SHEDDING INK

Butterfield 8

First of all, if there are actually any call girls out there who look as good as Elizabeth Taylor did in her heyday, could you please let me know? My wife will understand. Despite the Oscar-winning performance of Taylor, Butterfield 8 is merely another tragic, cliché-ridden "hooker with a heart of gold" story filled with "clever" sexual innuendos and bluntly obvious dialogue from the usually solid John Michael Hayes designed to get around the censor board. Where's William Faulkner when you need him? It also features some mind-numbingly stilted direction from Daniel Mann, unless you enjoy looking at the same two-shot for an hour-and-a-half.

- June 3, 2009

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Butterfield 8 (1960)

A model/escort has an affair with a married New York socialite.


Directed by Daniel Mann


Written by Charles Schnee and John Michael Hayes; based on the novel by John O'Hara


Starring Elizabeth Taylor, Laurence Harvey, Eddie Fisher

109 minutes
NR (adult themes)

Grade: C-