BUtterfield 8 (1960)

Director:

Daniel Mann

Writers:

John O'Hara (novel)
Charles Schnee (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

4 November 1960 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

...the best-seller that tells Gloria's story...from first man to last!

Plot:

The romantic life of a fashionable Manhattan beauty who's part model, part call-girl--and all man-trap.

Plot Keywords:

Model | New York | Divorce | Moral Reformation | Telephone Time Service

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Elizabeth Taylor	...	Gloria Wandrous
Laurence Harvey	...	Weston Liggett
Eddie Fisher	...	Steve Carpenter
Dina Merrill	...	Emily Liggett
Mildred Dunnock	...	Mrs. Wandrous
Betty Field	...	Mrs. Fanny Thurber
Jeffrey Lynn	...	Bingham Smith
Kay Medford	...	Happy
Susan Oliver	...	Norma
George Voskovec	...	Dr. Tredman

Also Known As:

Butterfield 8 (USA) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | UK:15 (1994) | UK:X (1960) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | West Germany:16 (w) | Canada:PG (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

5th Avenue, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Afton-Linebrook

Trivia:

Prior to the advent of digital technology, telephone exchanges were named instead of being numbered. Thus, Butterfield 8 (BU8 or 288) was the name of the exchange that provided service to ritzy precincts of Manhattan's Upper East Side

Goofs:

Continuity: During the car chase scene at the end, there are cars driving behind Liggett, visible through the rear window from inside the car. When the shot changes to a view of both cars on the highway, there is no-one behind him.

Quotes:

Tom, the Bartender: Without her this place is dead. She's like catnip to every cat in town.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Sex at 24 Frames Per Second (2003) (V)

La Liz's Best

Elizabeth Taylor hated making this movie (forced on her by MGM to fulfill the last part of her contract with the studio dating back to her days as a child star), and she hates it still. But whereas a lesser performer would have channeled that hatred into not trying at all on screen, La Liz instead channeled her hatred of the project by playing her part of call-girl Gloria Wandrous to the hilt, and in the process richly earned her first Academy Award (it is a far better performance than Shirley MacLaine's in "The Apartment", her chief competition that year). The story is cheap soap opera that really makes one snicker today when you see how they had to dance around the Production Code restraints of the day like never before, but watching La Liz in action is spellbinding. No other part reveals how in her prime she was the total picture of stunning beauty *and* a talented, gifted actress to boot.