Butterfield 8
Director: Daniel Mann
Year Released: 1960
Rating: 2.0
Typical "hooker with a heart of gold" story (starring the lovely Ms. Elizabeth Taylor) who wants to reform her life and attain respectability (as symbolized in the mink coat that gets carried around from place to place). She falls for a wealthy lawyer (Laurence Harvey) who's married into an elitist family, but all is not wine and roses and their relationship crumbles. The scene where Harvey loses it in a restaurant comes out of nowhere, and all-in-all the whole film is dramatically overwrought and phony. The supporting cast of actors - especially Eddie Fisher, once Taylor's real-life husband - are mediocre (performance wise), and they are overshadowed by Taylor's wonderful portrayal (Liz's mother in the film - for some reason - can cry at the drop of the hat, and Harvey's wife comes across as a naive fool). The ending, foreshadowed well ahead of time, is disappointing.
