BELGIAN AUTHOR MAURICE MAETERLINCK’S PLAY, L’OISEAU BLUE, debuted at the Moscow Art Theatre in 1908. Thereafter, producers have embraced the children’s fantasy story in numerous adaptations, including three Broadway stage productions, two U.S. silent movies, an opera, an animated film from Russia in 1970, and most famously, a 1940 Shirley Temple movie produced by Twentieth Century Fox as their purported answer to Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz. In spite of the minimal success of previous film adaptations, the 1970s edition directed by George Cukor had lofty ambitions, with producer Edward Lewis announcing to the press that The Blue Bird would be made on a grand scale with an all-star cast, and a budget upward of $12 million.
In The Blue Bird. Playwright Maeterlinck also wrote a little-known sequel called The Blue Bird and the Betrothal.
Twentieth Century Fox linked up with the Lenfilm Studio to make this the first Soviet-American joint film production utilizing a cast and crew comprised of both Russian and American talents. Filming would take place in Moscow and Leningrad. The Blue Bird was placed in the capable hands of George Cukor, award-winning director of The Philadelphia Story, A Star Is Born, and My Fair Lady, among other classics. An impressive cast headed by Elizabeth Taylor, Ava Gardner, Jane Fonda, and Cicely Tyson was assembled for the film. Katharine Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine were original cast selections but backed out of the production, which is the route others came to wish they had chosen.
It would take a director of Cukor’s stature to withstand the flurry of behind-the-scenes difficulties that plagued The Blue Bird.
In her Maternal Love role
At the wrap party with director George Cukor
It would take a director of Cukor’s stature to withstand the flurry of behind-the-scenes difficulties that plagued The Blue Bird. First was the language barrier that existed between the Russian cast and crew and their American counterparts, making Cukor resort to a form of sign language on desperate occasions. Cinematographer Jonas Gritsius had to be replaced when Cukor discovered that he had never shot a film in color, resulting in a murky quality to all of the early footage he had shot. The frigid weather was a trial for some, though not as big an issue as the food turned out to be, necessitating edible imports to be shipped from England. Actor James Coco subsisted on bread and butter only for a time and eventually suffered a gallbladder attack that necessitated that he be replaced by George Cole in the role of Dog. Coco later said, “They tell us the movie will finish by August, but not by August of what year. I understand Elizabeth Taylor is having Christmas cards printed.”
For Cukor and his cast and crew, a champagne toast was in order when The Blue Bird mercifully reached its conclusion.
A portrait from The Blue Bird period
When all was said and done, the total cost of The Blue Bird was $15 million. Production totaled a trying seven months during which time Jane Fonda talked politics to the Russians and George Cukor accused Cicely Tyson of putting a voodoo jinx on the film. Elizabeth suffered from her recurring back pains and was ill with amoebic dysentery and dehydration throughout the production, causing more delays as she was vital to the movie, playing four roles. This came after she had also just endured a lung cancer scare. It was during production of this film that Elizabeth offered one of her most famous quotes to reporter Rex Reed: “I’ve been through it all, baby. I’m Mother Courage.”
Just as production mercifully wrapped on The Blue Bird, Elizabeth made headlines again by announcing that she and Richard Burton were reunited. Their second marriage took place on October 10, 1975, at Chobe National Game Park in Botswana. They had never resolved the issues that had separated them two years earlier. Elizabeth said, “I married him the second time because I no longer cared if he stopped drinking. I just wanted to be married to him.” Their reunion would last only four months. Love alone could not sustain them. Burton’s daughter, Kate, said, “I don’t think anybody, least of all them, could have told you why it worked or why it didn’t.”
“I’ve been through it all, baby. I’m Mother Courage.”
