Elizabeth Taylor Movies

Want to know the best Elizabeth Taylor movies?  How about the worst Elizabeth Taylor movies?  Curious about Ingrid Bergman’s box office grosses or which Elizabeth Taylor movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Elizabeth Taylor movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences? Well you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information.

Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011) was a two time Best Actress Oscar® winner. She is one of the few child stars to succeed as an adult actor as well. From 1944’s National Velvet to her death, she was one of the most famous people in the world…a pretty good run for 67 years. Her IMDb page shows 72 acting credits from 1942-2001. This page will rank 47 Elizabeth Taylor movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, shorts, cameos and movies that were not released in North American theaters were not included in the rankings.

Elizabeth Taylor and Spencer Tracy in 1950's Father of the Bride
Elizabeth Taylor and Spencer Tracy in 1950’s Father of the Bride

Elizabeth Taylor Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (1 to 5 UMR Tickets) *Best combo of box office, reviews and awards.

Elizabeth Taylor Movies Can Be Ranked 6 Ways In This Table

The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.

  • Sort Elizabeth Taylor movies by co-stars of her movies
  • Sort Elizabeth Taylor movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
  • Sort Elizabeth Taylor movies by yearly box office rank
  • Sort Elizabeth Taylor movies by how they were received by critics and audiences.  60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
  • Sort by how many Oscar® nominations and how many Oscar® wins each Elizabeth Taylor movie received.
  • Sort Elizabeth Taylor movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score.  UMR Score puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
  • Use the sort and search button to make this a very interactive page.  For example type in *** to see all Oscar nominated Taylor performances….or type Burton in the search box to bring up all of the Richard Burton/Taylor movies.
Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor in 1958's Cat On A Hot Tin Roof
Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor in 1958’s Cat On A Hot Tin Roof

Possibly Interesting Facts About Elizabeth Taylor

1. Elizabeth Taylor was born in London, England. Her famous double eyelashes and her violet eyes caused many people to suggest to her mother that Taylor should try out for the role of Bonnie Blue (Scarlet’s daughter) in Gone With The Wind. Her mother refused the idea.

2. In 1942, two studios (MGM and Universal Pictures) got in a bidding war for her services. Universal signed her to a 7 year contract but canceled the contract after her first movie 1942’s There’s One Born Every Second. MGM then signed her and she became a huge child star.

3. Elizabeth Taylor’s first hit was 1944’s National Velvet. She also appeared in the very first Lassie movie 1943’s Lassie Come Home. The first time she received top billing was in 1946’s The Courage of Lassie.

4. As an older teenager she became a young bride in the box office hits 1947’s Life With Father and 1950’s Father of the Bride. The success of these two movies paved the way for her success as an adult actress. From 1950 to 1966 she was the most successful actress working. During this time frame 7 of her movies were nominated for Oscars® for Best Picture….1950’s Father of the Bride, 1951’s A Place In The Sun, 1952’s Ivanhoe, 1956’s Giant, 1958’s Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, 1963’s Cleopatra and 1966’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolfe.

5. Elizabeth Taylor earned 5 Oscar® nominations for Best Actress winning 2 times. Her two wins were for 1960’s Butterfield 8 and 1966’s Whose Afraid of Virginia Wolfe. Her other three nominations were for 1957’s Raintree Country, 1958’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and 1959’s Suddenly, Last Summer.

6. Probably her most famous role was in 1963’s Cleopatra. Even though it is ranked on the all-time inflated box office chart in 40th place with over 546 million dollars, Cleopatra was considered a disappointment at the box office. This was due to the outrageous and out of control film’s budget.

7. Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton worked together in 12 projects. 10 are movies listed in this page the other two are 1972’s Divorce Hers-Divorce His(tv movie) and Anne of the Thousand Days(Taylor is uncredited).

8. Elizabeth Taylor was married 8 times including two times to Richard Burton. Her husbands…Conrad Hilton (from famous Hilton hotel family) Michael Widling (two boys came out of this marriage), Michael Todd (one daughter out of this marriage), Eddie Fisher (adopted daughter out of this marriage), Burton, John Warner (US Senator) and Larry Fortensky (met at Betty Ford clinic).

