40:13,538 --> 00:40:19,085
I used to try sometimes
to deliberately drive Mike mad.
837
00:40:19,085 --> 00:40:22,130
And I loved it when he then
would lose his temper
838
00:40:22,130 --> 00:40:23,423
and dominate me,
839
00:40:23,798 --> 00:40:26,176
and I'd start to purr inside.
840
00:40:26,176 --> 00:40:28,470
Because he had won
and I hadn't.
841
00:40:28,470 --> 00:40:30,430
[Meryman] What sort of things
would you do?
842
00:40:30,430 --> 00:40:32,390
[Taylor] Oh, be late.
843
00:40:32,390 --> 00:40:35,769
Be delib-- Just fiddle around
and be late.
844
00:40:35,769 --> 00:40:39,147
I-I suppose it was like
testing my strength.
845
00:40:39,898 --> 00:40:42,984
Each time, hoping and praying
that I would lose.
846
00:40:43,401 --> 00:40:45,612
[Meryman] That's really very
important for you, isn't it?
847
00:40:45,612 --> 00:40:47,781
- The strength--
- [Taylor] Oh, I need it.
848
00:40:47,781 --> 00:40:52,202
I need that quality in a man
more than any other quality.
849
00:40:53,203 --> 00:40:55,997
Because, um, I know myself,
850
00:40:56,915 --> 00:40:59,501
and I know that I will try
and get away with murder.
851
00:40:59,501 --> 00:41:01,795
[upbeat jazz music playing]
852
00:41:01,795 --> 00:41:03,421
[reporter] When are you
expecting the baby?
853
00:41:03,421 --> 00:41:04,631
I'm not actually
quite sure.
854
00:41:04,631 --> 00:41:06,424
I haven't been to see
the doctor yet.
855
00:41:06,424 --> 00:41:07,926
I'm going this afternoon.
856
00:41:07,926 --> 00:41:10,261
But sometime around October,
I think.
857
00:41:10,261 --> 00:41:12,222
Well, Liz, I'm quoting you now.
858
00:41:12,222 --> 00:41:15,058
You once said you had the mind
of a child in a woman's body.
859
00:41:15,058 --> 00:41:17,268
- Am I right?
- That was when I was 15, yes.
860
00:41:17,268 --> 00:41:18,853
Oh, I see.
Well, I was wondering,
861
00:41:18,853 --> 00:41:21,564
since you've been married to
such a mature man of the world
862
00:41:21,564 --> 00:41:23,900
as Mr. Todd, you feel you've
matured somewhat now?
863
00:41:23,900 --> 00:41:27,278
I hope so. Otherwise I'd be
slightly retarded, wouldn't I?
864
00:41:27,862 --> 00:41:30,281
Well, thanks very much,
Mike and Liz,
865
00:41:30,281 --> 00:41:31,658
and best of luck with the baby.
866
00:41:31,658 --> 00:41:32,826
See, you're not playing
with children.
867
00:41:32,826 --> 00:41:34,119
That was a pretty good
comeback.
868
00:41:34,119 --> 00:41:35,954
Yes, it was pretty good.
869
00:41:36,538 --> 00:41:38,873
That was for me,
not for your camera.
870
00:41:39,207 --> 00:41:41,960
[gentle, lilting music playing]
871
00:41:45,422 --> 00:41:46,965
[Taylor] When Liza was born,
872
00:41:46,965 --> 00:41:49,634
she looked like,
well, all premature babies,
873
00:41:49,634 --> 00:41:51,469
a bit like Methuselah.
874
00:41:51,970 --> 00:41:55,015
But to Mike, she was
a total miracle.
875
00:41:55,473 --> 00:41:59,853
He was quite convinced that she
was the most brilliant child
876
00:41:59,853 --> 00:42:01,980
and certainly going to be
the first
877
00:42:01,980 --> 00:42:04,607
female president
of the United States.
878
00:42:04,607 --> 00:42:06,651
And, of course, the first
879
00:42:06,651 --> 00:42:09,070
Jewish president
of the United States.
880
00:42:11,531 --> 00:42:12,907
[Murrow] Evening, Liz.
881
00:42:12,907 --> 00:42:14,993
- Hello, Ed. How are you?
- [Murrow] Good.
882
00:42:14,993 --> 00:42:16,453
Are you going to continue
making movies
883
00:42:16,453 --> 00:42:18,663
or just, uh, be a housewife?
884
00:42:18,663 --> 00:42:20,832
I couldn't really, um...
885
00:42:21,791 --> 00:42:23,960
care less about making movies,
886
00:42:23,960 --> 00:42:25,211
to tell you the truth.
887
00:42:25,211 --> 00:42:26,838
I consider it much
more important
888
00:42:26,838 --> 00:42:29,674
to be a good woman
than a great actress,
889
00:42:29,674 --> 00:42:31,343
or any kind of an actress.
890
00:42:31,343 --> 00:42:34,554
[gentle, sultry music playing]
891
00:42:34,554 --> 00:42:36,681
I was going to quit,
892
00:42:36,681 --> 00:42:38,683
and I had one more film to do
893
00:42:38,683 --> 00:42:40,852
on the studio contract...
894
00:42:41,353 --> 00:42:43,688
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
895
00:42:44,606 --> 00:42:48,109
It was a weird experience
for me.
896
00:42:49,527 --> 00:42:52,197
And I don't remember
too much about it.
897
00:42:52,697 --> 00:42:55,033
'Cause, um, I was on the film
for two weeks
898
00:42:55,033 --> 00:42:57,118
before Mike was killed.
899
00:42:59,120 --> 00:43:01,748
Michael Todd died today
at the height of his career.
900
00:43:01,748 --> 00:43:04,709
Today, his plane crashed
and exploded in mountains
901
00:43:04,709 --> 00:43:07,671
30 miles southwest
of Grants, New Mexico.
902
00:43:07,671 --> 00:43:09,214
Mr. Todd was on his way
to New York
903
00:43:09,214 --> 00:43:12,217
to accept an award
as Showman of the Year.
904
00:43:12,217 --> 00:43:14,969
His wife, Elizabeth Taylor,
might have gone with him,
905
00:43:14,969 --> 00:43:17,472
but she had a cold
and stayed behind.
906
00:43:17,472 --> 00:43:21,059
[grim, solemn music playing]
907
00:43:23,812 --> 00:43:27,065
[gentle, poignant music playing]
908
00:43:33,613 --> 00:43:36,032
[Taylor] It was funny,
I-I had a feeling,
909
00:43:36,574 --> 00:43:38,993
so did Mike,
all during our marriage
910
00:43:39,577 --> 00:43:41,287
that something
was going to happen.
911
00:43:43,957 --> 00:43:46,251
It was the first time
that I had been happy.
912
00:43:47,752 --> 00:43:49,921
And he was almost 50 years old
913
00:43:49,921 --> 00:43:52,757
and he had never,
he told me,
914
00:43:52,757 --> 00:43:54,551
been that happy before.
915
00:43:54,551 --> 00:43:57,345
- [somber music playing]
- [wind blowing]
916
00:43:59,097 --> 00:44:01,683
And it was like
something was gonna happen.
917
00:44:01,683 --> 00:44:03,893
It was too good to be true.
918
00:44:05,854 --> 00:44:07,897
And when it did happen...
919
00:44:09,649 --> 00:44:11,693
I was so unprepared.
920
00:44:15,613 --> 00:44:17,907
I was unprepared for
921
00:44:18,408 --> 00:44:20,035
the death...
922
00:44:21,286 --> 00:44:25,248
of the person that I had
put all my trust in.
923
00:44:27,167 --> 00:44:30,003
It was really more
than I could handle.
924
00:44:34,716 --> 00:44:37,135
Eddie and I both
went to Elizabeth's house,
925
00:44:37,135 --> 00:44:40,096
and, uh, she was screaming,
and it was just awful.
926
00:44:40,096 --> 00:44:42,182
And so I said to Eddie,
"You should stay.
927
00:44:42,182 --> 00:44:44,434
I'll take the children
and take them home,
928
00:44:44,434 --> 00:44:48,271
because now the press are
swarming all over her house."
929
00:44:51,816 --> 00:44:54,110
[Taylor] I was absolutely in...
930
00:44:54,819 --> 00:44:59,366
uh, I mean, a really almost
incoherent state.
931
00:45:00,742 --> 00:45:02,952
I didn't ever want
to work again.
932
00:45:03,661 --> 00:45:05,955
But I was so...
933
00:45:06,998 --> 00:45:08,166
dead...
934
00:45:08,875 --> 00:45:12,504
that I thought the only way
I could...
935
00:45:12,504 --> 00:45:15,840
regain my sanity at all
936
00:45:16,800 --> 00:45:19,094
was to go back
and finish the film.
937
00:45:20,261 --> 00:45:21,846
I had to finish it.
938
00:45:23,014 --> 00:45:26,351
One of those no-neck monsters
hit me with some ice cream.
939
00:45:27,185 --> 00:45:30,146
Now why did you call Gooper's
kiddies no-neck monsters?
940
00:45:30,146 --> 00:45:32,899
Because your brother's children
got no necks, that's why.
941
00:45:34,234 --> 00:45:37,362
[Taylor] And I went back
to work after two weeks...
942
00:45:38,363 --> 00:45:41,282
and I was more or less
like a robot...
943
00:45:42,909 --> 00:45:44,869
until I became Maggie.
944
00:45:45,370 --> 00:45:47,205
And when I was Maggie,
I could talk,
945
00:45:47,205 --> 00:45:50,458
and I could function,
until they said "cut."
946
00:45:50,458 --> 00:45:52,836
[gentle sentimental music
playing]
947
00:45:54,212 --> 00:45:55,964
I get so lonely.
948
00:45:56,631 --> 00:45:58,466
Everybody gets that.
949
00:46:00,635 --> 00:46:02,929
Living with somebody you love
can be...
950
00:46:03,596 --> 00:46:05,932
lonelier than living
entirely alone.
951
00:46:07,726 --> 00:46:09,894
When the one you love
doesn't love you.
952
00:46:19,821 --> 00:46:22,449
[Taylor] There was a trance-like
thing about me
953
00:46:22,449 --> 00:46:24,075
after Mike's death.
954
00:46:24,075 --> 00:46:26,995
[dark, dramatic music playing]
955
00:46:26,995 --> 00:46:31,374
I think I really did
have a strong urge to...
956
00:46:32,584 --> 00:46:35,128
just lay down and quit.
957
00:46:37,172 --> 00:46:40,091
It seemed almost certain
that I was...
958
00:46:40,675 --> 00:46:42,761
heading to disaster,
959
00:46:42,761 --> 00:46:44,929
and I could not stop myself.
960
00:46:46,014 --> 00:46:49,601
So now you can enjoy a pause
that really refreshes,
961
00:46:49,601 --> 00:46:51,269
as we bring you Eddie Fisher
singing
962
00:46:51,269 --> 00:46:54,481
his newest RCA Victor
recording,
963
00:46:54,481 --> 00:46:56,107
of "Without You."
964
00:46:56,107 --> 00:46:58,193
[lush orchestral
music playing]
965
00:46:58,193 --> 00:47:04,282
♪ There'll never be
a love for me ♪
966
00:47:04,282 --> 00:47:07,827
♪ Without you ♪
967
00:47:08,745 --> 00:47:10,205
[Reynolds]
After Mike's plane crash,
968
00:47:10,205 --> 00:47:14,125
my husband, he was
great comfort to Elizabeth.
969
00:47:15,251 --> 00:47:16,836
And then she had to go
to New York,
970
00:47:16,836 --> 00:47:19,798
and then he said
he had to go for work.
971
00:47:19,798 --> 00:47:21,633
But he really went
to be with Elizabeth,
972
00:47:21,633 --> 00:47:23,176
which I found out,
973
00:47:23,176 --> 00:47:26,429
and uh, realized that
there was something
974
00:47:26,429 --> 00:47:28,056
going on seriously there.
975
00:47:28,056 --> 00:47:30,809
- [dramatic music playing]
- [crowd shouting]
976
00:47:30,809 --> 00:47:32,352
[Taylor] Eddie Fisher,
in New York,
977
00:47:32,352 --> 00:47:34,104
had taken me out,
978
00:47:34,104 --> 00:47:36,272
I think, two or three times.
979
00:47:39,359 --> 00:47:42,862
And then all the shit
hit the fan.
980
00:47:43,321 --> 00:47:45,323
A short time ago, one of the
Hollywood columnists
981
00:47:45,323 --> 00:47:48,535
broke a story about you
and Debbie breaking up.
982
00:47:48,535 --> 00:47:50,620
[Fisher] There's nothing to it,
but I would prefer
983
00:47:50,620 --> 00:47:52,372
not going into it at all.
984
00:47:53,957 --> 00:47:55,458
[announcer] Eddie Fisher
and Debbie Reynolds
985
00:47:55,458 --> 00:47:57,585
seemed to have
a storybook marriage.
986
00:47:58,294 --> 00:48:01,715
The crooner's hits drew
thousands of adoring fans,
987
00:48:01,715 --> 00:48:02,841
while the starlet's roles
in films
988
00:48:02,841 --> 00:48:04,384
such as
Singin' in the Rain
989
00:48:04,384 --> 00:48:07,053
earned her the title,
"America's Sweetheart."
990
00:48:08,221 --> 00:48:10,932
As a couple, they appeared
to adore each other.
991
00:48:10,932 --> 00:48:13,518
Yes! Where is she? Debbie!
992
00:48:13,893 --> 00:48:15,854
She's a very, very
wonderful girl.
993
00:48:15,854 --> 00:48:17,522
- She's a funny cook.
- [interviewer] Uh-huh.
994
00:48:17,522 --> 00:48:20,275
You mean a lousy cook,
that's what you really mean.
995
00:48:20,275 --> 00:48:22,318
- Wait a minute. [chuckles]
- Yeah.
996
00:48:25,238 --> 00:48:28,324
[Taylor] I was still in love
with the memory of Mike.
