The V.I.P.s (1963)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Anthony Asquith

Writer:

Terence Rattigan (written by)

Release Date:

19 September 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

A Modern Love Story

Plot:

Fog delays a group of travelers headed for New York. They wait at the V.I.P. lounge of London Airport, each at a moment of crisis in his or her life.

Plot Keywords:

Airport | Fog | Businessman | Income Tax | Australian

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Elizabeth Taylor	...	Frances Andros
Richard Burton	...	Paul Andros
Louis Jourdan	...	Marc Champselle
Elsa Martinelli	...	Gloria Gritti
Margaret Rutherford	...	The Duchess of Brighton
Maggie Smith	...	Miss Mead
Rod Taylor	...	Les Mangrum
Orson Welles	...	Max Buda
Linda Christian	...	Miriam Marshall
Dennis Price	...	Commander Millbank
Richard Wattis	...	Sanders
Ronald Fraser	...	Joslin
David Frost	...	Himself - Reporter
Robert Coote	...	John Coburn
Joan Benham	...	Miss Potter

Also Known As:

International Affair (USA) (working title)
International Hotel

Runtime:

119 min | Argentina:120 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:PG (TV rating) | West Germany:16 (f) | Argentina:13 | Australia:G | Finland:K-16 | Portugal:17 | Spain:18 | Sweden:11

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

First film of Brook Williams.

Quotes:

Frances Andros: I know it is foolishly sentimental to want to sit next to the man that you are eloping with.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Sex at 24 Frames Per Second (2003) (V)

A true curiosity...

but a fascinating melodrama also. This was the first movie Liz Taylor and Richard Burton made as a married couple.

The story is by Terence Rattigan who apparently based it on a scene he observed in the VIP lounge of London Airport when Vivien Leigh made plans to run away with Peter Finch and was stopped by her husband, Laurence Olivier.

It is well filmed, way ahead of its time in certain segments where other minor characters are playing in the background of the scene, a continuum not employed in movies until the nineties (this was filmed in the early 60s).

Some of the script is a hoot, the fact that Liz and her lover are running away without ever having "made love". Richard and Liz both overact dramatically. But the cast make it well worth watching.

Maggie Smith is particularly vulnerable as a secretary, she is yet to find the acerbic edge that laces her subsequent movies. Margaret Rutherford is particularly good as a Duchess who has to go earn a living in America to save her stately home. More scenes with her would have been a treat.

7 out of 10, totally watchable and almost sinful in the enjoyment of same, it is just so deliciously shallow.