9. Elizabeth Taylor said she had three loves in her life….Michael Todd, Richard Burton and jewelry. Pieces of her jewelry collection were recently auctioned off for 115 million dollars. On the humanitarian side of things she was the co-founder of American Foundation of AIDS research and hosted the first ever AIDS fundraiser in 1984.

10. Check out Elizabeth Taylor‘s career compared to current and classic actors.  Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.

Adjusted Worldwide Box Office Grosses on 25 Elizabeth Taylor Movies

Steve’s Elizabeth Taylor You Tube Video

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69 thoughts on “Elizabeth Taylor Movies

  1. I love these pages of yours with lists of movies ranking films. I love analysing lists. Thanks for the email that this movie page was up!

    Here are my answers to your top ten lists in terms of what I have seen:

    Box Office:

    I have seen 7 movies: 70 percent. I have somehow missed seeing Life With Father as I am not home when it is on TCM. I am not ready yet to see Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolfe. I have no interest in seeing The Flintstones. I prefer the half hour animated series.

    Critics/Audiences:

    I have seen 6 at 60 percent. The ones I’ve *not* seen that I haven’t already discussed are Taming of the Shrew (haven’t found a copy) and Julia Misbehaves (no explanation why I have not seen this)

    Movie Score:

    I have seen 9 or 90 percent of these films. Sure enough, number 1 is what I am missing.

    I don’t want to write a bunch of things out and hit the wrong button and erase things so I will post this comment separately, then talk about another aspect of the hub.

    Flora

    1. Hi, again!

      Going on with the Movie Score list in terms of whatt I’ve seen:

      Top 20:

      I have seen 17 out of 20 or 85%. I have already mentioned the films I have not seen.

      Top 30:

      I have seen 24 of the top 30 or 80%%. The ones I am missing not yet mentioned by me are The Sandpiper (no reason why-just not home at right time), Cynthia, The Big Hangover (both rarely on TCM) and Reflections in a Golden Eye. Ahem.

      Top 40:

      It is here that I drop below fifty percent for the group of ten and can only add two films, 2/10 or 20 percent. However, my *grand total* is still over 50% as I have seen 26 films or 65%.

      Under the circumstances it is easier to say what I Have indeed seen in 31-40. They are Conspirator (underrated great spy thriller that should be more famous) and love is Better Than Ever.

      All 47 listed:

      I still remain above 50% here but I can add none from 41-47. So my grand total is 26 out out 47 or 55%.

      As for the last 7 listed, A little Night Intrigues me the Most because it is a music from Broadway and I love Diana Rigg.

      1. I’m not really sure how to pick out favourites as I watch films for different reasons. Some I watch because I admire them. Others I truly enjoy whether they are great (A Day in the Sun) or Guilty pleasure (The Mirror Cracked).

        However, here are eight titles that I have seen so often I have lost track of how often I have seen them-in alphabetical order:

        A Place in the Sun

        Butterfield 8

        Cat on a hot Tin Roof

        Giant

        Lassie Come Home

        Little Women

        National Velvet

        The VIPs

        Take care,

        Flora

        1. Hey Flora….comment #3…..I would say my favorite Taylor movies would be Giant, Father of the Bride and National Velvet…..which two make your list as well. I love Donald Crisp in National Velvet, I really believe he would have won Best Supporting Actor….but they had just given him the award two years earlier. As for Giant….I think Taylor and Hudson are awesome….never been a fan of Dean’s performance in Giant. I think you would really enjoy Life With Father….granted her part is pretty small….but William Powell is awesome as Father.

          Thank you for all the comments and for returning to HP to comment…both are greatly appreciated…..you are awesome

      2. Hey Flora…for comment 2……will it looks like once again you have both Steve and myself beat….as you have 26, and we only have 24 combined….at least I am not last like I have been so many times in the past.

