mamalv Review of Conspirator

Conspirator (1949)

Robert Taylor as the spy, and Elizabeth Taylor as the gullible wife. Outstanding!

[9/10 · 15 May 2005]

Conspirator gives us a chance to see Robert Taylor, once again as the villain. We almost hope that he is not what he seems to be. If not for the moviegoer but for Elizabeth Taylor, who is so in love with him that she is breathless. When she first meets Michael (Taylor) she is stunned by his looks, and when they dance, she falls hopelessly in love with him. They go to the country and the first time we realize there is something not right with Michael. It is on the rabbit hunt with his niece and nephew. One of the rabbits is caught in the trap, hurt, and Melinda asks Michael to help and he says "it is only a rabbit". That evening she rejects him, as he tells her he is desperately in love with her. She forgives him and they marry. Everything seems idyllic until strange postcards, blank and unsigned begin to show up in the mail. There are mysterious trips, sullen leavings, and when she tries to tease him, he explodes. She discovers the notes with secrets written on them, and is devastated. He promises to stop, but never does, and the Party is not happy with his marriage. They want him to kill her, but he in love, and hesitates. He does try on a hunting trip, but Melinda stumbles and the gun misfires. Instead in the end, when he knows that Melinda will give him up to the authorities, he kills himself. Robert Taylor gave Elizabeth Taylor her first grown up screen kiss. He was so smitten with her beauty that he had to be filmed from the waist up in many scenes because he could not control his amorous feelings. He was always an underrated actor, and this film proves it. Another film would be "Undercurrent" with Kathryn Hepburn. Evil again, and so good.