997
00:48:28,742 --> 00:48:30,994
I was keeping Mike alive...
998
00:48:32,579 --> 00:48:35,582
by talking about him.
999
00:48:37,375 --> 00:48:40,837
Just, Eddie was a great friend
of Mike's.
1000
00:48:41,546 --> 00:48:44,716
That was the only thing we had
in common, was Mike.
1001
00:48:44,716 --> 00:48:46,384
[Meryman] Hmm.
1002
00:48:48,845 --> 00:48:50,889
[Taylor] I never loved Eddie.
1003
00:48:50,889 --> 00:48:53,558
I liked him,
I felt sorry for him...
1004
00:48:55,226 --> 00:48:57,771
and I liked talking with him
about Mike.
1005
00:48:57,771 --> 00:48:59,689
I was sick.
1006
00:49:01,358 --> 00:49:05,195
But I trapped myself into that.
I did that myself.
1007
00:49:06,905 --> 00:49:09,449
[crowd shouting]
1008
00:49:09,449 --> 00:49:11,284
I can't say anything
against Debbie,
1009
00:49:11,284 --> 00:49:13,745
but she put on such an act,
1010
00:49:14,079 --> 00:49:17,374
with the pigtails
and the diaper pins,
1011
00:49:17,374 --> 00:49:21,294
and the whole thing
coming as a big shock.
1012
00:49:22,462 --> 00:49:25,090
I mean, the public didn't know
any of the...
1013
00:49:25,090 --> 00:49:28,927
personal unhappinesses
of Debbie and Eddie
1014
00:49:28,927 --> 00:49:30,762
that Mike and I knew about.
1015
00:49:30,762 --> 00:49:32,180
As far as they were concerned,
1016
00:49:32,180 --> 00:49:34,641
I had broken up
a perfectly happy marriage.
1017
00:49:36,601 --> 00:49:39,020
[announcer] In the capper to
Hollywood's biggest scandal,
1018
00:49:39,020 --> 00:49:41,439
a radiant Elizabeth Taylor
marries Eddie Fisher
1019
00:49:41,439 --> 00:49:45,151
just three hours after his
divorce from Debbie Reynolds.
1020
00:49:45,944 --> 00:49:49,280
[dramatic music playing]
1021
00:49:49,280 --> 00:49:51,032
[applause]
1022
00:49:51,616 --> 00:49:53,952
[Meryman] Am I right in thinking
that after you married
1023
00:49:53,952 --> 00:49:55,453
uh, Eddie Fisher,
1024
00:49:55,453 --> 00:50:00,959
that you encountered terrific
public animosity?
1025
00:50:00,959 --> 00:50:02,585
[Taylor] Oh, sure.
1026
00:50:03,461 --> 00:50:07,716
Hostility in people's faces
and letters and looks.
1027
00:50:08,633 --> 00:50:11,636
[Meryman] Did the public
animosity bother you a lot?
1028
00:50:11,636 --> 00:50:13,013
[Taylor] Oh, sure.
1029
00:50:13,638 --> 00:50:17,308
Probably more or less justified
as far as they were concerned.
1030
00:50:20,895 --> 00:50:22,313
As a matter of fact,
1031
00:50:22,313 --> 00:50:24,232
I don't remember too much
about my marriage to him
1032
00:50:24,232 --> 00:50:26,985
except that it was one
big friggin' awful mistake.
1033
00:50:27,485 --> 00:50:29,154
And that I knew it
before we got married
1034
00:50:29,154 --> 00:50:31,072
and didn't know how
to get out of it.
1035
00:50:31,531 --> 00:50:33,992
[reporter 1] You're going to
honeymoon in Europe?
1036
00:50:33,992 --> 00:50:35,744
Whereabouts?
1037
00:50:35,744 --> 00:50:37,412
Someplace around Spain.
1038
00:50:37,412 --> 00:50:40,290
- You happy?
- Very happy. Thank you.
1039
00:50:40,290 --> 00:50:41,791
Eddie, this is probably
the most
1040
00:50:41,791 --> 00:50:43,209
publicized wedding
in a long time.
1041
00:50:43,209 --> 00:50:45,545
How do you two feel
about all this publicity?
1042
00:50:46,421 --> 00:50:47,672
About what?
1043
00:50:47,672 --> 00:50:50,258
About all the publicity
attending the wedding?
1044
00:50:50,258 --> 00:50:52,010
Well, I don't think that's a...
1045
00:50:52,010 --> 00:50:54,179
we're more concerned
about each other right now.
1046
00:50:54,179 --> 00:50:55,638
[reporter 2] I see.
1047
00:50:55,638 --> 00:50:58,850
Are you a little bit dizzy
by the pace of the thing?
1048
00:50:58,850 --> 00:51:01,186
- We're a little weary.
- It's true.
1049
00:51:01,186 --> 00:51:03,188
Very tired, but we feel
wonderful.
1050
00:51:03,188 --> 00:51:04,731
[reporter 3] Can she cook?
1051
00:51:04,731 --> 00:51:06,358
Um, she doesn't have to.
1052
00:51:06,858 --> 00:51:08,360
That enough?
1053
00:51:10,362 --> 00:51:14,032
[Meryman] My question's whether
you ever thought, at the time,
1054
00:51:14,616 --> 00:51:16,326
"Perhaps it would
have been marvelous
1055
00:51:16,326 --> 00:51:20,205
if I had never been a
movie star and never been in...
1056
00:51:20,205 --> 00:51:23,208
- A success."
- [Taylor] Oh, yes. Oh, yes.
1057
00:51:23,208 --> 00:51:25,710
I think that some part of me
is sorry
1058
00:51:25,710 --> 00:51:27,253
that I became...
1059
00:51:27,796 --> 00:51:29,631
uh...
1060
00:51:29,631 --> 00:51:31,383
a public utility.
1061
00:51:31,383 --> 00:51:34,344
I know I should be grateful.
I know all that.
1062
00:51:36,054 --> 00:51:37,472
I don't like fame.
1063
00:51:37,472 --> 00:51:42,310
I don't like the sense of-of
belonging to the public.
1064
00:51:43,186 --> 00:51:46,690
I like being an actress,
or trying to be an actress.
1065
00:51:46,690 --> 00:51:48,733
[gentle piano music playing]
1066
00:51:50,443 --> 00:51:52,737
I have done some films that...
1067
00:51:53,863 --> 00:51:57,992
by all kind of rules
of the-of the business,
1068
00:51:57,992 --> 00:51:59,452
I shouldn't have done
1069
00:51:59,452 --> 00:52:02,288
and that I was advised
not to do.
1070
00:52:02,288 --> 00:52:04,916
For instance,
Suddenly, Last Summer.
1071
00:52:04,916 --> 00:52:07,043
[dramatic theme music playing]
1072
00:52:07,043 --> 00:52:09,421
[announcer] This generation's
greatest author and poet,
1073
00:52:09,421 --> 00:52:11,172
writer of
A Streetcar Named Desire
1074
00:52:11,172 --> 00:52:14,134
and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,
unashamedly writes
1075
00:52:14,134 --> 00:52:16,052
of a woman's strong wants
1076
00:52:16,052 --> 00:52:18,555
and a man's strange needs.
1077
00:52:19,305 --> 00:52:21,516
What did really happen?
1078
00:52:21,516 --> 00:52:23,101
I failed him.
1079
00:52:23,101 --> 00:52:25,270
I wasn't able to keep the web
from breaking.
1080
00:52:25,270 --> 00:52:27,605
I saw it breaking, but I
couldn't save it or repair it.
1081
00:52:27,605 --> 00:52:29,607
There now.
The truth's coming out.
1082
00:52:30,108 --> 00:52:32,861
[Taylor] Everyone advised me
not to do it.
1083
00:52:34,154 --> 00:52:35,196
[Meryman] Because of the theme?
1084
00:52:35,196 --> 00:52:36,614
[Taylor] Oh, only the theme.
1085
00:52:36,614 --> 00:52:39,576
Because the theme
was so controversial.
1086
00:52:42,871 --> 00:52:45,874
Elizabeth was never
afraid of controversial things.
1087
00:52:45,874 --> 00:52:51,296
Suddenly, Last Summer
dealt with a troubled gay man
1088
00:52:51,296 --> 00:52:53,423
who was deeply closeted.
1089
00:52:54,007 --> 00:52:58,136
Of course, because of the
production code at the time,
1090
00:52:58,136 --> 00:53:02,682
the underlying homosexuality
was whitewashed.
1091
00:53:02,682 --> 00:53:04,184
[Taylor] People said,
"Don't do it,
1092
00:53:04,184 --> 00:53:06,311
it'll be the end
of your career."
1093
00:53:07,479 --> 00:53:11,024
So if I'd been really
ambitious about my career,
1094
00:53:11,024 --> 00:53:12,942
I would have done Ben-Hur.
1095
00:53:13,693 --> 00:53:16,988
[laughter]
1096
00:53:17,364 --> 00:53:20,241
[announcer] Oscar Night.
The 32nd Annual Academy Awards.
1097
00:53:20,241 --> 00:53:22,202
Charlton Heston,
the star of Ben-Hur,
1098
00:53:22,202 --> 00:53:23,620
keeping his fingers crossed.
1099
00:53:24,537 --> 00:53:26,331
Elizabeth Taylor
and Eddie Fisher.
1100
00:53:26,998 --> 00:53:29,834
[Taylor] I did get nominated
for Suddenly Last Summer.
1101
00:53:29,834 --> 00:53:32,921
[Meryman] You really wanted
an Academy Award.
1102
00:53:32,921 --> 00:53:34,673
[Taylor] Sure!
1103
00:53:35,048 --> 00:53:36,841
[Meryman]
What does it represent?
1104
00:53:38,343 --> 00:53:40,845
[Taylor]
Well, I suppose to me it, uh,
1105
00:53:40,845 --> 00:53:44,349
was finally being considered
by my own industry
1106
00:53:44,349 --> 00:53:46,518
an actress, not a movie star.
1107
00:53:47,769 --> 00:53:50,355
And that was terribly
important to me.
1108
00:53:50,730 --> 00:53:52,399
[announcer] Best actress,
Simone Signoret,
1109
00:53:52,399 --> 00:53:53,858
for her performance...
1110
00:53:53,858 --> 00:53:56,194
[Taylor] I think probably
if I'd been a good girl,
1111
00:53:56,194 --> 00:53:57,696
I probably
would have won.
1112
00:53:57,696 --> 00:53:58,905
[laughter]
1113
00:53:58,905 --> 00:54:01,908
- Didn't you think so, Roddy?
- [McDowall laughs]
1114
00:54:01,908 --> 00:54:05,662
- Ms. Taylor? Darling?
- [Taylor] Yes, Mr. McDowall.
1115
00:54:05,662 --> 00:54:08,873
- [Taylor] Yes, Randy McNutt.
- [laughter]
1116
00:54:09,332 --> 00:54:10,792
[McDowall]
How about a movie like...
1117
00:54:10,792 --> 00:54:13,044
that you really hated?
Like Butterfield, for instance.
1118
00:54:13,044 --> 00:54:14,629
[Taylor] I hated it so much.
1119
00:54:14,629 --> 00:54:17,382
I thought, "Fuck them."
They made me do the film.
1120
00:54:17,382 --> 00:54:18,633
I didn't want to.
1121
00:54:18,633 --> 00:54:20,844
I did it with a pistol
to my head.
1122
00:54:21,928 --> 00:54:24,222
[announcer] Butterfield 8
with Laurence Harvey
1123
00:54:24,222 --> 00:54:26,182
is one of Elizabeth Taylor's
major films
1124
00:54:26,182 --> 00:54:27,767
after the death of Mike Todd
1125
00:54:27,767 --> 00:54:30,145
and the storm over her next
marriage to Eddie Fisher...
1126
00:54:30,145 --> 00:54:31,187
To the three of us.
1127
00:54:31,187 --> 00:54:32,439
...who also stars in the movie.
1128
00:54:32,439 --> 00:54:34,566
One for all and all for one.
1129
00:54:34,566 --> 00:54:36,651
The question is which one?
1130
00:54:38,570 --> 00:54:41,406
[announcer] Most critics think
the picture is a bomb.
1131
00:54:41,406 --> 00:54:43,575
But as a model
and freelance call girl,
1132
00:54:43,575 --> 00:54:46,286
she does, as usual,
dominate the screen.
1133
00:54:46,286 --> 00:54:48,329
We-we both know
what kind of a girl I've been.
1134
00:54:48,329 --> 00:54:50,999
- We both know--
- I don't want to hear about it!
1135
00:54:50,999 --> 00:54:52,417
Mama, you have to.
1136
00:54:52,792 --> 00:54:54,586
Mama, I am different.
1137
00:54:54,586 --> 00:54:58,506
Yesterday it was men,
a whole world full of men.
1138
00:54:58,506 --> 00:55:00,592
Let me go, you're hurting me!
1139
00:55:00,592 --> 00:55:04,429
Mama, face it!
I was the slut of all time!
1140
00:55:05,805 --> 00:55:07,349
[McDowall]
You're very good in it.
1141
00:55:07,349 --> 00:55:08,683
[Taylor] I tried to do
as well as I could.
1142
00:55:08,683 --> 00:55:10,185
[McDowall]
You're very good in it.
1143
00:55:10,185 --> 00:55:11,936
[Taylor] The lines
were so diabolical.
1144
00:55:11,936 --> 00:55:15,565
It was such a piece of shit
that it made me angry.
1145
00:55:15,565 --> 00:55:18,401
And out of the anger, it kind
of gave me an incentive.
1146
00:55:18,401 --> 00:55:20,195
[McDowall] That character
is one of the most
1147
00:55:20,195 --> 00:55:21,780
potent things
I've seen you play.
1148
00:55:22,197 --> 00:55:26,618
You were marvelous and tragic
and wild and fascinating.
1149
00:55:26,618 --> 00:55:29,371
[Taylor] Well, it was done
out of anger.
1150
00:55:30,580 --> 00:55:32,415
We did have a drink together
last night.
