Thursday's thirteen: Thirteen Elisabeth Taylor Movies

In honor of Elisabeth Taylor's passing, I'm posting thirteen must see of her movies.



1. "National Velvet" (1944)



A preteen Taylor starred as Velvet Brown in this classic horse film, opposite Angela Lansbury and Mickey Rooney. In "National Velvet," based on Enid Bagnold's novel, a girl aspired to win the prestigious Grand National horse race. Disguised as a jockey, Taylor's character entered the race.

2. "Little Women" (1949)



Based on Louisa May Alcott's novel, this film featured. Mary Astor as, a Massachusetts mother raising four daughters, while her husband fought in the Civil War. Taylor played one of the girls in a cast including June Allyson, Leon Ames, Peter Lawford, Janet Leigh and Margaret O'Brien.

"Little Women" was remade in 1994 with Winona Ryder and Susan Sarandon.

3. "Father of the Bride" (1950)



Taylor stars as an eager bride in this comedy, with Joan Bennett and Spencer Tracy playing her parents. The film earned Oscar nods for Best Actor and Best Picture, but did not win. By 1951, "Father's Little Dividend" followed, with Taylor's character giving birth.

"Father of the Bride" was remade in 1991 with Steve Martin, Diane Keaton, Kimberly Williams-Paisley,Martin Short and Kieran Culkin.

4. "Raintree County" (1957)



Adapted from a book by Ross Lockridge, Jr., "Raintree County" offered Civil War epic drama. with Montgomery Clift, Lee Marvin and Eva Marie Saint. Critics panned it, but Taylor earned an Oscar nomination for her Southern belle.

5. "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (1958)



Taylor sizzled in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" as Maggie "The Cat" Pollitt, vamping wife to Paul Newman's debauched "Brick" in the Tennessee Williams drama. The cast included Burl Ives and Jack Carter.

Elvis Presley, James Dean, Ava Gardner, Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly and Lana Turner were rumored to have considered starring roles. In the end, Taylor grabbed a BAFTA and an Oscar nomination for her turn.

6. "Suddenly Last Summer" (1959)



Melodrama and intrigue surround this tale of 1930s psychiatry and family dynamics. Based on a Tennessee Williams play, "Suddenly Last Summer" stars Taylor, Clift and Katherine Hepburn. Taylor was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar and won a Golden Globe for this movie.

7. "Butterfield 8" (1960)



Taylor won the Academy Award for Best Actress as a socialite call girl in a love affair with a married man. Eddie Fisher and Dina Merrill also starred in "Butterfield 8."

8. "Cleopatra" (1963)



A costly critical flop, "Cleopatra" is a popular Taylor favorite. Playing the Nile Queen, Taylor starred opposite Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Martin Landau and Roddy McDowell. The Egyptian epic, receiving four Oscars, became legendary for Taylor and Burton's meeting.

9. "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (1966)



This film adaptation of Edward Albee's Broadway smash set Taylor against Burton in a close-up look at a tumultuous 20-year marriage. Sandy Dennis and George Segal joined the cast. Taylor picked up an Oscar, a BAFTA and a Golden Globe nomination.

10. "The Taming of the Shrew" (1967)



This adaptation of William Shakespeare's Renaissance comedy starred Taylor and Burton, squaring off as Kate and Petrucio. The supporting cast included Michael Holden and Michael York. Taylor received a BAFTA nomination for "The Taming of the Shrew."

11. "Life with Father" (1947)



William Powell is a tower of comic strength as Clarence Day, the benevolent despot of his 1880s New York City household. Irene Dunne co-stars as Day's wife Vinnie, who outwardly has no more common sense than a butterfly but who is the real head of the household. The anecdotal story, encompassing such details as the eldest Day son's (James Lydon) romance with pretty out-of-towner Mary (Elizabeth Taylor), is tied together by Vinnie's tireless efforts to get her headstrong husband baptized, else he'll never be able to enter the Kingdom of God. Each scene is a little gem of comedy and pathos, as the formidable Mr. Day tries to bring a stern businesslike attitude to everyday household activities, including explaining the facts of life to his impressionable son.

12. "Elephant Walk" (1954)



Elephant Walk is a 1954 Paramount Pictures film, directed by William Dieterle, and starring Elizabeth Taylor, Dana Andrews, Peter Finch and Abraham Sofaer.

Colonial tea planter John Wiley, visiting England at the end of World War II, wins and weds lovely English rose Ruth and takes her home to Elephant Walk, Ceylon, where the local elephants have a grudge against the plantation because it blocks their migrating path. Ruth's delight with the tropical wealth and luxury of her new home is tempered by isolation as the only white woman in the district; by her husband's occasional imperious arrogance; by a mutual physical attraction with plantation manager Dick Carver; and by the hovering, ominous menace of the hostile elephants. The elephants end up destroying the plantation in a stampede along with a fire.

13. "Lassie Come Home" (1943)



The original adventure of a boy and his dog is considered by many as the best. Young Roddy McDowall stars as a boy whose poor family is forced to sell their beloved collie, Lassie.





What's your favorite movie starring Liz Taylor?