— ELIZABETH TAYLOR
Victory at Entebbe
TV Movie
DAVID L. WOLPER PRODUCTIONS/ABC
CAST
Richard Dreyfuss Colonel Yonatan Netanyahu
Burt Lancaster Shimon Peres
Julius Harris President Idi Amin
Anthony Hopkins Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin
Stefan Gierasch General Mordecai Gur
Elizabeth Taylor Edra Vilnofsky
Kirk Douglas Hershel Vilnofsky
Linda Blair Chana Vilnofsky
Helen Hayes Etta Grossman-Wise
David Groh Benjamin Wise
Helmut Berger German terrorist
Theodore Bikel Yakov Shlomo
CREDITS
Robert Guenette (producer); Marvin J. Chomsky (director); Ernest Kinoy (screenplay); Jim Kilgore (photography); Charles Fox (music); Charles Rutherford (set decorations); Donald Gold (assistant director); Michael Gavaldon, Jim McElroy, David Saxon (editors); Jack Martell (costumes)
RELEASE DATE: December 13, 1976
RUN TIME: 119 minutes, color
SUMMARY: Based on a true story: On June 27, 1976, Palestinian terrorists hijacked Air France Flight 139, departing from Tel Aviv, Israel, headed for Paris, and rerouted its course to Entebbe airport in Uganda. Upon arrival, all non-Jewish passengers were released and the remaining 107 held hostage. Israeli intelligence, masterminded by defense minister Shimon Peres, devised a rescue mission, known as Operation Thunderbolt, that was successfully carried out on July 6, 1976. Mission commander Colonel Yonatan “Yonni” Netanyahu, the brother of Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, was the only member of the rescue team to lose his life.
notes
THE STORY OF THE TERRORIST HIJACKING OF AIR FRANCE Flight 139 and the ensuing hostage rescue mission carried out by Israel Defense Forces was among the biggest news events of 1976. The operation was so well-planned and near seamlessly executed that the United States military would follow similar plans based on the Entebbe model in years to come. There was so much interest in the Entebbe tale in 1976 that it sent no less than three movies into production. Victory at Entebbe aired on ABC in December of that year, edging out by one month the premiere of NBC’s version of the story, Raid on Entebbe, starring Peter Finch and Charles Bronson. Meanwhile, an Israeli feature film was also in the works and released in 1977. Both Raid and Victory at Entebbe earned numerous Emmy nominations, though more went to Raid on Entebbe.
The story that these three films told was close to Elizabeth’s heart, and she said she participated in her small role as Edra Vilnovsky in Victory at Entebbe for her fellow Jewish people. She and Kirk Douglas played the Jewish parents of a sixteen-year-old girl held hostage at Entebbe. The reality of the movies was perhaps too close for comfort in some markets and not enough time had elapsed following the aftermath. Several articles reported protests and even bomb threats in reaction to screenings of the film in Germany and Italy.
Elizabeth and Kirk Douglas
A Little Night Music
S&T-FILM BERLIN/SASCHA-VERLEIH/NEW WORLD PICTURES
CAST
Elizabeth Taylor Desiree Armfeldt
Diana Rigg Charlotte Mittelheim
Len Cariou Frederick Egerman
Lesley-Anne Down Anne Egerman
Hermione Gingold Madame Armfeldt
Laurence Guittard Carl-Magnus Mittelheim
Christopher Guard Erich Egerman
Lesley Dunlop Petra
Chloe Franks Fredericka Armfeldt
Heinz Marecek Frid
CREDITS
Elliott Kastner (producer); Harold Prince (director); Hugh Wheeler (screenplay), based on screenplay Smiles of a Summer Night by Ingmar Bergman and play by Hugh Wheeler; Arthur Ibbetson (photography); Paul Gemignani (musical director); Stephen Sondheim (music and lyrics); Patricia Birch (choreographer); Herta Pisching (art director); Kip Gowans (assistant director); John Jympson (editor); Florence Klotz (costumes)
RELEASE DATE: December 1977
RUN TIME: 124 minutes, color
SUMMARY: In turn-of-the-century Austria, three mismatched couples spend a weekend at the country estate of Madame Armfeldt. Each person present is enmeshed in romantic dramas which in some way effect all of their weekend companions, and all are decidedly uneasy and/or unhappy. Desiree, a glamorous actress, is anxious to settle down and thinks former flame Frederick may be the man for her, even though he is married (however unhappily) to young Anne Egerman. Desiree’s current love, Carl-Magnus Mittelheim is present with his wife, Charlotte, who hopes to win back her husband’s love by flirting with Frederick even though he is the husband of her best friend, Anne. Also adding color to the proceedings are Desiree’s mother, Madame Armfeldt, and a pretty maid, Petra. A game of romantic musical chairs ensues as everyone discovers who in the immediate vicinity actually is their perfect mate.
