This film starts with the famous scene where Liz Tayor wakes up alone, finds $250 for her "night's work" and a note asking "Enough?" then throws the money away along with her dress, scrawls "No Sale" in lipstick across the mirror, tries on her lover's wife's sumptuous mink coat and leaves wearing it over nothing but a slip. It's an ambitious and striking beginning to what's an odd kind of soaper, one with a different plot and decent performances all around.
There is a major misconception that Liz' character Gloria is a prostitute, but she makes it clear she's looking for control and eventually love, not money and when she sobs "I took MONEY!" near the end, it's apparent it was a one-time thing (and mixed up with love, her real goal) and that she's what we'd call today a party girl or a player. Her confession about being an abused 13-year-old ("I LIKED it!!!") also makes it plain her sex life started early, though without her consent and that her emotionally confused life was thrust upon her. Determined never to be abused again, she's modeled dresses and dated successful men, always in control of them until bored, married Laurence Harvey finally makes her fall in love. He's basically a rich failure, propped up by his wife's money and a figure-head job in her family's chemical company. He's drifting, just like aimless, amoral Gloria.
Gloria finally tells her shrink "I'm in love," obviously thinking love will conquer all, while the doc cautions her to keep his number handy, just in case "it's not everything you hope it is." The love affair ends badly for all, as a nervous, unsure Harvey insults and leaves Gloria, treating her like the cheap whore she's always been afraid of becoming. He comes back the next morning, pleading to marry her, but by then it's too late: Gloria's made a life-changing decision to move away and start over. As Harvey chases her down the highway a tragic accident takes her from him forever. Back at home, Harvey tells his wife he's going out to "find his dignity" and that if she's still there when he returns they may still have something to talk about.
Are these characters believable? Some may see Harvey's wife as so understanding as to strain credulity but Dina Merril's stoic performance gives her a kind of dignity as she patiently waits for her husband to find himself. Harvey and Gloria make an odd couple, but it seems fair to say that real life is full of stranger characters than these.
What's usually overlooked is the frequently-witty script and dialog. Cat fights abound, with a fusillade of barbs directed at bad-girl Gloria from her mother's judgmental best friend (Betty Field) and from the jealous girlfriend (Susan Oliver) of Gloria's childhood pal Steve (Eddie Fisher). The "main course," (of course, of course) is the constantly shifting pas-de-deux between star-crossed lovers Gloria and Ligett (Laurence Harvey). Not only did Liz Taylor win an Oscar for this film, but the movie plays on the real-life drama of pop singer/superstar Eddie Fisher, who left America's Sweetheart - actress Debbie Reynolds - (and daughter Carrie Fisher) for Liz Taylor. Given Taylor's real-life role as a home wrecker at this time, her being cast as a slut in this film seems inevitable and makes one wonder if Taylor could have even gotten the part without it. Just to be sure that absolutely no one could miss the connection to the real-life love triangle, Fisher's on-screen girlfriend Susan Oliver is made up to look as much like Debbie Reynolds as possible. At first we weren't sure we wanted to see this picture again, but from the striking opening scene on we found it intriguing. Eddie Fisher was no thespian and Susan Oliver isn't given much of a part but Laurence Harvey, Liz Taylor and Dina Merrill bring this "old chestnut" to life.
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