SHE GAVE MEN A TASTE OF LIFE THAT MADE THEM HUNGER FOR MORE.
The authorities force beatnik Laura Reynolds’s (Elizabeth Taylor) young son to attend a school run by a priest (Richard Burton); the two adults’ initial antagonism turns into affection, but he’s married. One of director Vincente Minnelli’s last films is a traditional love story between two people who couldn’t be more different, and as a vehicle for Taylor-Burton it’s an OK movie. The two sides are well balanced, the dialogue stays reasonably intelligent and that song keeps everything on a bittersweet level. Great to see Charles Bronson as an aggressive beatnik, but Eva Marie Saint’s character is very underwritten.
1965-U.S. 116 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed by Vincente Minnelli. Screenplay: Dalton Trumbo, Michael Wilson. Song: ”The Shadow Of Your Smile” (Johnny Mandel, Paul Francis Webster). Cast: Elizabeth Taylor (Laura Reynolds), Richard Burton (Edward Hewitt), Eva Marie Saint (Claire Hewitt), Charles Bronson, Robert Webber, Torin Thatcher. Voice of Peter O’Toole.
Trivia: Sammy Davis, Jr. was allegedly considered for a part in the film.
Oscar: Best Original Song.
