LastingAware The greatest movie ever!

Hulkeasexo it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.

Micah Lloyd Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

Ariella Broughton It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Armand for Taylor fans , it is a delight. for the others - image of a good performance. in fact, the seduction of movie is result of courage/science to present a series of delicate problems. Gloria is , in this conditions, a little more than a character but definition of a social search of sense. and Elizabeth Taylor does a correct work. maybe not great but perfect for give to her character strong nuances, delicate stripes of vulnerability, force and credibility. all in package of meeting with Laurence Harvey. its trap - the public expectations because the fame of film is more great by its resources. but it is only a detail. each actor does a meritorious work and the dust of a period sensitivity is not an important obstacle for discover a common story with melodrama flavor. a special contribution,a role as delicate embroidery - Mildred Dunnock.

mark.waltz This really is the definition of a "guilty pleasure". It is also sort of symbolic of Hollywood in the late 50's/early 60's and an ironic one in the career of Elizabeth Taylor's. Who would believe that two years after one of Hollywood's biggest scandals (with Taylor as the "other woman") she would play "the other woman" in a melodramatic soap opera? Nobody will ever accuse Laurence Harvey of being Eddie Fisher or Dina Merrill of being Debbie Reynolds, although the later is closer as her character is as noble on screen as the press made Debbie out to be in real life. Perhaps this is one of the reasons Taylor hated the film so much because it was a bit of a parallel, and maybe she was sick of the subject....But, I digress. Looking much like Maggie in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" in the opening scene wearing nothing but a slip, her character of Gloria is a slightly aging New York party girl. They say when Broadway babies say goodnight, it's early in the morning, and when Taylor wakes up, she finds everything around her in a shambles. Her dress is destroyed, she can't find a cigarette she likes, and Harvey has left her money, she later finds out, to replace the dress. Several years before the code changed, this opening scene is still pretty racy. So with no other way to get home, Taylor simply "borrows" a mink coat from Harvey's closet which is later revealed to belong to his wife Dina Merrill. Taylor is livid by the "insult". It is obvious that Taylor is not a prostitute, but she's not Donna Reed, either. (Unless it's Reed in "From Here to Eternity"!) You know right from the start that Taylor is one complex, neurotic woman. She obviously has a job (it seems wearing her outfits from some design firm around town to get them seen it appears), but for the women who know her (with the exception of naive mother Mildred Dunnock), Taylor isn't someone you leave alone with your husband. Susan Oliver is one of those women, the girlfriend of Taylor's pal, Eddie Fisher. In the early 30's, pre-code films like this were "warnings" to young ladies heading to the big city, but by 1960, the world was wise enough not to cry "danger, danger!" when showing us Gloria's plight. Taylor really isn't doing anything here she hadn't done in her recent successes, but her one key scene (unleashing her soul to Eddie Fisher about her past) is magnificent and perhaps what voters remembered when they voted her the Oscar. There is no doubt how this will end, but the lavish filming makes this truly fun to watch.I don't see this film being done in Louis B. Mayer's day at MGM, but with the permissiveness of this era, "BUtterfield 8" is not at all shocking. Harvey does what he can to make the louse of a husband likable. Some people may find Dina Merrill's wealthy socialite too good for words, but I truly empathized with her. She could have used her financial standing to be more controlling, but then she'd be labeled just another "rich bitch", which she certainly was not. I find this made her the most likable character in the film, although Kay Medford's brief scenes as the owner of the cheap road motel were filled with heart, humor and wisdom as well. Dunnock, too, was excellent as the close-eyed mother, and Betty Fields offers some amusing moments as her witty friend who pretends to hate Taylor but you know instantly actually can't help but like her. This is one of those lavish soap operas (much like "A Summer Place" and "From the Terrace") that you can't help but enjoy in spite of its triteness.

jlongstreth-1 This movie has not aged well. The score is distracting and overly bombastic, telegraphing with a heavy hand until the Morse code of the director's intent is tattooed on the viewer's forehead. Lovely mid-century fashion and buildings, terrific color and framing, but it all gets lost in the heavy-handed melodrama of a bygone time.Fortunately, Elizabeth Taylor is there to watch, and she makes the most of a horrid script, story, and denouement.Pass this one by unless you're a huge Taylor fan or feel like seeing something unintentionally hilarious. The five stars are for Liz and the sets.

blanche-2 John O'Hara loved writing about bad girls, and "Butterfield 8," adapted from his novel, is no exception. Elizabeth Taylor stars as Gloria, a model/slut who sleeps around and keeps up the good girl illusion with her mother (Mildred Dunnock). Her mother's friend (Betty Field) has Gloria's number (Butterfield 8), but doesn't say anything to her mother. Gloria then falls in love with an unhappily married man (Laurence Harvey) -- but is it too late for her? Meanwhile, her childhood friend Steve (Eddie Fisher) is there to take care of her and listen to her confessions. His girlfriend (Susan Oliver) doesn't like it. I was reminded watching the film of Carrie Fisher's comment about her father: "When Mike Todd died, Eddie flew to Liz's side. Eventually, he got around to her front." The only reason to sit through this soapy, dated drama is Elizabeth Taylor, at the height of her beauty. And she's very good, despite people (and her) thinking her Oscar was a sympathy award.The film moves slowly, but Taylor keeps it interesting. She was a true movie star in the very best sense. When she was on the screen, you couldn't take your eyes off of her.