1151
00:55:32,415 --> 00:55:35,418
- One?
- A dozen, maybe.
1152
00:55:35,418 --> 00:55:38,004
And this morning you stagger
out of his apartment.
1153
00:55:38,004 --> 00:55:39,422
Charming.
1154
00:55:40,882 --> 00:55:43,385
Funny thing, I don't even
remember going there.
1155
00:55:43,385 --> 00:55:45,679
[melancholy music playing]
1156
00:55:46,596 --> 00:55:48,640
Better than sleeping pills.
1157
00:55:49,724 --> 00:55:51,101
[groans]
1158
00:55:51,101 --> 00:55:53,353
[Meryman]
Married to Eddie Fisher,
1159
00:55:53,353 --> 00:55:55,313
did you feel very lonely?
Was that...?
1160
00:55:55,939 --> 00:56:00,944
[Taylor] Yes, and Eddie
made sure that I felt lonely.
1161
00:56:01,903 --> 00:56:03,780
Uh, we never went out.
1162
00:56:04,155 --> 00:56:05,407
[man] No.
1163
00:56:05,407 --> 00:56:06,783
[Taylor] It was like
he didn't like me
1164
00:56:06,783 --> 00:56:08,660
to mingle
with other people.
1165
00:56:10,203 --> 00:56:12,372
And it was like being
locked up.
1166
00:56:18,461 --> 00:56:22,007
I started to sleep
14 or 15 hours at once.
1167
00:56:23,717 --> 00:56:25,510
I was trying to avoid
everything.
1168
00:56:25,510 --> 00:56:27,679
I was trying to avoid life.
1169
00:56:30,849 --> 00:56:33,184
But I was so desperate
at one time
1170
00:56:34,310 --> 00:56:36,896
that I did take
some sleeping pills.
1171
00:56:37,814 --> 00:56:40,316
I did it deliberately, calmly,
1172
00:56:40,316 --> 00:56:41,693
and, uh...
1173
00:56:43,028 --> 00:56:44,487
in front of Eddie.
1174
00:56:46,072 --> 00:56:48,408
I was fed up with living.
1175
00:56:48,408 --> 00:56:51,536
I couldn't then
face the thought of divorce.
1176
00:56:51,536 --> 00:56:53,204
I'd rather have been dead
1177
00:56:53,872 --> 00:56:55,707
than face
going through divorce.
1178
00:56:56,249 --> 00:56:58,918
[Meryman] Did you--
Were you taken to the hospital?
1179
00:56:59,544 --> 00:57:01,921
[Taylor] No, a doctor
came to the hotel.
1180
00:57:03,548 --> 00:57:04,841
And thank God.
1181
00:57:05,300 --> 00:57:07,802
I'm so deeply ashamed of it.
1182
00:57:08,887 --> 00:57:13,391
It's the most self-indulgent
kind of behavior.
1183
00:57:13,892 --> 00:57:18,938
Because the consequences to
the children were so horrific.
1184
00:57:19,731 --> 00:57:21,399
I wasn't thinking of anybody
but myself.
1185
00:57:21,399 --> 00:57:23,485
That's why I say
it's so selfish.
1186
00:57:23,485 --> 00:57:26,446
[melancholy music continues]
1187
00:57:30,742 --> 00:57:33,244
- Hey, what time is it, boy?
- [Meryman] It's not very late.
1188
00:57:33,244 --> 00:57:34,579
- What is it?
- [McDowall] 11:30.
1189
00:57:34,579 --> 00:57:36,581
[Taylor] Oy gevalt.
1190
00:57:37,957 --> 00:57:38,917
Is the machine on?
1191
00:57:38,917 --> 00:57:40,585
[Meryman]
Yes, the machine is on.
1192
00:57:40,585 --> 00:57:42,087
[Taylor] Okay.
1193
00:57:43,296 --> 00:57:45,256
[Meryman] I want to push on.
1194
00:57:45,256 --> 00:57:47,634
[bombastic orchestral music
playing]
1195
00:57:53,264 --> 00:57:55,642
[announcer] The motion picture
casting achievement of the year
1196
00:57:55,642 --> 00:57:57,602
is about to become
a recorded fact.
1197
00:57:58,103 --> 00:57:59,396
The occasion?
1198
00:57:59,396 --> 00:58:01,439
The Hollywood signing
of the exotic Elizabeth
1199
00:58:01,439 --> 00:58:03,858
for the most exotic role
in her career,
1200
00:58:03,858 --> 00:58:06,945
Cleopatra, of whom
Shakespeare wrote,
1201
00:58:06,945 --> 00:58:08,446
"age cannot weather her
1202
00:58:08,446 --> 00:58:11,700
nor custom stale
her infinite variety."
1203
00:58:12,992 --> 00:58:15,620
Elizabeth is
the first movie star,
1204
00:58:15,620 --> 00:58:17,122
man or woman,
1205
00:58:17,122 --> 00:58:20,000
to be paid a million dollars
for a part in a film.
1206
00:58:20,000 --> 00:58:23,586
And she asked for 10%
of the absolute gross.
1207
00:58:23,586 --> 00:58:26,965
When it came to business,
she was ruthless.
1208
00:58:28,758 --> 00:58:30,635
[Taylor] I finally got away
from MGM,
1209
00:58:30,635 --> 00:58:34,597
and was one of the first ones
to make my own deals.
1210
00:58:34,597 --> 00:58:37,892
And I enjoyed dealing
with the studios.
1211
00:58:38,435 --> 00:58:40,145
And I was quite a good
businesswoman.
1212
00:58:41,479 --> 00:58:44,691
[Meryman] Are you ever made
to feel, by the movie industry,
1213
00:58:44,691 --> 00:58:46,401
like so much meat?
1214
00:58:46,401 --> 00:58:48,695
[Taylor] I was.
1215
00:58:48,695 --> 00:58:51,031
But when you, uh,
could very coolly,
1216
00:58:51,031 --> 00:58:54,075
ask for a million dollars
for a film and get it,
1217
00:58:54,075 --> 00:58:56,161
you don't feel like
a piece of meat.
1218
00:58:56,161 --> 00:58:57,746
[laughter]
1219
00:58:57,746 --> 00:58:59,456
You feel like a big steak.
1220
00:58:59,456 --> 00:59:01,583
[laughter]
1221
00:59:02,000 --> 00:59:04,669
[Meryman] Well, all I can do is
ask the same question.
1222
00:59:04,669 --> 00:59:06,463
Why do you think
that you're paid
1223
00:59:06,463 --> 00:59:08,340
a million dollars
for a movie?
1224
00:59:08,798 --> 00:59:12,344
What do you think is your...
your salable...
1225
00:59:12,344 --> 00:59:14,346
- [McDowall laughs]
- ...goods?
1226
00:59:14,346 --> 00:59:17,766
[Taylor laughs] I really
haven't thought about it.
1227
00:59:19,184 --> 00:59:20,352
[McDowall] Come on now.
1228
00:59:20,352 --> 00:59:22,187
You were offered
a million dollars.
1229
00:59:22,187 --> 00:59:23,646
Now, what was that based on?
1230
00:59:24,314 --> 00:59:27,025
Have you never thought of
yourself as being a sex symbol?
1231
00:59:27,025 --> 00:59:28,485
[Taylor] Sex symbol?
1232
00:59:28,485 --> 00:59:31,488
What the hell is a sex symbol?
What is it?
1233
00:59:31,488 --> 00:59:33,740
[Meryman] Well, Marilyn
is a good example.
1234
00:59:33,740 --> 00:59:35,450
[Taylor]
But I don't think I am.
1235
00:59:35,450 --> 00:59:36,534
I really don't.
1236
00:59:37,118 --> 00:59:38,620
[McDowall] You don't think
your public image
1237
00:59:38,620 --> 00:59:39,954
is that of a sex symbol?
1238
00:59:39,954 --> 00:59:42,040
[Taylor] I don't want to be
a sex symbol.
1239
00:59:42,457 --> 00:59:43,875
[woman] A man!
1240
00:59:45,085 --> 00:59:46,878
Oh, it's you.
1241
00:59:48,838 --> 00:59:53,760
I summoned you yesterday to
an audience in my throne room.
1242
00:59:55,053 --> 00:59:58,973
[Taylor] Because I am a woman
and I am in...
1243
00:59:58,973 --> 01:00:02,185
the prime of my life...
[chuckles]
1244
01:00:02,185 --> 01:00:07,065
...sex, of course, must enter
into any role that I play.
1245
01:00:07,482 --> 01:00:10,235
Am I to understand, then,
that you feel free to do with me
1246
01:00:10,235 --> 01:00:11,861
whatever you want...
1247
01:00:12,445 --> 01:00:13,446
whenever you want?
1248
01:00:13,446 --> 01:00:16,908
Yes, I want that understood.
1249
01:00:18,910 --> 01:00:20,453
[Meryman] Well, this is
one of the reasons
1250
01:00:20,453 --> 01:00:25,041
I have a problem over your
not feeling like a sex goddess,
1251
01:00:25,041 --> 01:00:27,293
is how can you be built
that way
1252
01:00:27,293 --> 01:00:31,798
and not be aware of what this
must be doing to people?
1253
01:00:31,798 --> 01:00:34,676
[Taylor] You two put
so bloody much emphasis
1254
01:00:34,676 --> 01:00:35,969
on this sex goddess thing.
1255
01:00:35,969 --> 01:00:37,762
I swear to God, before you,
1256
01:00:37,762 --> 01:00:39,764
I never thought about being
a sex goddess.
1257
01:00:39,764 --> 01:00:42,475
I know I'm an actress,
and I know I'm female,
1258
01:00:42,475 --> 01:00:44,519
and I'm very proud
of being a woman.
1259
01:00:44,519 --> 01:00:46,187
I love being a woman.
1260
01:00:46,187 --> 01:00:49,065
And I think sex
is absolutely gorgeous.
1261
01:00:49,065 --> 01:00:52,235
But as far as being
a sex goddess is concerned,
1262
01:00:52,235 --> 01:00:54,612
I've never thought of myself
that way.
1263
01:00:54,612 --> 01:00:56,781
I'm a... I'm a broad.
1264
01:00:56,781 --> 01:00:58,116
- I'm a woman.
- [McDowall] Well...
1265
01:00:58,116 --> 01:00:59,951
[Taylor] I really don't think
it's unique.
1266
01:00:59,951 --> 01:01:01,286
[Meryman] What you getting
so overexcited about?
1267
01:01:01,286 --> 01:01:03,747
[Taylor] Because it's about
the 19th time
1268
01:01:03,747 --> 01:01:06,416
it's come up
in the conversation!
1269
01:01:06,416 --> 01:01:07,625
[Meryman]
It won't come up again.
1270
01:01:07,625 --> 01:01:08,918
[Taylor] Okay.
1271
01:01:09,878 --> 01:01:11,338
Listen, we have to go,
1272
01:01:11,338 --> 01:01:13,590
because you have to leave
by the side door.
1273
01:01:13,590 --> 01:01:15,091
[Taylor] What?
1274
01:01:15,091 --> 01:01:16,593
[McDowall] There are a great
many photographers.
1275
01:01:16,593 --> 01:01:18,219
I'm going to arrange
about the car.
1276
01:01:18,970 --> 01:01:20,597
[Taylor] Your machine's off,
isn't it?
1277
01:01:20,597 --> 01:01:22,265
[Meryman] No, it isn't.
1278
01:01:23,683 --> 01:01:25,143
[player clicks]
1279
01:01:25,643 --> 01:01:27,896
[melancholy music playing]
1280
01:01:32,984 --> 01:01:35,570
[Taylor] When I was doing
Cleopatra in England,
1281
01:01:35,987 --> 01:01:39,074
location work can be terribly
monotonous because
1282
01:01:39,074 --> 01:01:41,826
you have to rely
and wait for the weather.
1283
01:01:41,826 --> 01:01:43,370
You wait for the gods.
1284
01:01:43,370 --> 01:01:45,747
And you can sit there for days.
1285
01:01:46,664 --> 01:01:49,000
We started out in September,
1286
01:01:49,000 --> 01:01:52,045
and they got, oh, I don't know,
three weeks done
1287
01:01:52,045 --> 01:01:55,173
and they had to abandon it
for eight months or something
1288
01:01:55,173 --> 01:01:57,842
because there
was not a dry day.
1289
01:01:57,842 --> 01:02:01,262
[thunder rumbling]
1290
01:02:01,262 --> 01:02:04,974
And, uh, I was sick in bed
with what I thought
1291
01:02:04,974 --> 01:02:07,352
was, you know, the 24-hour flu.
1292
01:02:10,855 --> 01:02:13,316
[film projector whirring]
1293
01:02:13,858 --> 01:02:16,319
[announcer] Hollywood's epic
production of Cleopatra
1294
01:02:16,319 --> 01:02:18,071
grinds to a halt after
its leading lady,
1295
01:02:18,071 --> 01:02:20,532
Elizabeth Taylor, is rushed
to the London Clinic
1296
01:02:20,532 --> 01:02:22,867
with life-threatening
pneumonia.
1297
01:02:24,369 --> 01:02:27,122
[Taylor] I was on the operating
table for 18 hours.
1298
01:02:27,122 --> 01:02:29,541
And actually, four times, I...
1299
01:02:30,166 --> 01:02:34,462
was called dead
and stopped breathing.
1300
01:02:35,672 --> 01:02:37,882
And they had pipes
going into my lungs,
1301
01:02:37,882 --> 01:02:41,678
pulling the gook out
and shoving oxygen in.
1302
01:02:42,303 --> 01:02:46,057
And when I came to on the
table, the operating table,
1303
01:02:46,558 --> 01:02:50,812
that when I tried to scream,
no... no sound came out.
1304
01:02:50,812 --> 01:02:53,314
There was only just air
coming out of a big hole
1305
01:02:53,314 --> 01:02:56,067
in my throat
where they'd slit it open.
