The movie Elizabeth Taylor called the “most exciting” she ever made
If you look up the word ‘glamour’ in the dictionary, you’ll find a picture of Elizabeth Taylor.
Onscreen, she was the unobtainable idol, the ideal of womanhood, a symbol of erotically-charged sensuality that you were invited to covet, but knew you would always be at a distance from. In real life, however, she was the constant focus of tabloid speculation, as it happens. She was just as famous for what she got up to when the cameras weren’t rolling, as her turbulent personal life was perfect headline fodder. In many ways, she defined the parasocial relationship stars and the general public have today.
Many great (and not so great) films define the two-time Mrs Richard Burton. Most people will know her as the titular Cleopatra from the eponymous film, the phenomenally expensive exercise in artistic folly that damn-near killed the entire movie industry.
Younger viewers might remember her as Wilma’s mother in the live-action adaptation of The Flintstones, her final theatrical release. If you think it’s undignified for such a legend to go out with a dud like this, then you’re absolutely right.
In her own words, however, one film stands out from the rest. Taylor made her movie debut in 1942 at the age of ten. She appeared in a few more features, failing to gain any sort of traction, before she hit the big time with 1944’s National Velvet. As Velvet Brown, she led this sports drama alongside the likes of Mickey Rooney and Angela Lansbury. Brown is a young girl with a passion for horses. She wins a horse called Pie in a local raffle and, with the help of drifter Mi Taylor (Rooney) and trains it up for the famous Grand National steeplechase.
As per her obituary in The New York Times, Taylor thought National Velvet was her “most exciting film”. It also marked the beginning of her relationship with MGM. Even though she was only 12 years old, the studio signed her to a contract, which locked her in for the foreseeable future. The partnership was strong to begin with, but, as Taylor described, she had effectively become their “chattel” (personal property) by the time Cleopatra rolled around.
Taylor very nearly missed out on the film altogether. MGM initially wanted somebody taller for the role of Velvet, which apparently led to the young star stretching herself to try and gain a few inches. Think Bart in that episode of The Simpsons with the ‘Radioactive Man’ movie. As she recounted in later life, “I knew if it were right for me to be Velvet, God would make me grow”, and whoever is up there must have been listening.
Considering all the great work she did as an adult, it seems a little odd that Taylor would be this fond of one of her earliest films. National Velvet is a great movie, though, an inspiring underdog story that fits the sports drama mould perfectly. Also, you have to remember that she wasn’t even a teenager yet and was leading her own movie. That’s pretty damn exciting.
If you’re a fan of Taylor’s later work and haven’t gotten around to watching National Velvet, do yourself a favour and check it out. It might not be as “exciting” now as it was almost a century ago, but you owe it to Liz to give it a try.