With Len Cariou
REVIEWS
“A Little Night Music is a movie musical that entertains and elevates. It is one of the few stage musicals to make a successful crossing to the more literal shores of film, keeping its reputation intact and picking up additional charm en route.”
—New York Daily News (Rex Reed)
“As a director, Hal Prince has been responsible for some of the most inventive, stylish musicals ever to grace the Broadway stage. But in directing the movie version of A Little Night Music, he seems to have lost not only his inspiration but his unfailing sense of style. His direction is so overwhelmingly stodgy and ploddingly old fashioned that it detracts almost completely from Stephen Sondheim’s facile, wryly humorous score which, by the way, was written almost entirely in waltz tempo. A Little Night Music should have been as effervescent as Dom Perignon. Instead, it seems as flat as stale beer.”
—New York Daily News (Kathleen Carroll)
“Harold Prince’s film is richly mounted with a dazzling score by Stephen Sondheim, the most important talent now working in American musical theater. Some people may be too accustomed to naturalistic movies to respond to such a stylized musical. Prince doesn’t try to hide the artifice; he calls attention to it by opening with a stage performance in a Viennese theater, then shifting to more realistic settings. . . . Elizabeth Taylor gives an affecting performance as Desiree.”
—The New York Times (Stephen Farber)
notes
SWEDISH FILMMAKER INGMAR BERGMAN’S FROTHY 1955 ROMANTIC comedy Smiles of a Summer Night is one of the most light-hearted and endearing films Bergman ever made. Though not among his most acclaimed works, its undeniable charm made it a favorite among many Bergman fans. One to whom its charm was undeniable was composer Stephen Sondheim, who teamed up with playwright Hugh Wheeler to produce a musical based on Smiles of a Summer Night, titled A Little Night Music. Under the direction of Harold Prince, the play opened on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre on February 25, 1973. It played for 601 performances, during which time it won numerous accolades, including the 1973 Tony Awards for Best Musical and Best Score.
Harold Prince continued his duties as director for the big screen adaptation, bringing with him Broadway cast members Len Cariou, Hermione Gingold, and Laurence Guittard to re-create their roles. For the female lead of Desiree Armfeldt, however, Tony-nominee Glynis Johns was replaced by Elizabeth Taylor, for whom this would be her first full-scale musical film. Another change from stage to screen was moving the setting from Sweden to Austria, which resulted in alterations to some of the characters’ names.
The movie, an Ernst Lubitsch–like farce filled with complicated love entanglements, was filmed in the fall of 1976 and premiered at the Deauville Film Festival a year later. It was met with mixed reaction from the press though Stephen Sondheim’s score, which included the standard “Send in the Clowns,” was as melodic as ever to critics. The movie won the Oscar for Best Score and earned a nomination for Best Costume Design for Florence Klotz. The Sondheim-Wheeler musical continued to inspire revivals over the years. A made-for-TV movie premiered in 1990 starring Sally Ann Howes, and a new edition of the stage production opened on Broadway on December 13, 2009, starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury. Zeta-Jones, who made her Broadway debut in the play, won the Tony for Best Actress in a Musical for her characterization of Desiree Armfeldt.
During the time Elizabeth made A Little Night Music she became engaged to Republican politician John Warner. They were married on December 4, 1976. Warner had served as United States Secretary of the Navy and was on the road to becoming senator for the state of Virginia, with Elizabeth helping him along the campaign at every opportunity.
A cast shot, with Len Cariou, Laurence Guittard, and Diana Rigg
With John Warner, to whom she became engaged during the making of A Little Night Music
With Chloe Franks, who played her daughter in the film
Return Engagement
TV Movie
NBC
CAST
Elizabeth Taylor Dr. Emily Loomis
Joseph Bottoms Stewart Anderman
Allyn Ann McLerie Florence
Peter Donat George Riley
James Ray Mr. Keith
Susan Buckner Janice
Alston Ahern Audrey
Robin Strand Victor
CREDITS
Franklin R. Levy, Mike Wise (producers); Joseph Hardy (director); James Prideaux (screenplay); Arthur B. Rubinstein (music); Martin Allen (choreographer); Phillip Seretti, Georja Skinner (sound); Edith Head (costumes); Sydney Guilaroff (hairstylist)
RELEASE DATE: November 17, 1978
RUN TIME: 74 minutes, color
SUMMARY: Dr. Emily Loomis is a professor of ancient history at a California college. She rents a room in her home to the recalcitrant Stewart Anderman, one of her students at the college. Stewart prefers to spend his time watching old movies. Emily is a loner herself, in stark contrast to her past as the better half of a popular dancing partnership with her former husband. When Stewart learns of her musical past, they form a kinship that makes both begin to come out of their shells. They participate together in a hit variety show at the college. Their deep affection for each other makes both student and teacher grow wiser.