1306
01:02:57,819 --> 01:02:59,988
[somber music playing]
1307
01:03:00,905 --> 01:03:05,076
Well, as-as you know,
Ms. Taylor has not been well.
1308
01:03:05,076 --> 01:03:07,871
So we've been trying to get
everything we can
1309
01:03:07,871 --> 01:03:09,748
that does not include her.
1310
01:03:09,748 --> 01:03:12,292
[reporter] You're now
basically waiting on her.
1311
01:03:12,959 --> 01:03:16,087
[Mamoulian] Yes. Basically
waiting on Ms. Taylor.
1312
01:03:16,087 --> 01:03:17,213
[beeping]
1313
01:03:19,007 --> 01:03:20,592
[man] You're in the way.
1314
01:03:21,092 --> 01:03:22,844
[announcer] Good news from
the London Clinic.
1315
01:03:22,844 --> 01:03:25,764
Eddie Fisher arriving to escort
his beautiful wife
1316
01:03:25,764 --> 01:03:27,640
as she left the hospital.
1317
01:03:27,640 --> 01:03:29,059
There has been
widespread sympathy
1318
01:03:29,059 --> 01:03:30,935
for Liz Taylor
over her illness.
1319
01:03:30,935 --> 01:03:34,064
Now, interest in her recovery
reached a climax.
1320
01:03:34,439 --> 01:03:35,857
[man] Stand back! Back!
1321
01:03:35,857 --> 01:03:37,817
[reporter] Nice to see you,
Ms. Taylor. How are you?
1322
01:03:37,817 --> 01:03:39,152
How do you feel?
1323
01:03:39,152 --> 01:03:41,237
[Taylor] I feel a little weak.
Thank you.
1324
01:03:41,237 --> 01:03:43,031
[reporter] You're going for
a nice long rest?
1325
01:03:43,031 --> 01:03:44,783
- [Taylor] Yes.
- [reporter] How long?
1326
01:03:44,783 --> 01:03:46,284
[Taylor] About six months.
1327
01:03:46,284 --> 01:03:48,453
[reporter] And after that,
back to Cleopatra?
1328
01:03:48,453 --> 01:03:49,746
[Taylor] I hope so.
1329
01:03:49,746 --> 01:03:51,623
[reporter]
Jolly good luck, then.
1330
01:03:51,623 --> 01:03:53,458
- [Taylor] Thank you.
- [man] Okay.
1331
01:03:53,458 --> 01:03:56,044
Okay. Alright.
1332
01:03:57,921 --> 01:04:00,215
[gentle piano music playing]
1333
01:04:06,971 --> 01:04:09,432
[Taylor] I must say,
after I recovered,
1334
01:04:10,225 --> 01:04:13,978
I was so consumed with life.
1335
01:04:14,813 --> 01:04:17,482
Everything became a miracle.
1336
01:04:19,943 --> 01:04:21,986
Elizabeth Taylor...
1337
01:04:22,904 --> 01:04:24,072
[audience cheering]
1338
01:04:24,072 --> 01:04:28,201
[Butterfield 8
theme music playing]
1339
01:04:34,791 --> 01:04:36,918
[announcer] Convalescing from
her recent grave illness,
1340
01:04:36,918 --> 01:04:38,920
Elizabeth Taylor receives
a prolonged accolade
1341
01:04:38,920 --> 01:04:39,838
from the audience.
1342
01:04:39,838 --> 01:04:41,381
It's a popular choice.
1343
01:04:41,840 --> 01:04:46,011
[Taylor] Butterfield 8 was
my fourth nomination in a row.
1344
01:04:48,013 --> 01:04:50,682
And I won the award
for my tracheotomy.
1345
01:04:51,433 --> 01:04:54,144
- [Meryman] You really feel that?
- [Taylor] Yes, I do.
1346
01:04:54,144 --> 01:04:57,230
It must have been some
kind of sympathy thing,
1347
01:04:57,230 --> 01:05:00,358
because I think the film
is so embarrassing.
1348
01:05:00,358 --> 01:05:02,777
It's just dreadful.
1349
01:05:02,777 --> 01:05:05,363
[audience applauding]
1350
01:05:05,363 --> 01:05:07,032
Oh!
1351
01:05:10,702 --> 01:05:15,582
I don't really know
how to express my gratitude
1352
01:05:16,916 --> 01:05:19,085
for this and for everything.
1353
01:05:21,338 --> 01:05:24,090
I guess all I can do
is say thank you.
1354
01:05:24,799 --> 01:05:26,801
Thank you
with all my heart.
1355
01:05:27,510 --> 01:05:32,015
- [audience applauding]
- [fanfare playing]
1356
01:05:34,267 --> 01:05:38,480
["Tristezza Per Favore Va Via"
by Ornella Vanoni playing]
1357
01:05:53,953 --> 01:05:56,498
- Are you feeling alright now?
- Yes, fine.
1358
01:06:04,714 --> 01:06:06,966
You're the second director
who's been on this film.
1359
01:06:07,342 --> 01:06:09,177
Is this a rescue operation?
1360
01:06:09,177 --> 01:06:11,596
No, I wouldn't call it
a rescue operation.
1361
01:06:12,430 --> 01:06:14,766
I'm starting a film
called Cleopatra,
1362
01:06:14,766 --> 01:06:16,893
and we are starting
from scratch.
1363
01:06:17,602 --> 01:06:20,939
When they started up
production in Rome,
1364
01:06:20,939 --> 01:06:23,858
the film was hugely
over budget.
1365
01:06:23,858 --> 01:06:26,111
Constantly behind schedule.
1366
01:06:26,111 --> 01:06:29,364
One of the most troubled
productions ever.
1367
01:06:29,364 --> 01:06:33,451
It almost bankrupted
20th Century Fox.
1368
01:06:35,161 --> 01:06:37,455
And, of course,
because the film was re-shot,
1369
01:06:37,455 --> 01:06:42,043
most of the original cast
had to be recast.
1370
01:06:42,043 --> 01:06:45,505
That's how Richard became
part of the film.
1371
01:06:45,505 --> 01:06:48,717
[trumpet fanfare playing]
1372
01:06:51,302 --> 01:06:53,972
[onlookers exclaiming
and cheering]
1373
01:06:53,972 --> 01:06:56,349
[dramatic music playing]
1374
01:06:58,309 --> 01:07:00,186
[Meryman] Do you remember
the very first time
1375
01:07:00,186 --> 01:07:02,814
you ever met Richard?
1376
01:07:02,814 --> 01:07:04,482
[Taylor] Richard came
on the set,
1377
01:07:04,482 --> 01:07:07,819
and I've never seen a gentleman
so hungover in my whole life.
1378
01:07:07,819 --> 01:07:09,320
[laughter]
1379
01:07:09,320 --> 01:07:12,490
He was kind of quivering
from head to foot.
1380
01:07:14,451 --> 01:07:17,328
Mark Antony,
how prompt you are.
1381
01:07:17,328 --> 01:07:19,497
If I had not been, it would be
unforgivable of me.
1382
01:07:19,497 --> 01:07:21,833
[Burton] The first time
I came onto the set,
1383
01:07:21,833 --> 01:07:23,626
it was a very distinct moment.
1384
01:07:23,626 --> 01:07:26,963
I, uh... Every so often,
I go on a real bender.
1385
01:07:26,963 --> 01:07:28,506
I drink everything I can.
1386
01:07:28,506 --> 01:07:30,675
Drinks that people
leave behind, anything.
1387
01:07:31,134 --> 01:07:32,344
And I was on one of my benders
1388
01:07:32,344 --> 01:07:33,803
not knowing
that I would have to work.
1389
01:07:33,803 --> 01:07:35,221
And they suddenly called me in.
1390
01:07:35,221 --> 01:07:38,099
So I arrived at the studio
in a shocking state.
1391
01:07:39,059 --> 01:07:40,935
I don't think I'd slept
for two nights,
1392
01:07:40,935 --> 01:07:42,145
so I was a real mess.
1393
01:07:42,645 --> 01:07:45,815
[Taylor] He ordered a cup
of coffee
1394
01:07:45,815 --> 01:07:48,318
to sort of still
his trembling fist.
1395
01:07:48,318 --> 01:07:49,569
[Burton] So I got some coffee,
1396
01:07:49,569 --> 01:07:51,071
but I couldn't get it
to my mouth.
1397
01:07:51,071 --> 01:07:52,530
So I said to Elizabeth,
1398
01:07:52,530 --> 01:07:54,366
"Hold this, love,
for me, will you?"
1399
01:07:54,366 --> 01:07:58,036
[Taylor] And I fed him coffee
and he was terribly nervous
1400
01:07:58,036 --> 01:08:00,205
and sweet and shaky.
1401
01:08:00,205 --> 01:08:02,665
And that just
endeared me so to him.
1402
01:08:02,665 --> 01:08:05,377
My heart just sort of
went out to him.
1403
01:08:05,377 --> 01:08:06,878
[laughter]
1404
01:08:07,337 --> 01:08:09,172
[Burton]
She was fairly friendly to me.
1405
01:08:09,172 --> 01:08:11,383
The first time I ever met her,
she burped.
1406
01:08:12,050 --> 01:08:13,301
[Taylor laughs]
1407
01:08:13,301 --> 01:08:15,053
[Meryman] What'd you think
about her press,
1408
01:08:15,053 --> 01:08:17,597
uh, the bad girl?
1409
01:08:18,139 --> 01:08:19,724
[Burton] I don't read
the entertainment sections
1410
01:08:19,724 --> 01:08:22,018
so I don't know
what they wrote about her.
1411
01:08:22,018 --> 01:08:24,562
Except I remember being furious
before we started Cleopatra
1412
01:08:24,562 --> 01:08:26,439
for a totally
different reason.
1413
01:08:27,065 --> 01:08:28,566
Because I was only getting
$300,000
1414
01:08:28,566 --> 01:08:30,360
and Elizabeth
was getting a million.
1415
01:08:30,360 --> 01:08:32,487
[laughter]
1416
01:08:34,239 --> 01:08:37,242
[romantic orchestral music
playing]
1417
01:08:45,959 --> 01:08:47,585
But I will never...
1418
01:08:48,837 --> 01:08:50,255
be free of you.
1419
01:08:52,090 --> 01:08:53,216
I'd never seen her in a movie
1420
01:08:53,216 --> 01:08:54,884
except when she was
a tiny girl.
1421
01:08:55,385 --> 01:08:58,555
And I thought she was just,
in quotation marks, a "star."
1422
01:08:58,555 --> 01:09:01,433
I didn't think
she could act at all.
1423
01:09:01,808 --> 01:09:03,184
You will kneel.
1424
01:09:03,852 --> 01:09:04,936
I will what?
1425
01:09:05,729 --> 01:09:07,313
On your knees.
1426
01:09:07,313 --> 01:09:10,233
[Burton] And then I watched
Elizabeth do a scene
1427
01:09:10,233 --> 01:09:12,610
in which she appeared
to be doing nothing.
1428
01:09:14,237 --> 01:09:15,447
Then you go and see the rushes,
1429
01:09:15,447 --> 01:09:17,490
and Elizabeth,
she was hair-raising.
1430
01:09:17,490 --> 01:09:18,324
So brilliant.
1431
01:09:18,783 --> 01:09:21,244
And you can't learn it,
I don't think.
1432
01:09:23,830 --> 01:09:25,832
You have not been dismissed.
1433
01:09:31,087 --> 01:09:33,214
You are now dismissed.
1434
01:09:36,843 --> 01:09:38,720
[Burton] Elizabeth is royal.
1435
01:09:39,137 --> 01:09:42,432
She's queenlike.
It's... it's distant.
1436
01:09:42,849 --> 01:09:44,642
Like, "Don't touch."
1437
01:09:45,060 --> 01:09:46,644
It's the inaccessibility
of Elizabeth
1438
01:09:46,644 --> 01:09:48,313
that makes her exciting.
1439
01:09:50,106 --> 01:09:52,108
The dance, I take it, is over.
1440
01:09:52,108 --> 01:09:55,320
- [upbeat jazzy music playing]
- [crowd cheering]
1441
01:10:00,283 --> 01:10:03,828
I remember going to Rome
and there was a dinner.
1442
01:10:03,828 --> 01:10:08,625
Richard was there,
and the whole room just felt
1443
01:10:08,625 --> 01:10:10,794
this heat between
the two of them.
1444
01:10:10,794 --> 01:10:14,464
And I think the only person
that didn't get it was Eddie.
1445
01:10:19,010 --> 01:10:20,512
[Brynner] Elizabeth came over.
1446
01:10:20,512 --> 01:10:22,222
She was still married to Eddie.
1447
01:10:22,222 --> 01:10:24,015
And she said to me, "Pussycat,
1448
01:10:24,015 --> 01:10:26,017
I've got something
to tell you."
1449
01:10:26,017 --> 01:10:27,769
And she told me about Richard.
1450
01:10:28,353 --> 01:10:30,814
And she was really so madly
in love with Richard.
1451
01:10:30,814 --> 01:10:33,692
I'd never seen her
like that before.
1452
01:10:34,401 --> 01:10:37,320
[Taylor] Eddie left
back to California.
1453
01:10:38,571 --> 01:10:42,325
Richard and I,
we tried to be what
1454
01:10:42,325 --> 01:10:45,829
is considered good,
but it didn't work.
1455
01:10:47,205 --> 01:10:48,832
There is still time.
1456
01:10:49,499 --> 01:10:52,877
[sighs] Let someone
ask me what I want...
1457
01:10:54,129 --> 01:10:56,631
To live with you
in peace and love.
1458
01:10:58,258 --> 01:11:00,051
[Taylor] It's very difficult
to talk about
1459
01:11:00,051 --> 01:11:02,095
because I loved Richard.
1460
01:11:02,595 --> 01:11:05,390
I didn't want his marriage
to break up.
1461
01:11:05,390 --> 01:11:07,475
Sybil is a wonderful woman.
1462
01:11:08,935 --> 01:11:11,271
I couldn't help loving him.
1463
01:11:11,271 --> 01:11:13,064
It was a fact.
