Synopses & Reviews
Elizabeth Taylor was one of the major film
stars of the twentieth century, embodying all
the glamour and allure of Hollywood stardom.
Yet her achievements as an actress have
often been overshadowed by her beauty
and tumultuous life off-screen.
To redress this imbalance, Susan Smith
offers an illuminating study of Elizabeth
Taylor's work in film, exploring her fascinating
trajectory from child to adult star. Smith
reveals the influence that Taylor's early work
exerted over her later career and the ways in
which her on-screen identity is profoundly
rooted in her association with animals and
nature.
Smith carefully unpicks what made Taylor
such a distinctive and dynamic on-screen
performer - from the expressive use she
made of her eyes to the dramatic significance
of her voice - and considers the importance
of certain professional collaborations that
Taylor forged during her career, most notably
her acting partnership with Montgomery Clift.
Synopsis
The first in-depth academic analysis of Elizabeth Taylor's work in film. It examines her distinctive features as a performer and shows how various aspects of her performance repertoire evolved along with her star persona, during the course of her career, both on and off screen.
Synopsis
Though widely regarded as one of the major film stars of the twentieth century and the epitome of the glamorous allure of movie stardom, the press's intense scrutiny of her off-screen life and her beauty, has often had the effect of deflecting attention away from Elizabeth Taylor's achievements as an actress. "Elizabeth Taylor" seeks to remedy this neglect by offering the first sustained, in-depth academic study of Elizabeth Taylor's work in film. Susan Smith analyses:
- what made the actress so distinctive as a performer
- the effects Taylor's striking physical beauty had on her on-screen presence
- the expressive use made of Taylor's eyes, face and body
- the significance of Taylor's distinctive voice in characterizing her star identity and appeal
About the Author
SUSAN SMITH is Senior Lecturer in
Film Studies at the University of
Sunderland, UK. She is the author
of Voices in Film (in Close-Up 2,
2007), The Musical: Race, Genderand Performance
(2005), which
was selected as a CHOICE
Outstanding Academic Title in
2006, and of Hitchcock: Suspense,Humour and Tone
(2000).
Table of Contents
IntroductionRiding to StardomThe Animal ReturnsActing on Instinct?CompassionCoda: Moving OnNotesBibliographyFilmographyIndex