David Wallechinsky - The Book of Lists

The furor that attended the Burton–Taylor affair during the making of Cleopatra (1962) in Rome was as bombastic as the film they were starring in. Newspapers all over the world carried photos of the courting couple. Taylor was married at the time to Eddie Fisher, her fourth husband; Burton was also married.

In her memoirs, Taylor recalled their first conversation on the set. After the usual small talk, ‘he sort of sidled over to me and said, “Has anybody ever told you that you’re a very pretty girl?” And I said to myself, Oy gevaldt , here’s the great lover, the great wit, the great intellectual of Wales, and he comes out with a line like that.’ Chemistry prevailed, however, and soon there was electricity on-screen and off between the two stars. There were breakups and reconciliations, stormy fights and passionate clinches, public denials and private declarations, Liz’s drug overdose and Richard’s brief affair with a model. ‘Le Scandale’, as Burton called it, grew so public that Liz was denounced by the Vatican and accused of ‘erotic vagrancy’. Liz wondered, ‘Could I sue the Vatican?’ During one love scene, director Joseph Mankiewicz yelled, ‘Cut! I feel as though I’m intruding.’

Burton and Taylor married for the first time in 1964, divorced, remarried, and finally redivorced in 1976. Taylor said of Cleopatra , ‘It was like a disease. An illness one had a very difficult time recuperating from.’

When Bacall was cast opposite Bogart in To Have and Have Not (1944), she was disappointed. She was 19, and it was her first movie role. She said, ‘I had visions of playing opposite Charles Boyer and Tyrone Power… But when Hawks said it was to be Bogart, I thought, “How awful to be in a picture with that mug, that illiterate… He won’t be able to think or talk about anything.”’ Bacall soon learned that she was confusing Bogey with the characters he played. She was so nervous the first day of shooting that her hands were shaking; Bogart was kind and amusing and teased her through it. Soon they were falling in love. He was 25 years her senior, and unhappily married. Though the affair became serious, Bogart was reluctant to leave his wife. His friend Peter Lorre told him, ‘It’s better to have five good years than none at all.’ Meanwhile, the courtship grew intensely romantic. In honour of Bacall’s famous line in the movie, ‘If you want me, just whistle’, Bogart gave Betty a small gold whistle. ‘Bogey,’ she said, ‘is the kind of fellow who sends you flowers.’ They were married in 1945 — he cried profusely at the wedding — and had 12 happy years until Bogart’s death from cancer in 1957.

The elegant Bonham Carter, famous for, among others, her feminine period roles in E.M. Forster adaptations, met director/ actor Kenneth Branagh when he directed her in Frankenstein , a film in which they also played lovers. At the time, Branagh was married to the actress Emma Thompson — their marriage ended shortly after Frankenstein was released. Said Bonham Carter, ‘A third party doesn’t break up a relationship. It just means you weren’t meant to be.’ The British tabloid press made things ‘… very difficult for Ken and I at first’. When the pair went on to co-star in The Theory of Flight , the press let up. As for that film’s love scenes, Bonham Carter remarked, ‘… it doesn’t help to be emotionally involved with the person. It’s all acting. Your emotions are never present really.’ Said Branagh, ‘Nothing could be more embarrassing than somehow doing anything other than your job… for this to be an excuse to play out your relationship… That’s all bollocks!’

One of the twentieth century’s most talked about bad-boy cinema stars, director/writer/actor Billy Bob Thornton struggled from poverty to world-wide acclaim with Slingblade and a fast-and-furious series of roles and scripts. Equally fast-and-furious is Mr Thornton’s propensity for falling in and out of love. He was engaged to Laura Dern, and professed happiness with his calm-at-last domestic life — he was finally spending time with his children by earlier marriages. Then, according to Dern, ‘I left our home to work on a movie, and while I was away, my boyfriend got married, and I’ve never heard from him again.’ Thornton and his bright, sexy co-star Angelina Jolie were playing marrieds in 1999’s Pushing Tin — in May 2000 they tied the knot in a quickie Las Vegas ceremony. The marriage was Thornton’s fifth, and was much-publicised: the pair got complementary tattoos, exchanged vials of blood, and were notorious for their ribald public displays of affection. They adopted a Cambodian-born baby in June, 2002, but 11 days after their son was brought to Los Angeles, Thornton abandoned his wife and child. Said Jolie, ‘It’s clear to me that our priorities shifted overnight.’ Jolie had her tattoo removed, Thornton kept his. Laura Dern remarked in an interview that being dumped by Billy Bob was the best thing that could have happened to her.

Turned down the role of Frankie, the musician-junkie, in The Man with the Golden Arm (1955). Frank Sinatra got the part and re-established his career with an electrifying performance.

Turned down the role of Alfred P. Doolittle in My Fair Lady (1964). The role went to Stanley Holloway. Cagney was offered $1 million but did not want to come out of retirement.

Expressed enthusiasm for the role of the young writer in Sunset Boulevard (1950), but later turned it down, claiming that his audience would not accept his playing love scenes with a woman who was 35 years older. William Holden starred with Gloria Swanson in the widely acclaimed film.

Long a fan-favourite to play Gandalf, the venerable wizard from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, the star turned the role down because he did not want to spend 18 months filming in New Zealand. Sir Ian McKellan eventually played the role to wide acclaim in the film trilogy. After the massive success of the first film, The Fellowship of the Ring , Connery said, ‘I had never read Tolkien, and the script when they sent it to me, I didn’t understand… bobbits, hobbits… I will see it.’

Turned down the role of Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939). The role went to Vivien Leigh. Davis thought that her co-star was going to be Errol Flynn, with whom she refused to work.

Turned down the role of Kid Shelleen in Cat Ballou (1965). The role won an Academy Award for Lee Marvin. Douglas’s agent convinced him not to accept the comedic role of the drunken gunfighter.

Could have played the title role in The Wizard of Oz (1939). The part was written for Fields, who would have played the wizard as a cynical con man. But he turned down the part, purportedly because he wanted $100,000 and MGM only offered him $75,000. However, a letter signed by Fields’s agent asserts that Fields rejected the offer in order to devote all his time to writing You Can’t Cheat an Honest Man . Frank Morgan ended up playing the wizard.

Turned down Bonnie and Clyde (1967). The role of Bonnie Parker went to Faye Dunaway. Fonda, living in France at the time, did not want to move to the United States for the role.