Love Is Better Than Ever (1952)

Director: Stanley Donen

Larry Parks, Elizabeth Taylor, Josephine Hutchinson, Tom Tully, Ann Doran, Elinor Donahue, Kathleen Freeman, Doreen McCann, Alex Gerry

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The young Elizabeth Taylor looks gorgeous. But she wears an unbecoming hairstyle. I have read about Larry Parks but never before this seen him in anything. I am very sympathetic to the tribulations he endured as a result of HUAC. Nevertheless, in this movie, he turns in such a sour, uninterested performance, he sinks the movie. Not that there is much to sink. Taylor, yes. And Tom Tully, droll as her father. However, the ploy is negligible. And, as she plays a dancing teacher, we see dancing children. I love children but not here! The ostensibly cute dance scenes we have to watch wouldn't make it into a small town talent contest. Maybe MGM was trying to figure out what to do with Taylor, no longer the child of "National Velvet." Thankfully, we have her earlier movies and many, many later ones.