1464
01:11:13,565 --> 01:11:16,693
[Heyman] I think Sybil always
thought he would come back
1465
01:11:16,693 --> 01:11:19,446
because Richard
had had past affairs
1466
01:11:19,446 --> 01:11:21,781
and he had always come back.
1467
01:11:22,240 --> 01:11:23,324
Antony!
1468
01:11:23,324 --> 01:11:24,576
[Heyman] But they were totally
1469
01:11:24,576 --> 01:11:26,453
obsessed with each other.
1470
01:11:26,453 --> 01:11:30,957
It was a very, very, very,
very intense relationship.
1471
01:11:33,460 --> 01:11:34,836
[Taylor] People would say,
1472
01:11:34,836 --> 01:11:36,755
"We don't care what they do
in private life,
1473
01:11:36,755 --> 01:11:40,091
but why do they have to air
their dirty laundry in public?"
1474
01:11:40,842 --> 01:11:41,593
But when...
1475
01:11:42,093 --> 01:11:46,890
when the press photographers
chase you for miles
1476
01:11:46,890 --> 01:11:48,808
to get a photograph of you
in the car
1477
01:11:48,808 --> 01:11:50,935
going to the studio
or something...
1478
01:11:51,978 --> 01:11:55,523
Photographers dressed up as
priests would come to the door.
1479
01:11:55,523 --> 01:11:57,442
Photographers would
get inside the house
1480
01:11:57,442 --> 01:11:59,944
dressed up as workmen
or plumbers.
1481
01:11:59,944 --> 01:12:02,072
[photographers clamoring]
1482
01:12:02,072 --> 01:12:03,907
It's affected my children.
1483
01:12:04,407 --> 01:12:06,159
They don't like journalists.
1484
01:12:06,618 --> 01:12:08,453
I mean, the only way out
for them
1485
01:12:08,453 --> 01:12:10,622
was to make
a big game of it.
1486
01:12:10,622 --> 01:12:13,541
So when paparazzi
would climb over the walls,
1487
01:12:13,541 --> 01:12:15,960
uh, we'd turn the hose on them.
1488
01:12:16,628 --> 01:12:19,214
And the kids would help,
and they had a ball.
1489
01:12:19,214 --> 01:12:20,715
It was-it was the only way.
1490
01:12:20,715 --> 01:12:22,342
Otherwise, I think
they would've felt like
1491
01:12:22,342 --> 01:12:23,968
hunted little animals.
1492
01:12:23,968 --> 01:12:25,345
[photographers clamoring]
1493
01:12:25,345 --> 01:12:27,722
So it became
Cops and Robbers instead.
1494
01:12:27,722 --> 01:12:29,099
[Meryman chuckles]
1495
01:12:30,558 --> 01:12:32,811
[Hamilton] The press
had gotten very nasty.
1496
01:12:32,811 --> 01:12:36,231
I remember when the word
"paparazzi" came along,
1497
01:12:36,231 --> 01:12:39,484
and it just meant a bunch of
guys who were all photographers
1498
01:12:39,484 --> 01:12:40,902
looking for Elizabeth Taylor.
1499
01:12:40,902 --> 01:12:42,320
[laughs] I remember that.
1500
01:12:42,320 --> 01:12:45,949
Desperately looking
for Elizabeth Taylor!
1501
01:12:45,949 --> 01:12:48,702
And that was the beginning
of paparazzi.
1502
01:12:49,994 --> 01:12:51,913
They were not going for
glamor anymore.
1503
01:12:51,913 --> 01:12:54,499
They were going for
the destruction of glamor.
1504
01:12:55,083 --> 01:12:58,670
["Nothing But a Heartache"
by The Flirtations playing]
1505
01:13:04,009 --> 01:13:07,345
♪ Nothing but a heartache
every day ♪
1506
01:13:07,345 --> 01:13:09,514
♪ Nothing but a heartache ♪
1507
01:13:09,514 --> 01:13:11,474
♪ Nothing but a teardrop
all of the way ♪
1508
01:13:11,474 --> 01:13:13,518
♪ Nothing but a teardrop ♪
1509
01:13:13,518 --> 01:13:16,688
♪ Loving a bad guy
is such a sin, yeah ♪
1510
01:13:16,688 --> 01:13:20,066
♪ He's got me all won ♪
1511
01:13:20,066 --> 01:13:22,861
♪ Can I get him? ♪
1512
01:13:25,447 --> 01:13:29,284
♪ I got a lot of those
heartaches ♪
1513
01:13:29,743 --> 01:13:34,164
♪ I got a lot of those
teardrops ♪
1514
01:13:34,164 --> 01:13:36,249
♪ Heartaches ♪
1515
01:13:36,249 --> 01:13:38,168
♪ Teardrops ♪
1516
01:13:38,501 --> 01:13:39,711
♪ All of the way... ♪
1517
01:13:39,711 --> 01:13:41,880
All the
Elizabeth-Richard-Eddie
1518
01:13:41,880 --> 01:13:44,049
saga in Rome during
Cleopatra...
1519
01:13:44,049 --> 01:13:45,759
It was a nightmare.
1520
01:13:46,634 --> 01:13:48,720
Nobody had ever seen
anything like this.
1521
01:13:48,720 --> 01:13:51,514
It was a huge worldly scandal.
1522
01:13:51,514 --> 01:13:53,975
I think even the Pope
got involved at some point.
1523
01:13:53,975 --> 01:13:56,061
[bells tolling]
1524
01:13:56,061 --> 01:13:57,979
[somber music playing]
1525
01:13:57,979 --> 01:14:02,442
[Taylor] The Vatican newspaper
had come out with an item
1526
01:14:02,442 --> 01:14:05,153
saying that I was
so despicable a woman
1527
01:14:05,528 --> 01:14:08,990
that my own children should be
taken away from me.
1528
01:14:08,990 --> 01:14:11,117
An attack that really...
1529
01:14:11,534 --> 01:14:13,078
Well, it made me vomit.
1530
01:14:13,411 --> 01:14:14,371
Um...
1531
01:14:14,371 --> 01:14:16,748
The day after that,
1532
01:14:16,748 --> 01:14:18,333
somebody was out at the studio
1533
01:14:18,333 --> 01:14:19,834
trying to blow me up
with a bomb.
1534
01:14:19,834 --> 01:14:23,838
So the Italian FBI
were out there for five days.
1535
01:14:23,838 --> 01:14:26,925
[chuckles]
And it was really...
1536
01:14:27,967 --> 01:14:29,594
a horrendous week.
1537
01:14:31,680 --> 01:14:33,932
[dramatic horn fanfare playing]
1538
01:14:39,688 --> 01:14:42,399
[Taylor] In Cleopatra's
entrance to Rome,
1539
01:14:42,941 --> 01:14:46,986
I had to sit on top of
the sphinx with a little boy.
1540
01:14:48,113 --> 01:14:53,118
We shot on the back lot
with 10,000 irate Italians,
1541
01:14:53,118 --> 01:14:56,830
I thought, who'd read
the Vatican newspaper
1542
01:14:56,830 --> 01:14:59,708
about this
vicious woman.
1543
01:15:00,458 --> 01:15:03,336
And as the sphinx came through
the archway,
1544
01:15:03,336 --> 01:15:07,799
the crowd had been told
to yell "Cleopatra" and wave.
1545
01:15:07,799 --> 01:15:10,218
And they were all silent.
1546
01:15:10,218 --> 01:15:13,430
Nobody was waving,
and I really was trembling
1547
01:15:13,847 --> 01:15:16,224
that they might run up
and tear me to shreds.
1548
01:15:16,850 --> 01:15:20,020
And all of a sudden,
they ran to the sphinx
1549
01:15:20,020 --> 01:15:22,147
and broke the line...
1550
01:15:22,647 --> 01:15:26,401
and started yelling,
"Bacia, Liz! Bacia!
1551
01:15:26,401 --> 01:15:27,610
Bacia, Liz!"
1552
01:15:27,610 --> 01:15:29,863
And they started
blowing me kisses.
1553
01:15:30,739 --> 01:15:33,742
And they started screaming
and cheering.
1554
01:15:34,993 --> 01:15:39,289
And I sat there with the tears
just pouring down my face.
1555
01:15:39,289 --> 01:15:40,665
[laughing]
1556
01:15:40,665 --> 01:15:42,584
And everybody,
Richard, my mother,
1557
01:15:42,584 --> 01:15:46,296
everybody was dissolved
in tears. [laughs]
1558
01:15:47,130 --> 01:15:49,341
There wasn't
one unfriendly word.
1559
01:15:49,341 --> 01:15:52,594
[crowd cheering]
1560
01:15:59,517 --> 01:16:02,145
The Queen has conquered
the people of Rome.
1561
01:16:02,145 --> 01:16:05,273
[crowd cheering and clamoring]
1562
01:16:06,524 --> 01:16:08,526
[announcer] This spring,
Revlon brings you
1563
01:16:08,526 --> 01:16:10,737
the new Cleopatra look.
1564
01:16:10,737 --> 01:16:13,281
Brilliantly translated
into the most exciting
1565
01:16:13,281 --> 01:16:14,866
and wearable look today.
1566
01:16:14,866 --> 01:16:18,036
[upbeat pop rock music playing]
1567
01:16:18,036 --> 01:16:19,537
Sphinx Pink
1568
01:16:19,537 --> 01:16:23,625
makes all other pinks
look positively pallid.
1569
01:16:25,460 --> 01:16:27,671
[announcer 1] A turnout
of ten thousand New Yorkers
1570
01:16:27,671 --> 01:16:28,922
jammed Broadway
1571
01:16:28,922 --> 01:16:31,716
for the world premiere
of Cleopatra.
1572
01:16:31,716 --> 01:16:33,677
[announcer 2] The world premiere
of Cleopatra,
1573
01:16:33,677 --> 01:16:36,096
the biggest and most publicized
ever known.
1574
01:16:36,096 --> 01:16:38,098
Is that surprising?
It's the most talked about
1575
01:16:38,098 --> 01:16:40,475
and the most expensive film
ever made.
1576
01:16:41,184 --> 01:16:43,603
Cleopatra was notorious
when it was released.
1577
01:16:43,603 --> 01:16:44,813
Absolutely notorious.
1578
01:16:44,813 --> 01:16:46,272
Good, bad or indifferent,
1579
01:16:46,272 --> 01:16:48,817
it had become a film
1580
01:16:48,817 --> 01:16:51,695
of such caricature
and notoriety
1581
01:16:51,695 --> 01:16:53,113
that I don't think
1582
01:16:53,113 --> 01:16:55,740
anybody could see
the forest for the trees.
1583
01:16:56,116 --> 01:16:57,325
How about it?
1584
01:16:57,325 --> 01:17:00,704
You and I will take
that night boat on the Nile.
1585
01:17:00,704 --> 01:17:02,205
Just the two of us.
1586
01:17:02,205 --> 01:17:03,748
Sure, just the two of us.
1587
01:17:03,748 --> 01:17:06,126
And a thousand slaves rowing.
1588
01:17:06,918 --> 01:17:09,212
Just my luck, one of them
will be Eddie Fisher.
1589
01:17:09,212 --> 01:17:10,755
[laughter and applause]
1590
01:17:10,755 --> 01:17:12,841
[melancholy music playing]
1591
01:17:12,841 --> 01:17:16,428
[Taylor] I knew what I was doing
by loving Richard was wrong.
1592
01:17:17,387 --> 01:17:20,306
There was only one thing
I could do and that was to...
1593
01:17:20,306 --> 01:17:22,434
um, leave him.
1594
01:17:25,729 --> 01:17:27,439
Eddie and I were back together
1595
01:17:27,439 --> 01:17:32,027
and I told him
that I would try.
1596
01:17:32,652 --> 01:17:35,280
- [melancholy music continues]
- [crowd cheers]
1597
01:17:37,699 --> 01:17:39,784
Eddie, at nighttime,
1598
01:17:39,784 --> 01:17:42,996
would sit up,
and he had a gun.
1599
01:17:42,996 --> 01:17:46,124
Every time I'd start to close
my eyes and nod out,
1600
01:17:46,124 --> 01:17:49,919
he would stroke my arm and say,
"I'm not gonna kill you.
1601
01:17:49,919 --> 01:17:52,714
I wouldn't shoot you.
You're much too pretty."
1602
01:17:52,714 --> 01:17:54,924
All night long.
1603
01:17:57,927 --> 01:17:59,637
Finally, I ran from the house
1604
01:17:59,637 --> 01:18:01,306
and stayed at
[inaudible] apartment.
1605
01:18:01,306 --> 01:18:03,099
I was so scared.
1606
01:18:06,811 --> 01:18:10,065
And then Richard and I
did another film together.
1607
01:18:10,065 --> 01:18:12,317
We both did the film, really,
1608
01:18:12,317 --> 01:18:14,069
in all honesty,
1609
01:18:14,069 --> 01:18:16,863
so we could be together,
and that was the only reason.
1610
01:18:16,863 --> 01:18:18,990
We didn't admit it then.
1611
01:18:20,325 --> 01:18:22,452
And it-it was then...
1612
01:18:24,162 --> 01:18:26,331
really,
that the situation was so...
1613
01:18:28,166 --> 01:18:31,544
desperate, I think,
for everybody concerned.
1614
01:18:31,961 --> 01:18:36,925
So, Richard started talking
about marriage.
1615
01:18:38,051 --> 01:18:42,430
I met such opposition
from everyone.
1616
01:18:42,430 --> 01:18:44,724
Roddy, my mother and father.
1617
01:18:44,724 --> 01:18:46,685
My father called me a whore.
1618
01:18:47,102 --> 01:18:48,978
[soft dramatic music playing]
1619
01:18:48,978 --> 01:18:52,857
[Meryman] Do you still
have attacks of guilt about it?
1620
01:18:53,316 --> 01:18:54,943
[Taylor] Oh, yes.
1621
01:18:55,694 --> 01:18:58,863
Especially about
Richard's children.
