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I thought Elizabeth Taylor was miscast as Rebecca

posted 16 years ago by lauraeileen894
22 replies | jump to latest

I was reading "The Films of Elizabeth Taylor", and, during filming, there were talks of replacing her with Deborah Kerr as Rebecca!

I don't know about you guys, but I would have loved to have seen Deborah Kerr as Rebecca. I think it's a shame she was typecast as the prim and proper lady. It would have been exciting seeing her as one of the greatest heroines of literature. Besides, I think Elizabeth Taylor was woefully miscast as Rebecca. Yes, she was gorgeous, but that's all she gave the part. She projected none of Rebecca's strength, maturity, dignity, or warmth. All she did was look pretty and concerned. I knew something was wrong when I found myself preferring frickin' Rowena! I think someone older and more mature would have been perfect as Rebecca. I still think Olivia Hussey in the 1982 version was the best Rebecca to date. Strong and courageous, but still graceful and feminine.

Another shocking fact: Elizabeth Taylor didn't want to play Rebecca, she wanted to play Rowena (I guess because Taylor wasn't about to play a woman who doesn't get the guy in the end). I think that might be part of the reason why her performance lacks "oomph". Makes me wish she and Fontaine could have switched roles. Fontaine as Rebecca of York would have been quite interesting.

"Will you stop feeling sorry for yourself?! It's bad for your complexion!"-"Sixteen Candles"

[–] edjavega 15 years ago

I thought Taylor was pretty good as Rebecca myself. She steals the show from Joan Fontaine's Rowena. As the character is SUPPOSED to, in the novel or any adaptation.

And I did see that strength, maturity, dignity and warmth in this portrayal. Plus a certain youthful innocence and sadness that only made the character all the more desirable.

Oliva Hussey was great, yes, but she was already past 30 when she made that TV movie. The Rowena in that 1982 adaptation was much younger than her. I think it should be the other way around and that is where Fontaine and Taylor do well in this movie.

Are you sure Taylor didn't want to play Rebecca? Maybe she thought that Rowena was the meatier role, but fans of the novel know that Rebecca is the star of the two lead females in the story. Even over a hundred years ago, readers were hoping that Rebecca would get Ivanhoe (English novelist William Thackeray even wrote a "sequel" where that precisely happens).

Taylor conveys that feeling here, and so for me, she was a success as Rebecca. Just my opinion. Of course, if she had switched roles with Fontaine, it may have been an interesting take too. But I like what did come out.

[–] lauraeileen894 15 years ago

I'm just explaining the impression that I got. I always believed Elizabeth Taylor hit her stride as an actress (not just a beautiful movie star) after she starred in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof". In "Ivanhoe", I felt she was still in the phase in her career where she was just a pretty face. Joan Fontaine was the more seasoned actress at the time, and she brought a little more into her character (not much, really, but a little). If Taylor stole the movie, it was because she was younger and prettier, and that just seems like cheating on the casting director's part.
But of course, that's just my opinion, what do I really know?

ps
I'd like to thank you, edjavega, for not tearing me a new one for expressing an unpopular opinion. It's nice to meet civilized posters on IMDb. :)

pps
I read "Rebecca and Rowena" by Thackeray, too, and thought it was hilarious. Take that, Rowena! I also urge you to read "Knight's Castle" by Edgar Eager. It's a children's fantasy in the exact same vein.

"Will you stop feeling sorry for yourself?! It's bad for your complexion!"-"Sixteen Candles"

[–] edjavega 15 years ago

Lauraeileen, you do have a point: maybe Taylor stole the show simply because she was younger and more beautiful, and Rebecca's character always comes out more sympathetic anyway, such is the story.

Fontaine was certainly the more seasoned actress at this point. But I prefer to see her in a lot of other movies than this: she was the first Jane Eyre I saw, for instance.

But oh, the glorious Technicolor of this movie - why isn't it more famous? They simply don't make film spectacles like they used to.

I will check that "Knight's Castle".

Are you saying folks have torn you apart here for expressing unpopular opinions? Well, that's imdb, I guess. But there are still real smart fans to exchange notes with, like you.

Thanks!

[–] vickic531 15 years ago

Laura,

I completely agree with you. Taylor was poorly cast and I didn't like her at all. To me, any role she does, she expects her beauty to overcome the fact that she isn't believable in the role. The only role I think she was great in was National Velvet and that's only because the horse and Mickey Rooney saved her! I can't quite think of who else would've been good in the role but I definitely think Taylor was a poor choice, especially since she had NO chemistry with Robert Taylor.

You're correct in that Taylor didn't want to play Rebecca. The movie was just on TCM tonight, 4/18/09 from 6p-8p EDT and Ben Mankewicz mentioned that Taylor backed out of the role and then agreed to go ahead with it as "her prerogative."

