Elizabeth Taylor gown and hat designed by Walter Plunkett

 From the epic "Raintree County" made in 1957 

One of the great beauties of classic Hollywood, a truly great actress, and one of my all time favorites, Elizabeth Taylor had a remarkable career and life that still fascinates to this day. From her breakout starring role in "National Velvet" to her 1950's classics like "Father of the Bride" and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" to her Oscar winning roles in "Butterfield 8," and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf," she played almost every kind of part over the years in her storied career. Her private life at times eclipsed her professional life, even overshadowing some of her great performances. Personally I've always felt she was probably the most beautiful woman that ever lived. No wonder she played Cleopatra, she'd give the real Cleopatra a run for her money! Taylor remains one of the biggest and most famous stars of the classic era, or any era for that matter. 

 

The gown is grey silk with a black chiffon and lace overlay, and black silk waistband. The hat is grey silk over straw, with a black velvet band. Walter Plunkett was known for his period designs, most famously for "Gone With the Wind" which Raintree is similar to. He designed some lovely gowns for both Taylor and co-star Eva Marie Saint. 

Here's the original wardrobe test shot where she's posing with co-star Montgomery Clift. My thanks to the Academy Library for providing this rare image!

The gown was originally sold in the MGM auction, lot W-506, and over the years it was sold in a few other auctions at Christie's and elsewhere. It's nice to now have it in the archive, and the hat came along many years later surfacing in Debbie Reynolds' collection. It was for sale one day on her website as her son Todd was selling off more of the costumes and things that hadn't gone to auction. I was shocked when I saw it and so glad to be able to reunite it with the gown!

The image below shows it being worn in the movie, however the scene was cut from the version that can be seen today. Originally Raintree was over 3 hours long for the premiere roadshow engagement, but about 15 minutes were cut when it went into regular theaters. There has been talk over the years of restoring the movie to it's original length in HD, but nothing has happened yet. It can still be seen on TCM from time to time. At least there are the great images of her in it. 

Here's the label in the hat, and below that one of the labels in the gown

1692 is the production number for Raintree. MGM used a sequential numbering system starting with three numbers back in the early 1930's, so by 1957 they had progressed this far. Costumes were typically labeled with the movie's production number and the star's name.

This image (the same seen at the top) is pictured in a "making of" booklet that came out when the movie was released -

 

 Thank you for checking out Ms. Taylor and the site!

 

 

A beaded evening gown worn by Ginger Rogers to the 1965 Emmy Awards

 

A stunning black micro beaded evening gown trimmed in tulle that Ginger wore as a presenter

Ginger Rogers, undeniably one of the greatest stars of Hollywood's Golden Age. She could do it all, comedy, drama, sing, dance, and had a career lasting 6 decades, from the early 30's through the early 80's. 

Her greatest decade was the 30's, when she first burst on the scene singing "We're in the Money" in pig latin in Busby Berkeley's "Gold Diggers of 1933." It was not long after that she teamed up with Fred Astaire to create some of the most beloved musicals of all time. Their incredible dancing, on screen chemistry, and original songs by the likes of the Gershwins, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Dorothy Fields, etc, made for movie magic, with the Art Deco gloss that was 30's Hollywood thrown in. To this day you can't watch one of those movies and not feel good. 

She also excelled at comedy, in movies like "Vivacious Lady," "Bachelor Mother," "Fifth Avenue Girl," and the classic comedy-drama "Stage Door" which has one of the greatest female casts ever assembled on screen.

In 1940 she won the Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of a simple girl trying to navigate life in "Kitty Foyle." Another excellent drama from this time period is "Primrose Path" and the wartime drama "Tender Comrade."

Her career continued on a high note through the 40's, with the lavish "Lady in the Dark" as one of her best,  and in the 50's she excelled in the comedy "Monkey Business" and was truly sinister in the film noir "Black Widow."

She made fewer movies in the 60's and focused on stage, nightclub, and television work which she continued to do right through the 80's. She brought "Mame" to the London stage to great success and also toured with "Hello Dolly." Her nightclub act in the 70's and 80's played all of the major U.S. showrooms and even Radio City Music Hall. 

In the early 90's she released her autobiography, and continued to do book signings and appearances before her passing in 1995. 

 

 

Ginger has always been one of my all time favorites since I was a kid. I fell in love with the Astaire/Rogers movies and continued to watch Ginger in just about everything she ever did. I'm fortunate to have a few things from her in the collection, and my favorite is probably this gown since it's just so stunning, and she looks so radiant in it. 

Ginger gave out the award for best actor and actress, which went to Alfred Lunt and Lynne Fontanne for their performances in Hallmark Hall of Fame's production of "The Magnificent Yankee" which was based on the life of Supreme Court justice Oliver Wendell Holmes. Joan Crawford and Melvyn Douglas collected the awards for the Lunts. It's great to see these Hollywood legends all together at the ceremony.

Here's a closer up image of the beadwork. All done in a stripe pattern, it's just so well made. I wish I knew who the designer is. It's unlabeled and she most likely had it custom made by one of the designers of that time. I'm thinking maybe Donfeld? It's a little early to be Mackie. And I'm just assuming it's a Hollywood designer. 

Thanks for checking out my small tribute to the great Ginger Rogers. Amazing how it's 2022 and she's still such a beloved star of Hollywood's classic era, and deservedly so.