1622
01:18:59,656 --> 01:19:01,449
We both do.
1623
01:19:02,742 --> 01:19:07,122
For having inflicted
such awful pain.
1624
01:19:08,707 --> 01:19:12,335
[Meryman] Do you have any
religious worries about this?
1625
01:19:13,128 --> 01:19:17,132
[Taylor] Do you mean, do I think
I'm going to be punished?
1626
01:19:17,132 --> 01:19:19,759
- [Meryman] Yeah.
- [Taylor] In hell?
1627
01:19:20,635 --> 01:19:22,595
I don't think we can plan
1628
01:19:22,595 --> 01:19:25,515
on being rewarded
or being punished
1629
01:19:26,307 --> 01:19:27,892
afterwards.
1630
01:19:27,892 --> 01:19:30,729
I think we must pay
on this Earth.
1631
01:19:30,729 --> 01:19:33,815
We should do our penance now.
1632
01:19:35,025 --> 01:19:36,943
[plane engine rumbling]
1633
01:19:36,943 --> 01:19:38,778
[man] There will be
no press conference.
1634
01:19:38,778 --> 01:19:41,072
[man continues indistinctly]
1635
01:19:41,072 --> 01:19:42,991
[muffled voices chattering]
1636
01:19:42,991 --> 01:19:44,409
[announcer]
When the two lovers arrived,
1637
01:19:44,409 --> 01:19:47,037
this was the barrage
of reporters and cameramen
1638
01:19:47,037 --> 01:19:48,830
that met them at the airport.
1639
01:19:48,830 --> 01:19:50,915
[reporter] You don't have
any comment at all, Liz?
1640
01:19:50,915 --> 01:19:53,001
Miss Taylor, do you have
no comment whatsoever?
1641
01:19:53,001 --> 01:19:54,586
[Burton] How do we get out?
Please.
1642
01:19:54,586 --> 01:19:57,672
[news anchor] They sought
sanctuary in a baggage tunnel.
1643
01:19:57,672 --> 01:20:01,926
Finally, refuge, but only
temporarily, in a nearby bar,
1644
01:20:01,926 --> 01:20:04,095
with Miss Taylor and Burton
still tight-lipped,
1645
01:20:04,095 --> 01:20:06,222
still refusing
to answer questions.
1646
01:20:06,222 --> 01:20:08,892
At the hotel,
Burton eluded photographers.
1647
01:20:08,892 --> 01:20:13,480
Miss Taylor headed for
a police-protected hotel suite.
1648
01:20:14,564 --> 01:20:16,983
[reporter] Do you have
any statement about your wife's
1649
01:20:16,983 --> 01:20:20,570
statement that she will not
buy a divorce?
1650
01:20:21,696 --> 01:20:24,282
I don't understand it.
1651
01:20:24,282 --> 01:20:26,117
[reporter 2] Liz's lawyers say
you are asking
1652
01:20:26,117 --> 01:20:28,203
for a million dollars
as your price for a divorce.
1653
01:20:28,203 --> 01:20:30,789
I said before that, um,
I don't, uh...
1654
01:20:30,789 --> 01:20:32,916
They have been saying
a lot of things.
1655
01:20:32,916 --> 01:20:34,751
Things are being twisted
and turned
1656
01:20:34,751 --> 01:20:37,962
and made to appear as they...
1657
01:20:38,630 --> 01:20:40,298
um...
1658
01:20:40,924 --> 01:20:43,093
It's very confusing to me.
1659
01:20:44,552 --> 01:20:45,970
[reporter] Do you have any plans
1660
01:20:45,970 --> 01:20:49,182
to meet with Mr. Fisher
when you're in town here?
1661
01:20:49,182 --> 01:20:51,142
- No.
- We didn't know he was here
1662
01:20:51,142 --> 01:20:54,062
until you boys informed us
last night.
1663
01:20:54,062 --> 01:20:56,940
[reporter] In what way is he
being unpleasant about this?
1664
01:20:57,607 --> 01:20:59,109
Do you read the papers, love?
1665
01:20:59,109 --> 01:21:01,361
I read different things
different days.
1666
01:21:01,361 --> 01:21:02,987
I suggest you do. Yeah.
1667
01:21:02,987 --> 01:21:05,115
[reporters clamoring]
1668
01:21:05,115 --> 01:21:06,783
- [Fisher] Am I bitter?
- [reporter] Yes.
1669
01:21:06,783 --> 01:21:08,660
[Fisher] Not at all,
I am not bitter.
1670
01:21:08,660 --> 01:21:11,913
This part of it
that I'm in right now
1671
01:21:11,913 --> 01:21:14,165
is like walking through
a bad dream,
1672
01:21:14,165 --> 01:21:16,543
and, uh, uh...
1673
01:21:17,127 --> 01:21:18,503
I just don't belong in it.
1674
01:21:18,503 --> 01:21:21,006
So, I wanna get out.
1675
01:21:21,006 --> 01:21:22,424
- You have...
- Now!
1676
01:21:23,133 --> 01:21:24,551
[soft, melancholy music playing]
1677
01:21:24,551 --> 01:21:28,805
[Meryman] You have a lot
of what I'd call bad publicity.
1678
01:21:28,805 --> 01:21:30,181
Do you care?
1679
01:21:30,932 --> 01:21:33,268
[Taylor] I gave up
a long time ago.
1680
01:21:33,268 --> 01:21:36,479
And, probably,
I could hire a press agent
1681
01:21:36,479 --> 01:21:38,023
to fix my image.
1682
01:21:38,023 --> 01:21:40,358
I could probably even
try and fix it myself
1683
01:21:40,358 --> 01:21:42,819
by doing a lot of justifying
and all that,
1684
01:21:42,819 --> 01:21:44,446
but I'm not going to.
1685
01:21:45,196 --> 01:21:48,783
It's a... it's a losing game.
You can't.
1686
01:21:48,783 --> 01:21:51,661
People already have a set image
1687
01:21:51,661 --> 01:21:55,331
they want to believe,
either the good or the bad.
1688
01:21:56,791 --> 01:21:58,543
And if you try and explain,
1689
01:21:59,210 --> 01:22:02,339
then you lose yourself
along the way.
1690
01:22:04,632 --> 01:22:06,718
[music fades]
1691
01:22:06,718 --> 01:22:08,511
[joyful fanfare playing]
1692
01:22:08,511 --> 01:22:10,472
[announcer] Richard Burton
and his bride Elizabeth Taylor
1693
01:22:10,472 --> 01:22:13,725
have returned to Toronto after
being married in Montreal.
1694
01:22:13,725 --> 01:22:15,143
Newsmen who greeted the couple
1695
01:22:15,143 --> 01:22:16,770
at Toronto's
International Airport
1696
01:22:16,770 --> 01:22:18,188
congratulated Miss Taylor
1697
01:22:18,188 --> 01:22:20,231
on her fifth marriage
and she thanked them.
1698
01:22:21,566 --> 01:22:24,486
Oh, I think she's finally found
her true love.
1699
01:22:24,486 --> 01:22:26,571
I think she's ready
to settle down now.
1700
01:22:26,571 --> 01:22:31,326
I don't think she's as
attractive as she used to be,
1701
01:22:31,326 --> 01:22:33,828
so she'll have a harder time
finding another one.
1702
01:22:33,828 --> 01:22:35,538
[chuckles]
1703
01:22:36,289 --> 01:22:41,044
[Taylor] I'm looking forward to
getting fat, obese, wrinkled,
1704
01:22:41,044 --> 01:22:44,255
- gray-haired... sagging.
- [McDowall] With liver spots.
1705
01:22:44,255 --> 01:22:46,841
[Taylor] Everything's going to
sag in about two years.
1706
01:22:46,841 --> 01:22:47,967
[McDowall laughs]
1707
01:22:48,385 --> 01:22:50,595
[Burton] Be one of
your shorter marriages, then.
1708
01:22:50,595 --> 01:22:53,181
[laughter]
1709
01:22:53,932 --> 01:22:55,934
[Taylor] You told me
you loved every ton.
1710
01:22:55,934 --> 01:22:58,269
- [laughter]
- You did do so.
1711
01:22:59,896 --> 01:23:01,940
[dramatic string music playing]
1712
01:23:01,940 --> 01:23:03,692
After we were married,
1713
01:23:04,192 --> 01:23:06,403
it was really as if we had been
1714
01:23:06,403 --> 01:23:09,322
bonded together
with bands of steel.
1715
01:23:11,116 --> 01:23:14,452
There was finally a relaxation.
1716
01:23:16,663 --> 01:23:19,624
Like a gold flood of warmth.
1717
01:23:21,918 --> 01:23:24,587
The children,
they worshiped Richard,
1718
01:23:25,005 --> 01:23:27,173
'cause he's so wonderful
with them.
1719
01:23:27,173 --> 01:23:30,135
He becomes the same age
as the kids.
1720
01:23:30,635 --> 01:23:33,346
Sometimes I think
they're older than he is.
1721
01:23:34,764 --> 01:23:36,141
[Meryman]
What did you worry about
1722
01:23:36,141 --> 01:23:37,934
in terms of the children?
1723
01:23:37,934 --> 01:23:39,811
[Taylor] Well, the obvious.
1724
01:23:40,311 --> 01:23:42,772
I've been married
too many times.
1725
01:23:44,649 --> 01:23:47,986
[Meryman] Have you ever tried
to explain it to them
1726
01:23:47,986 --> 01:23:49,612
about the divorce?
1727
01:23:49,612 --> 01:23:51,740
[Taylor] Oh, sure,
of course I have.
1728
01:23:51,740 --> 01:23:54,075
I mean, they are no fools.
1729
01:23:54,075 --> 01:23:56,036
They're very sensitive
children.
1730
01:23:56,036 --> 01:23:58,788
They knew that Eddie and I
were not happy.
1731
01:24:05,253 --> 01:24:08,506
It's funny,
their animal instinct.
1732
01:24:08,506 --> 01:24:10,091
They absolutely know
1733
01:24:10,091 --> 01:24:12,510
that Richard and I
are going to be alright,
1734
01:24:12,510 --> 01:24:16,514
and that our marriage will be
here 50 years from now.
1735
01:24:18,183 --> 01:24:22,645
I love, sort of, not being me,
1736
01:24:22,645 --> 01:24:24,647
but being Richard's wife.
1737
01:24:25,690 --> 01:24:29,027
[in singsong] Who's afraid
of Virginia Woolf?
1738
01:24:29,027 --> 01:24:30,737
Virginia Woolf,
1739
01:24:30,737 --> 01:24:32,030
Virginia Woolf.
1740
01:24:32,030 --> 01:24:36,368
Who's afraid of Virginia...
[cackles]
1741
01:24:36,785 --> 01:24:38,495
[announcer] Movie audiences
will soon be seeing
1742
01:24:38,495 --> 01:24:40,205
Elizabeth Taylor
and Richard Burton
1743
01:24:40,205 --> 01:24:42,123
in what quite likely
will be one
1744
01:24:42,123 --> 01:24:45,043
of the most talked about films
of 1966:
1745
01:24:45,043 --> 01:24:47,253
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
1746
01:24:52,300 --> 01:24:54,636
[Taylor]
I was 32 years old
1747
01:24:54,636 --> 01:24:57,180
playing a woman of 50.
1748
01:24:57,972 --> 01:24:59,391
I gained 20 pounds.
1749
01:24:59,391 --> 01:25:02,102
I wore rubber under my eyes,
1750
01:25:02,102 --> 01:25:03,895
under my neck.
1751
01:25:03,895 --> 01:25:05,897
I wore a gray wig.
1752
01:25:06,898 --> 01:25:08,650
What a dump.
1753
01:25:10,652 --> 01:25:12,237
Hey, what's that from?
1754
01:25:12,237 --> 01:25:14,781
[in posh British accent]
What a dump!
1755
01:25:14,781 --> 01:25:16,241
How would I know?
1756
01:25:16,241 --> 01:25:18,576
[in normal voice]
Oh, come on. What's it from?
1757
01:25:18,576 --> 01:25:20,745
- You know.
- Martha...
1758
01:25:20,745 --> 01:25:23,790
[Taylor] It's the most difficult
part that I've ever done.
1759
01:25:23,790 --> 01:25:26,167
[upbeat jazz music playing]
1760
01:25:26,167 --> 01:25:28,211
But because it's such
a complete change
1761
01:25:28,211 --> 01:25:30,213
from anything I've ever done,
1762
01:25:31,381 --> 01:25:34,926
in a sense, it's one of the
easiest things I've ever done.
1763
01:25:37,554 --> 01:25:40,890
I have Martha to hide behind,
1764
01:25:41,391 --> 01:25:44,269
so I've lost Elizabeth Taylor.
1765
01:25:45,729 --> 01:25:47,939
I feel much freer,
1766
01:25:47,939 --> 01:25:50,108
much more experimental.
1767
01:25:50,108 --> 01:25:52,569
[jazz music continues]
1768
01:25:53,069 --> 01:25:54,946
Things just kind of
seem to come,
1769
01:25:54,946 --> 01:25:57,866
like, the walk, the voice.
1770
01:25:57,866 --> 01:25:59,868
It's like my Martha skin.
1771
01:25:59,868 --> 01:26:02,078
You still look like you have
a pretty good body now.
1772
01:26:02,078 --> 01:26:03,455
Is that right, have you?
1773
01:26:03,455 --> 01:26:06,124
- Martha, decency forbids.
- Shut up!
1774
01:26:06,124 --> 01:26:08,877
[Taylor] Martha is bawdy,
1775
01:26:08,877 --> 01:26:12,756
sloppy, snarly.
1776
01:26:12,756 --> 01:26:15,175
But there are moments when,
all of a sudden,
1777
01:26:15,175 --> 01:26:17,218
the facade will crack,
1778
01:26:17,802 --> 01:26:20,680
and you'll see the hurt.
1779
01:26:22,140 --> 01:26:25,685
The infinite kind of pain
of this woman.