REVIEW
“By now, it is merely ridiculous to point out that Miss Taylor is fat—not just plump but fat. Careful costuming and lighting, with heavy shading for the left side of her face, can only provide minimum camouflage. Below her still beautiful face, the actress teeters on the edge of being matronly. Her dancing is perfunctory, her singing worse. Yet, she is marvelously appealing. There is an admirable element of sassy determination, of what used to be called gumption, in her performance. . . . Return Engagement is not believable for a moment, but that flaw has rarely been fatal in televisionland.”
—The New York Times (John J. O’Connor)
notes
ELIZABETH STARRED AS A DANCING STAR–TURNED–COLLEGE professor in this Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie, part of the Thanksgiving release in the twenty-eighth season of the popular series. Elizabeth personally selected her young costar, Joseph Bottoms, for his role in Return Engagement after seeing his performance as a resistance fighter in the TV mini-series Holocaust. The twenty-four-year-old actor appreciated and admired Elizabeth, telling the New York Post, “She’s kind and generous. Some people in this business in her position wouldn’t give you the time of day. She always has time for people.”
Elizabeth was married to John Warner at this time. As a politician’s wife she paid far less attention to her own career than she had in the past and was admittedly becoming bored and even lethargic in the process. Elizabeth later said, “Being a senator’s wife is not easy. It’s very lonely. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.” Her weight increased, reaching 180 pounds at her heaviest, and critics could not restrain themselves from noting it at every turn, including in reviews of Return Engagement.
As Dr. Emily Loomis
Winter Kills
TV Movie
WINTER GOLD PRODUCTIO
NS/AVCO EMBASSY
CAST
Jeff Bridges Nick Kegan
John Huston Pa Kegan
Anthony Perkins John Cerruti
Eli Wallach Joe Diamond
Sterling Hayden Z. K. Dawson
Dorothy Malone Emma Kegan
Tomas Milian Frank Mayo
Belinda Bauer Yvette Malone
Ralph Meeker Gameboy Baker
Toshirô Mifune Keith
Elizabeth Taylor Lola Comante
CREDITS
Robert Sterling, Leonard J. Goldberg (executive producers); Fred Caruso (producer); William Richert (director, screenplay), based on novel by Richard Condon; John Starke (associate producer); Vilmos Zsigmond (photography); Maurice Jarre (music); Norman Newberry (art director); Arthur Jeph Parker (set decorations); Robert Boyle (production design); Pete Scoppa (assistant director); David Bretherton (editor); Robert De Mora (costumes); Kathy Blondell (hairstylist); Del Acevedo (makeup)
RELEASE DATE: May 11, 1979
RUN TIME: 97 minutes, color
SUMMARY: United States President Tim Kegan is assassinated. Nineteen years later, new evidence concerning a conspiracy surrounding the president’s murder turns up and his younger brother, Nick Kegan, is on the trail. The wild adventures that follow lead to many strange encounters with odd characters. All the while Nick attempts to steer clear of his domineering father and keep from getting sidetracked by a growing love for his brother’s former mistress.
REVIEW
“Winter Kills, which opens today at Cinema 2 and a number of other theaters, has been advertised with the slogan ‘Something funny is happening in Winter Kills. Take it seriously!’ You don’t see desperation like this every day, nor do you happen upon movies this likable, this ridiculous, or this impossible to describe. Winter Kills isn’t exactly a comedy, but it’s funny. And it isn’t exactly serious, but it takes on the serious business of the Kennedy assassination. That’s why other ads for the film have been comparing it to Dr. Strangelove and M*A*S*H. They don’t do the trick, either. This isn’t a social satire—it’s more like a movie with spring fever. It doesn’t make a bit of sense, but it’s fast and handsome and entertaining, bursting with a crazy vitality all its own.”
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