        85% is pretty good for her Top movies….but I really think her career after 1966 really was one bad movie after another bad movie….after wasting 90 minutes of my life today on Under Milk Wood…..I can not see ever watching any of her movies in the late 1960s or 1970s….I will however probably watch the Flintstones a few more times in my life….as my 5 year does not yet know the difference between a good movie and a bad movie…lol.

        I will add The Conspirator to my list of movies to watch….as I have always liked Robert Taylor as well.

    2. Hey Flora….for comment #1…..let’s see I am at 13 overall…I have seen 8 of her Top Ten Box Office Hits……7 of her Top Ten critic/audience movies and 9 of her Movie Score Top Ten.

      Glad you got the e-mail about this hub as I always appreciate your comments and tally counts. I think before I went on my Oscar journey I had only seen 3 of her movies but I found that she was in lots of movies that earned major Oscar awards. But I found like Gregory Peck, many of the movies that were on my Oscar list starred her….movies like

      1. National Velvet….Anne Revere Best Supporting Actress

      2. Giant….George Stevens Best Director

      3. Butterfield 8…..she won her first Oscar for Best Actress

      4. Va Wolfe….she won her second Oscar for Best Actress

      5. V.I.P.s ….Margaret Rutherford won Best Supporting Actress

      6. A Place in the Sun….George Stevens won Best Director

      Not too mention the movies like Cat Hot Tin Roof, Father of the Bride and Suddenly, Last Summer which received many nominations.

  2. Love this actress. Grew up with her and never missed a film. She kept movie magazines in business and made MGM famous. Her transition from child actress to adult was breath taking. I never tire of watching her on film. Thanks for bringing her back!

    1. Hey vocalcoach….thanks for stopping by. I agree 100% with you about her succeeding as she went from child star to adult star….I think it is a small group of people that have done that….Ron Howard, Kurt Russell and Taylor’s best friend Roddy McDowall come to mind.

      Elizabeth Taylor is still selling magazines….I wonder how many magazines covers she was on……probably close to 10,000 covers….which is amazing.

      Thanks for the compliment and the comment….glad you enjoyed this page.

  3. I remember in the 1950s we used to debate whether she or Grace Kelly was the prettiest, in my mind it was Taylor but how can you go wrong either way. Thanks for bringing back some good memories.

    1. Hey oldtimer….I can imagine young men in the 1950s arguing over who was prettier….Elizabeth Taylor or Grace Kelly….and I am sure a few mentioned my personal favorite…Audrey Hepburn as well….thanks for the visit.

  4. A fascinating movie page on a beautiful actress Bruce, well done amigo.

    Never really been a fan of Liz Taylor’s but have to admit she was one of the most famous and most photographed actresses in Hollywood history.

    I’ve seen 11 of the 47 films you’ve charted Bruce, Virginia Woolf and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof aren’t favourites of mine, too much yelling. I would rather see Cleopatra or Giant at the top.

    I’ve seen 7 from the box office chart and 4 from the critics 10.

    Enjoyed the trivia – married 8 times?? Has she beaten Zsa Zsa Gabor? 🙂

    Thanks for the Cleopatra link.

    Another excellent movie page to add to your library of movie pages, is Richard Burton next I wonder? 🙂

    1. Hey Steve let’s see….Elizabeth Taylor was married 8 times…7 ended in divorce….Michael Todd died in a plane crash….Zsa Zsa Gabor was married 9 times…7 ended in divorce….1 was annulled and 1 is still current. So that gives Zsa Zsa the edge in marriages….but a tie for divorces.

      I am not a huge Elizabeth Taylor fan myself….when I was on my “must watch all major Oscar winning films” I watched many of her films….my total is now 13 ….as Under Milk Wood was watched today….and it was horrible.

      I agree with you about Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolfe…..not a pleasant movie to watch or care about the characters.

      As for next? Well I have lots of Richard Burton movies in my database…so I am sure he will be next….but I think I have a pretty good idea for my next hub.

      Thanks for stopping by….and I hope my links to your Cleopatra hub help generate some traffic for you.

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