1780
01:26:25,685 --> 01:26:27,729
[jazz music continues]
1781
01:26:28,146 --> 01:26:29,981
You really are a bastard.
1782
01:26:29,981 --> 01:26:34,152
[Taylor] There's an intimacy
between George and Martha
1783
01:26:34,152 --> 01:26:36,279
that I think is really so...
1784
01:26:37,155 --> 01:26:39,991
strange and strong.
1785
01:26:41,284 --> 01:26:43,036
You wanna know what's happened,
George?
1786
01:26:43,036 --> 01:26:45,705
Do you wanna know
what's really happened?
1787
01:26:45,705 --> 01:26:47,040
It snapped!
1788
01:26:47,040 --> 01:26:50,001
Finally. Not me, it.
The whole arrangement.
1789
01:26:50,001 --> 01:26:53,505
You can go on forever and ever,
everything is manageable.
1790
01:26:53,505 --> 01:26:55,548
You make all sorts of excuses
to yourself.
1791
01:26:55,548 --> 01:26:57,425
To hell with it. This is life!
1792
01:26:57,425 --> 01:27:00,345
Maybe tomorrow he'll be dead,
maybe tomorrow you'll be dead.
1793
01:27:00,345 --> 01:27:03,014
All sorts of excuses.
1794
01:27:03,014 --> 01:27:06,059
Then one day, one night,
1795
01:27:06,059 --> 01:27:09,396
something happens, and... snap!
1796
01:27:09,396 --> 01:27:13,316
It breaks and you just
don't give a damn anymore.
1797
01:27:14,734 --> 01:27:17,862
I tried with you, baby.
I really tried.
1798
01:27:17,862 --> 01:27:20,490
[chuckles] Come off it, Martha.
1799
01:27:20,782 --> 01:27:22,534
I really tried.
1800
01:27:23,493 --> 01:27:25,620
You're a monster. You are.
1801
01:27:26,871 --> 01:27:28,957
I'm loud, and I'm vulgar,
1802
01:27:28,957 --> 01:27:30,917
and I wear the pants
in the house
1803
01:27:30,917 --> 01:27:33,169
because somebody's got to!
1804
01:27:33,169 --> 01:27:35,630
But I am not a monster!
1805
01:27:36,506 --> 01:27:37,799
I'm not!
1806
01:27:39,134 --> 01:27:40,885
[Taylor] I think at the end,
1807
01:27:42,887 --> 01:27:46,224
they'll never be happy.
They'll always be slobs.
1808
01:27:46,224 --> 01:27:47,559
They'll always be drunk.
1809
01:27:47,559 --> 01:27:49,185
They'll always be
picking at each other,
1810
01:27:49,185 --> 01:27:51,021
destroying each other.
1811
01:27:53,565 --> 01:27:55,150
[interviewer] I can see
the attraction of this
1812
01:27:55,150 --> 01:27:56,776
full-time professional
partnership,
1813
01:27:56,776 --> 01:27:59,821
but I'm wondering
if at times it gets a bit
1814
01:27:59,821 --> 01:28:02,365
maritally claustrophobic.
1815
01:28:03,033 --> 01:28:04,659
Maritally? No.
1816
01:28:04,659 --> 01:28:07,328
A lot of people thought that
in the last picture we did,
1817
01:28:07,328 --> 01:28:10,790
you know, that the two
central characters are
1818
01:28:10,790 --> 01:28:12,250
forever at each other,
1819
01:28:12,250 --> 01:28:15,962
and... scratching each other,
and tearing, and...
1820
01:28:15,962 --> 01:28:19,299
A great many people who didn't
know us very well said, uh...
1821
01:28:19,799 --> 01:28:23,845
"It's going to be difficult
for you both, doing this film,
1822
01:28:23,845 --> 01:28:26,848
because quite clearly,
you're both people
1823
01:28:26,848 --> 01:28:29,726
of very high temperament
and, indeed, the film
1824
01:28:29,726 --> 01:28:32,854
may carry over
after six o'clock at night."
1825
01:28:33,438 --> 01:28:35,774
[soft melancholy music playing]
1826
01:28:35,774 --> 01:28:39,444
Uh, we ignored them
and survived.
1827
01:28:39,444 --> 01:28:41,237
Elizabeth dominated the film.
1828
01:28:41,237 --> 01:28:44,115
"She won an Oscar for it,"
he said bitterly.
1829
01:28:44,115 --> 01:28:46,785
[audience laughs]
1830
01:28:47,285 --> 01:28:50,038
"And I didn't,"
he said equally bitterly.
1831
01:28:50,038 --> 01:28:52,040
[audience laughs]
1832
01:28:52,040 --> 01:28:55,251
[overlapping indistinct chatter]
1833
01:28:55,251 --> 01:28:56,711
[reporter]
Elizabeth Taylor Burton
1834
01:28:56,711 --> 01:28:59,214
was her husband's greatest
press agent.
1835
01:28:59,214 --> 01:29:00,840
Crowds had lined the sidewalks
1836
01:29:00,840 --> 01:29:03,301
outside the theater
where Burton was previewing
1837
01:29:03,301 --> 01:29:05,261
his starring role in Equus.
1838
01:29:05,261 --> 01:29:06,888
They were waiting for Liz.
1839
01:29:06,888 --> 01:29:10,225
[Burton] I'm still astounded by
the phenomenon of the crowds.
1840
01:29:10,642 --> 01:29:12,727
It's something that
I thought would cease
1841
01:29:12,727 --> 01:29:15,271
once Elizabeth
and myself were married,
1842
01:29:15,271 --> 01:29:19,234
but they get bigger and bigger
instead of less and less.
1843
01:29:19,234 --> 01:29:20,985
[reporter shouts indistinctly]
1844
01:29:21,736 --> 01:29:23,780
[Burton] I think that
somewhere or other,
1845
01:29:23,780 --> 01:29:26,491
a mysterious
third personality came about,
1846
01:29:26,950 --> 01:29:29,285
which was a combination
of the two of us together.
1847
01:29:29,285 --> 01:29:32,747
[Meryman] You're
a major industry, you two.
1848
01:29:33,998 --> 01:29:35,375
[Taylor] I suppose so.
1849
01:29:35,959 --> 01:29:38,962
- A horrible way to look at it.
- [Meryman laughs]
1850
01:29:40,630 --> 01:29:43,800
When you're too much
in the public eye for too long,
1851
01:29:43,800 --> 01:29:47,762
there's so much
that is performance.
1852
01:29:48,346 --> 01:29:49,848
When I first saw Elizabeth act,
1853
01:29:49,848 --> 01:29:52,308
I thought, "It's very curious,
she's not doing anything."
1854
01:29:52,308 --> 01:29:54,978
- You know, and...
- A lot of people have said that.
1855
01:29:55,687 --> 01:29:57,188
When I saw the rushes,
I realized
1856
01:29:57,188 --> 01:29:58,690
something extraordinary
was going on.
1857
01:29:58,690 --> 01:30:01,192
When I first worked
with Elizabeth,
1858
01:30:01,192 --> 01:30:03,695
I thought, "She's not
doing anything."
1859
01:30:03,695 --> 01:30:05,905
- Then I saw the rushes...
- A lot of people have said that.
1860
01:30:05,905 --> 01:30:08,116
- [laughter]
- [Burton] I saw the rushes...
1861
01:30:08,116 --> 01:30:10,994
"She's not doing anything."
Then I saw the rushes,
1862
01:30:10,994 --> 01:30:13,788
and I realized she was
doing a great many things.
1863
01:30:14,330 --> 01:30:16,207
[Taylor] I think
what I have done is
1864
01:30:16,207 --> 01:30:19,377
deliberately make
a dividing line.
1865
01:30:19,794 --> 01:30:23,798
The person that my family know
1866
01:30:23,798 --> 01:30:25,717
is real.
1867
01:30:27,719 --> 01:30:30,347
But the other Elizabeth Taylor,
1868
01:30:30,347 --> 01:30:32,599
the famous one,
1869
01:30:33,975 --> 01:30:37,270
really has no depth
or meaning to me.
1870
01:30:37,270 --> 01:30:40,857
It's a commodity
that makes money.
1871
01:30:43,318 --> 01:30:45,570
One is flesh and blood
1872
01:30:45,570 --> 01:30:47,572
and one is cellophane.
1873
01:30:49,157 --> 01:30:50,742
[music fades]
1874
01:30:50,742 --> 01:30:53,745
In a world where glamor is out
and reality is in,
1875
01:30:53,745 --> 01:30:55,789
two remnants of the glitter age
1876
01:30:55,789 --> 01:30:57,791
not only hang on but thrive.
1877
01:30:57,791 --> 01:31:00,335
Elizabeth Taylor
and Richard Burton.
1878
01:31:00,335 --> 01:31:02,379
What about all these rows?
1879
01:31:02,379 --> 01:31:04,589
You can't pick up
a movie magazine or anything
1880
01:31:04,589 --> 01:31:08,134
about Liz and Dick battling.
1881
01:31:08,134 --> 01:31:12,263
I think that fighting is
one of the greatest exercises
1882
01:31:12,263 --> 01:31:15,767
in marital togetherness.
1883
01:31:16,226 --> 01:31:18,269
I do not attack,
1884
01:31:18,269 --> 01:31:22,440
uh, that soft spot
in the underbelly.
1885
01:31:22,440 --> 01:31:24,150
- My double chin.
- When she attacks--
1886
01:31:24,150 --> 01:31:25,443
Double chins.
1887
01:31:25,443 --> 01:31:27,362
You bloody well have.
1888
01:31:27,362 --> 01:31:29,322
She's got a slightly fat belly.
1889
01:31:29,322 --> 01:31:31,491
- I never...
- I've got his pockmarks.
1890
01:31:31,491 --> 01:31:33,284
[interviewer] You think
he dominates you?
1891
01:31:33,785 --> 01:31:36,788
- You must be joking!
- In your real life.
1892
01:31:36,788 --> 01:31:40,000
Charles! You've got
to be kidding!
1893
01:31:40,000 --> 01:31:41,459
He sure does.
1894
01:31:41,459 --> 01:31:44,629
- Do you think that you dominate?
- I think that...
1895
01:31:44,629 --> 01:31:49,843
if there is a henpeck
around the place, it's me.
1896
01:31:50,552 --> 01:31:52,220
Oh! Mamma mia!
1897
01:31:52,929 --> 01:31:54,139
[player clicks]
1898
01:31:54,973 --> 01:31:58,059
[Taylor] Did anything come out
coherent the other night?
1899
01:31:58,059 --> 01:31:59,144
[Meryman]
1900
01:32:05,483 --> 01:32:07,444
[Taylor]
1901
01:32:07,444 --> 01:32:09,112
[both laugh]
1902
01:32:10,030 --> 01:32:12,907
[water sloshing]
1903
01:32:12,907 --> 01:32:14,492
[dog yipping]
1904
01:32:14,492 --> 01:32:16,161
[Hamilton]
Things weren't going well.
1905
01:32:16,661 --> 01:32:19,664
I saw that the first time
on their yacht.
1906
01:32:19,664 --> 01:32:22,834
They were drinking champagne
and cognac,
1907
01:32:22,834 --> 01:32:27,589
and I saw this emotional pit
that she fell into.
1908
01:32:27,589 --> 01:32:30,800
I saw
the physical deterioration.
1909
01:32:30,800 --> 01:32:35,847
It-it turned dark, it turned
out of Virginia Woolf.
1910
01:32:36,431 --> 01:32:39,351
[tense piano music playing]
1911
01:32:39,476 --> 01:32:41,686
[Meryman]
1912
01:32:41,811 --> 01:32:43,355
[Taylor]
1913
01:32:43,355 --> 01:32:45,690
Thank God, so is he.
1914
01:32:51,696 --> 01:32:54,074
You come back here!
1915
01:32:54,074 --> 01:32:56,201
Come back here, you!
1916
01:32:56,201 --> 01:32:58,912
I haven't dismissed you yet!
1917
01:32:59,329 --> 01:33:01,998
[dramatic music playing]
1918
01:33:01,998 --> 01:33:04,584
[muttering]
1919
01:33:05,251 --> 01:33:08,380
[Taylor] But just the fact
that we love each other
1920
01:33:08,380 --> 01:33:11,132
is a haven.
1921
01:33:11,132 --> 01:33:14,177
And I'm terribly kind of...
I don't know,
1922
01:33:14,177 --> 01:33:18,014
I don't think I've ever really
tried to be alone.
1923
01:33:22,686 --> 01:33:24,604
[Meryman] Um,
1924
01:33:25,563 --> 01:33:28,024
if I say to you,
"Elizabeth Taylor,"
1925
01:33:28,608 --> 01:33:31,903
do you think
you could tell me exactly
1926
01:33:33,405 --> 01:33:35,198
who that is?
1927
01:33:38,618 --> 01:33:39,828
[Taylor] I know
1928
01:33:39,828 --> 01:33:42,414
that, so far,
all I have achieved
1929
01:33:42,414 --> 01:33:44,582
is being a movie star
1930
01:33:44,582 --> 01:33:48,670
that once or twice
has managed
1931
01:33:48,670 --> 01:33:52,340
to do a fairly capable job
of acting.
1932
01:33:53,174 --> 01:33:56,261
I am not satisfied
with what I am.
1933
01:33:56,928 --> 01:33:59,347
I am not satisfied
with what I've done.
1934
01:34:00,223 --> 01:34:01,975
I want to improve.
1935
01:34:03,184 --> 01:34:04,269
[Meryman] Mm-hmm.
1936
01:34:04,269 --> 01:34:07,147
- [dramatic music continues]
- [page turns]
1937
01:34:07,147 --> 01:34:08,773
God, I think I've...
1938
01:34:10,275 --> 01:34:12,610
- I think I've finished my list.
- [Taylor] Hm?
1939
01:34:13,028 --> 01:34:16,656
- I think I've finished my list.
- [Taylor] Good show.
1940
01:34:16,656 --> 01:34:18,616
[both laugh]
1941
01:34:18,616 --> 01:34:20,035
[Taylor] Would you like a drink,
dear?