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[–] MydnightRose 15 years ago

I have never heard that this movie was based on a previous story. I just took it as a poor man's Robin Hood talking about what was going on while Robin Hood was doing his business. I thought Elizabeth Taylor was much more entertaining and I cared more about her as Rebecca than I did for Rowena. I think Rebacca had a tremendous amount of dignity and strength in the film; the scenes I most recall is when Rowena asks can a Jew feel jealousy and before in the tent when Rowena states Rebecca's mother was burned. I was stunned by the dignity Rebecca had to keep her emotions in check during those encounters.

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[–] grhmb 14 years ago

I remember seeing this the first time in 1952 as a 6 year old. Liz Taylor was great as Rebecca. Rebecca has to be played by someone who is dark and contrasts well with Rowena. I must rent this again.

[–] ljspin 14 years ago

I like Elizabeth Taylor in this film. I like her even better than Olivia Hussey in the remake. Maybe her performance's subtlty was part of the character. Remember, there was a scene in which Rowena asks Rebecca if Jews have feelings, and Rebecca replies that they are taught not to have them.

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[–] Skye_Reynolds 13 years ago

I found Elizabeth Taylor's Rebecca to be the best aspect of the film. She was absolutely radiant in every scene she appeared in. And I loved the quiet, subtle nature of her character. She had her hopes, fears, and desires, yet felt obligated to hide her emotions behind a quiet resolve. And I feel that she handled it quite well.

[–] Jessica_Rabbit69 13 years ago

I think it is very hard not to like Elizabeth Taylor's Rebecca. Maybe a more seasoned actress would have brought more to the part, but she is so stunning that you forgive her. And I do think she had dignity, especially in the last scenes.

As for Rowena being bland, she is that in the book. Actually I found her a lot more annoying in the book than in the film. Joan Fontaine did the best with a part that just did not give her much to do. The only time Rowena could show any fire was when she challenged either De Bois-Guilbert or De Bracy (I forget which one) to toast Ivanhoe in the big hall (if my memory serves me right).

Joan, a beauty in her own right, was also 15 years older than Liz. You have to see her in "Ivy" and "Letter from an Unknown Woman" to see her in all her glory.

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[–] Bilwick1 13 years ago

Originally the studios wanted someone "more Jewish," but Gertrude Berg was busy with her TV show.

[–] bruno-32 12 years ago

MGM was setting Liz up to replace Hedy Lamarr in these type of roles. Hedy was getting on in years and left MGM back in 1945. I don't even recall who got who, if anyone in this movie..but Liz was just about 19 i believe at that time, too young to be co starred opposite an older Bob Taylor and George Sanders..it didn't click for me on that premise

[–] clutchcargoguy 13 years ago

I found Liz perfectly cast. In all due respect, Rebecca is Jewish, and the fair totally Anglo beauty of Deborah Kerr is much more in line with what Rowena would look like. Now everyone don't jump on me, yes, I know that many Jewish women are fair. But that's not the point. It's an artistic choice, and a wise one, to have Rowena be a fairhaired beauty, and age appropriate (as Fontaine was to Robert Taylor), and Rebecca be a dark beauty, far younger than Ivanhoe.

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] noki53 12 years ago

I liked Elizabeth Taylot in this role and thought her performance struck the right balance between the different faiths, ages, and genders. As an aside, she was probably the only person whose real age was conducive to the plot. Fontaine was mid 30's while both Sanders and Robert Taylor were 40 somethings (the waning years of their romantic hero roles).
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[–] denis-38 11 years ago

Elizabeth Taylor was a somber and effective Rebecca. She is lovely to look at, of course. Taylor later said she identified with the character of the ostracized Jewess, and in time (1958) she indeed converted to Judaism. I think she was very well-cast.

[–] LarrupinLou 11 years ago

As an aside, she was probably the only person whose real age was conducive to the plot. Fontaine was mid 30's while both Sanders and Robert Taylor were 40 somethings (the waning years of their romantic hero roles).

Exactly. Having just finished the book only last month, Elizabeth Taylor was easily the closest to Sir Walter Scott's description of Rebecca than any of the others were in relation to the characters they played.

No blah, blah, blah!

[–] shantaar-2 11 years ago

okay et was pretty hard on herself but i thought she was very good as rebecca personally i could never stand joan fontaine, save here, she was lovely. kerr ? maybe

[–] RobbieCalifornia 9 years ago

I don't know about Eliabeth Taylor not being a "seasoned" actress. She began acting when she was 10, and had appeared in many movies by the time she made Ivanhoe. Including A Place in the Sun.

She did "steal" the movie from Joan Fontaine, with her looks of course, and her acting as well. Taylor did a great job, very natural. Fontaine's acting was more stylized, as was the case with many actresses of that era.

As ever, much gratitude to TCM for running these interesting movies.

[–] SilverSpring86 7 years ago

She did "steal" the movie from Joan Fontaine, with her looks of course, and her acting as well.

Yep. Taylor can convey more with a simple look than 90% of other actors out there, and she used that quality well here. I quite liked her performance, very restrained but showing a maturity far beyond that of a 19 year old. The movie itself was very dated, but Liz made it worth the watch.

[–] 11 years ago

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