Beyond ‘Erotic Vagrancy’: TCM Reframes Legacy of ‘Cleopatra,’ Elizabeth Taylor, and the Director Who Went Down with the Sphinx

Beyond ‘Erotic Vagrancy’: TCM Reframes Legacy of ‘Cleopatra,’ Elizabeth Taylor, and the Director Who Went Down with the Sphinx

It was an ordinary spring day in 1962 Italy… ordinary outside of a warm greeting between the very married superstar Elizabeth Taylor and the very married actor Richard Burton that a photographer happened to catch. The “kissing picture,” as it would become known, caught like wildfire, and the paparazzi never let up. Richard Burton dubbed the ensuing press storm “Le Scandale,” and the judgement of the world swiftly followed — included a condemnati…