1942
01:34:20,035 --> 01:34:22,287
Shall we turn your
little machine off?
1943
01:34:22,287 --> 01:34:23,329
[Meryman] Yes.
1944
01:34:23,329 --> 01:34:25,540
Cut here. Stop transcribing.
1945
01:34:25,540 --> 01:34:27,959
Stop transcribing.
1946
01:34:29,377 --> 01:34:30,462
[clicks]
1947
01:34:30,795 --> 01:34:33,798
- [tense music playing]
- [indistinct chatter]
1948
01:34:36,634 --> 01:34:38,303
[reporter 1]
Today, the word was out.
1949
01:34:38,303 --> 01:34:39,971
Liz Taylor was leaving town
1950
01:34:39,971 --> 01:34:42,515
following her breakup
with Richard Burton.
1951
01:34:42,515 --> 01:34:43,808
Reporters and cameramen
1952
01:34:43,808 --> 01:34:45,477
staked out the only two
possible exits.
1953
01:34:45,477 --> 01:34:48,480
[reporter 2] It was probably one
of the most public occurrences
1954
01:34:48,480 --> 01:34:50,857
since Antony
first met Cleopatra.
1955
01:34:50,857 --> 01:34:52,233
The couple are now staying...
1956
01:34:52,233 --> 01:34:53,902
[reporter 3] Miss Taylor
and Mr. Burton,
1957
01:34:53,902 --> 01:34:55,820
celebrating their re-engagement,
1958
01:34:55,820 --> 01:34:58,656
convened a presidential-style
press conference,
1959
01:34:58,656 --> 01:35:00,325
asked to be left
to their new lives.
1960
01:35:00,325 --> 01:35:02,327
[reporter 4] The Burtons
rate all this attention
1961
01:35:02,327 --> 01:35:05,330
because they fulfill
a sacred Hollywood formula.
1962
01:35:05,330 --> 01:35:09,084
They must have done something
wicked we can forgive them for.
1963
01:35:09,084 --> 01:35:11,503
[reporter 5] He succinctly
confirmed the split.
1964
01:35:11,503 --> 01:35:15,131
[reporter 6] Is it true you're
separated from Liz Taylor?
1965
01:35:15,131 --> 01:35:17,967
- Yes.
- Will you be getting a divorce?
1966
01:35:17,967 --> 01:35:19,761
[reporter 7]
Mr. and Mrs. John Warner,
1967
01:35:19,761 --> 01:35:21,346
otherwise known
as Elizabeth Taylor
1968
01:35:21,346 --> 01:35:24,182
and her sixth husband
of seven marriages,
1969
01:35:24,182 --> 01:35:27,435
were having such a good time
that they extended the visit...
1970
01:35:27,435 --> 01:35:30,355
[continues indistinctly]
1971
01:35:30,355 --> 01:35:33,900
[dark, dramatic music playing]
1972
01:35:50,709 --> 01:35:53,461
[music softens and fades]
1973
01:35:53,461 --> 01:35:54,963
[woman 1] Good afternoon.
1974
01:35:55,380 --> 01:35:58,425
[woman 2] Hi.
Oh, aren't these beautiful?
1975
01:35:58,425 --> 01:36:00,468
[recorder clicks and whirs]
1976
01:36:00,468 --> 01:36:03,763
[Dunne] This is... I'm in
Beverly Hills, California,
1977
01:36:03,763 --> 01:36:05,765
The Beverly Hills Hotel,
1978
01:36:05,765 --> 01:36:08,977
about to interview
Miss Elizabeth Taylor.
1979
01:36:10,478 --> 01:36:12,188
Once you said to me something
1980
01:36:12,188 --> 01:36:14,733
I've never forgotten,
Elizabeth.
1981
01:36:14,733 --> 01:36:16,693
It was one
of those late nights.
1982
01:36:17,402 --> 01:36:22,490
You said to me, "You know,
sometimes I can't remember
1983
01:36:22,490 --> 01:36:25,368
when I wasn't famous."
1984
01:36:25,368 --> 01:36:28,705
[Taylor] Very frightening.
I thought it would decrease
1985
01:36:28,705 --> 01:36:30,999
when I sort of retired.
1986
01:36:32,042 --> 01:36:35,128
[Dunne] Now, let me ask you
something about Betty Ford.
1987
01:36:35,128 --> 01:36:37,213
Now, how did that come about?
1988
01:36:37,213 --> 01:36:39,883
[Taylor] I had
a family intervention.
1989
01:36:39,883 --> 01:36:41,760
- I don't know if you know...
- [Dunne] Oh, I...
1990
01:36:41,760 --> 01:36:43,720
I'm one of the group.
1991
01:36:43,720 --> 01:36:45,013
- [Taylor] Oh, okay.
- I know all about it.
1992
01:36:45,013 --> 01:36:47,265
[Taylor]
It's amazing, isn't it?
1993
01:36:47,265 --> 01:36:49,100
It's terrifying,
1994
01:36:49,559 --> 01:36:50,894
humiliating,
1995
01:36:51,394 --> 01:36:53,480
- uh...
- [Dunne] Did you feel betrayed?
1996
01:36:53,480 --> 01:36:58,026
[Taylor] No. I realized that
they must really love me.
1997
01:36:58,026 --> 01:36:59,277
And I didn't resent it.
1998
01:36:59,277 --> 01:37:01,279
- [Dunne] You didn't?
- [Taylor] No.
1999
01:37:01,905 --> 01:37:05,450
[Taylor] I was riddled
with guilt and shame.
2000
01:37:06,951 --> 01:37:08,870
See, I'd taken sleeping pills
2001
01:37:08,870 --> 01:37:12,874
every night of my life
for 35 years.
2002
01:37:12,874 --> 01:37:17,420
I was at the point where
I'd take one or two Percodan
2003
01:37:17,420 --> 01:37:18,963
mixed with booze
2004
01:37:18,963 --> 01:37:21,257
before I could go out.
2005
01:37:22,217 --> 01:37:25,261
[Dunne] Now, you must have
caused a sensation with them.
2006
01:37:25,261 --> 01:37:27,263
[Taylor] They'd never had
a celebrity there.
2007
01:37:27,263 --> 01:37:29,641
- [Dunne] You were the first?
- [Taylor] Yeah.
2008
01:37:30,225 --> 01:37:32,769
[Dunne] Was it hard for you to
talk in front of those people?
2009
01:37:32,769 --> 01:37:34,437
[Taylor] In the beginning, yes.
2010
01:37:34,437 --> 01:37:37,607
In the beginning, I felt like
I was giving interviews.
2011
01:37:38,191 --> 01:37:40,652
Then I broke
all those barriers down
2012
01:37:40,652 --> 01:37:42,404
and told the truth.
2013
01:37:42,404 --> 01:37:45,448
And like the onion,
always peeled
2014
01:37:45,448 --> 01:37:47,909
down to the absolute core.
2015
01:37:49,661 --> 01:37:54,374
[solemn piano music playing]
2016
01:37:55,458 --> 01:37:57,836
[Dunne] I get this,
just this sense of, um,
2017
01:37:57,836 --> 01:37:59,796
contentment or something
2018
01:37:59,796 --> 01:38:02,007
that's like a new-new phase...
2019
01:38:02,007 --> 01:38:04,092
- I hope it's not a phase.
- ...of life.
2020
01:38:04,092 --> 01:38:05,927
[Taylor] A new beginning.
2021
01:38:05,927 --> 01:38:08,013
[Dunne] This is the first
2022
01:38:08,013 --> 01:38:12,058
extended period in your life
when you are...
2023
01:38:12,058 --> 01:38:12,892
[Taylor]
2024
01:38:12,892 --> 01:38:14,102
- Yeah.
- [Taylor giggles]
2025
01:38:14,102 --> 01:38:15,854
[Dunne]
A tremendous step, isn't it?
2026
01:38:15,854 --> 01:38:17,522
[Taylor] It is.
2027
01:38:19,482 --> 01:38:20,567
[Dunne] Yeah.
2028
01:38:20,567 --> 01:38:22,402
It's for getting to know
yourself, isn't it?
2029
01:38:22,402 --> 01:38:25,613
[Taylor] Yeah,
and quite liking myself.
2030
01:38:26,114 --> 01:38:29,451
And not being afraid
to be with yourself.
2031
01:38:30,201 --> 01:38:32,162
And I think that's why...
2032
01:38:32,579 --> 01:38:34,039
I can give more.
2033
01:38:34,039 --> 01:38:37,751
[gentle, uplifting music
playing]
2034
01:38:37,751 --> 01:38:40,045
Fight back! Fight AIDS!
2035
01:38:40,045 --> 01:38:43,131
[chanting continues] ACT UP!
Fight back! Fight AIDS!
2036
01:38:43,131 --> 01:38:45,383
[reporter]
59-year-old Rock Hudson
2037
01:38:45,383 --> 01:38:48,386
revealed that he
is seriously ill from AIDS.
2038
01:38:48,386 --> 01:38:51,473
[Dunne] When Rock went public,
that was very brave.
2039
01:38:52,932 --> 01:38:55,560
[Taylor] I saw Rock
just before he died.
2040
01:38:56,019 --> 01:38:57,937
He had no idea where he was.
2041
01:38:57,937 --> 01:39:01,441
And when I asked him
if he was in pain,
2042
01:39:01,441 --> 01:39:04,235
he didn't really know
what I was talking about.
2043
01:39:04,986 --> 01:39:07,614
AIDS was this terrible stigma.
2044
01:39:08,073 --> 01:39:10,950
It was like,
"It's their problem.
2045
01:39:10,950 --> 01:39:12,577
Let them handle it."
2046
01:39:12,577 --> 01:39:16,664
"They," meaning
the homosexual community.
2047
01:39:17,332 --> 01:39:19,668
There would have been
no Hollywood without
2048
01:39:19,668 --> 01:39:22,045
the homosexual community.
2049
01:39:22,045 --> 01:39:24,172
And just as human beings,
2050
01:39:24,172 --> 01:39:28,885
we owe our fellow man
a certain responsibility.
2051
01:39:28,885 --> 01:39:30,845
[cheering]
2052
01:39:30,845 --> 01:39:32,305
No one wanted to talk about it,
2053
01:39:32,305 --> 01:39:34,391
no one wanted
to become involved.
2054
01:39:34,391 --> 01:39:36,726
And it so angered me
2055
01:39:36,726 --> 01:39:39,020
that I finally
thought to myself,
2056
01:39:39,813 --> 01:39:43,149
"Bitch, do something yourself."
2057
01:39:43,149 --> 01:39:44,401
Last night in Hollywood,
2058
01:39:44,401 --> 01:39:46,695
more than a million dollars
was raised
2059
01:39:46,695 --> 01:39:48,029
to benefit AIDS victims.
2060
01:39:48,029 --> 01:39:49,614
Elizabeth Taylor organized
2061
01:39:49,614 --> 01:39:51,241
the star-studded gala
2062
01:39:51,241 --> 01:39:53,910
as a tribute to her longtime
friend, Rock Hudson.
2063
01:39:54,369 --> 01:39:55,995
[interviewer]
You're very involved now
2064
01:39:55,995 --> 01:39:57,330
working for AIDS research.
2065
01:39:57,330 --> 01:39:59,165
What is the name
of the organization
2066
01:39:59,165 --> 01:40:00,333
that you're the chair?
2067
01:40:00,333 --> 01:40:03,128
- amfAR.
- amfAR. What does that mean?
2068
01:40:03,128 --> 01:40:05,463
American Foundation
for AIDS Research.
2069
01:40:05,463 --> 01:40:08,633
Elizabeth gave away
her entire career
2070
01:40:08,633 --> 01:40:10,969
to focus on AIDS.
2071
01:40:10,969 --> 01:40:12,637
She helped found amfAR,
2072
01:40:12,637 --> 01:40:15,849
then she founded The Elizabeth
Taylor AIDS Foundation.
2073
01:40:16,725 --> 01:40:19,602
[Taylor] I think there is
a reason for having fame.
2074
01:40:19,602 --> 01:40:23,940
A reason that can be turned
into constructive uses,
2075
01:40:24,566 --> 01:40:27,819
uh, because fame can be
a very negative thing.
2076
01:40:27,819 --> 01:40:29,487
And unless you turn it around
2077
01:40:29,487 --> 01:40:32,574
and make it work for you,
what is the point of having it?
2078
01:40:33,074 --> 01:40:35,326
[gentle, poignant music playing]
2079
01:40:35,326 --> 01:40:38,079
How strangely awake I feel.
2080
01:40:39,414 --> 01:40:42,959
[Dunne] There's something,
there's a calmness about you
2081
01:40:42,959 --> 01:40:46,087
that is beautiful.
2082
01:40:46,087 --> 01:40:50,383
[Taylor] Now, I mean,
I find life so exciting.
2083
01:40:50,383 --> 01:40:54,929
There's so many things to do,
so many things to learn.
2084
01:40:54,929 --> 01:40:56,848
And I'm doing that now.
2085
01:40:56,848 --> 01:40:58,850
If I want to go someplace,
I go.
2086
01:40:59,392 --> 01:41:03,021
If there's something I want
to study, I'll study it now.
2087
01:41:03,021 --> 01:41:05,857
I'm not under any obligation
to anyone...
2088
01:41:06,858 --> 01:41:08,443
but myself.
2089
01:41:08,443 --> 01:41:10,028
And to thine own self be true.
2090
01:41:10,028 --> 01:41:11,946
That's all I have to do.
2091
01:41:11,946 --> 01:41:16,076
[gentle music continues]
2092
01:41:20,997 --> 01:41:24,125
[music fades]
2093
01:41:25,919 --> 01:41:29,297
[sentimental, dreamy harp music
playing]
2094
01:42:16,094 --> 01:42:18,304
[music swells, tempo quickens]
2095
01:42:18,304 --> 01:42:22,434
[bright, playful orchestral
music playing]
2096
01:42:39,659 --> 01:42:41,953
[music fades]