This was great insight. I’ve always loved elizabeth Taylor. It was so interesting and fascinating to read more about her.

This book chronicles the friendship of Elizabeth Taylor Montgomery Clift. I have read about their friendship in biographies of Elizabeth Taylor. However, their friendship is merely a footnote. Yet, this biography shows how important Montgomery Clift was in Elizabeth Taylor’s life. The only thing I disliked about the book was that it was very repetitive. Still, this is a must read for fans of Elizabeth Taylor!

Elizabeth and Monty by Charles Casillo is a beautifully written story of love and friendship that stood the ups and downs of Hollywood life. Elizabeth was a young girl when she met Montgomery and he helped her come into her own, and she in turn helped him when he needed someone to be in his corner. Some of this was sad, but other part were uplifting. I would recommend this book to those interested in the life of Hollywood Royalty, which both of these stars definitely were.
Thanks to netgalley, the publisher and author for the ARC to give an honest opinion.

I was disappointed in this book. As a longtime fan of all things Old Hollywood, I was excited to read an account of the legendary friendship between two screen icons. Mr. Casillo's analysis was long on conjecture and short on substantiated facts. The author relied way too heavily on foreshadowing while establishing stories of Ms. Taylor's and Mr. Clift's respective childhoods. I really wanted a more linear, research-backed biography of the two stars and their famous friendship.

Elizabeth and Monty offers just the right amount of detail - I feel as though I now know who these amazing actors were as individuals, as well as who they were as a couple. Their friendship is to admired, even now. I gobbled up this book, enjoying the pace and the back-and-forth format. Highly recommend this fascinating book.

It is a surprising and beautiful story about a friendship that meant the world to both Elizabeth and Montgomery Clift: no matter who came into their lives, they cultivated a friendship that withstood the most difficult of trials and the highest of highs.

I became interested in Elizabeth Taylor since I read "The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo", as she is one of the people that inspired that fictional character. I didn't know anything about Montgomery Clift, so I learned A LOT in this book. Maybe more than I should.

I took a long time to read it mostly due to putting it off. I feel that some parts are really descriptive (to the extent of including some intimate details that now I feel bad for knowing) and that may reduce the reading pace for readers who, like me, are not familiar with reading biographies. I'm not sure if this is normal for a biography or not, but as I read more, I'll know.

I want to thank NetGalley, the author and the publisher for giving me access to an ARC, and my apologies for taking so long.

I love Old Hollywood and reading books and biographies from that era.
Premise
Violet-eyed siren Elizabeth Taylor and classically handsome Montgomery Clift were the most gorgeous screen couple of their time. Over two decades of friendship they made, separately and together, some of the era's defining movies--including Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Misfits, Suddenly, Last Summer, and Cleopatra. Yet the relationship between these two figures--one a dazzling, larger-than-life star, the other hugely talented yet fatally troubled--has never truly been explored until now.
I absolutely love the allure and glamour of Liza Taylor and so I was so excited to have the opportunity to read this one! I have read Liz Taylor biographies before but never in relationship to Montgomery Cliff so I was very interested to know about how their relationship evolved.

This book was very excellent and amazing. It was well written and the story was very detailed and great.

The names Marlon Brando, Cary Grant, and James Dean come up predominantly when discussing classic Hollywood leading actors. Ever since I saw The Heiress, no one holds a candle to Montgomery Clift's presence. I knew his backstory was tragic but didn't know the extent of how tragic.
I can't remember the last time I cried reading a book. Hearing his story and his loving friendship with his Bessie just had me floored.
I go back and forth with Elizabeth Taylor. She was a big ole zionist back in the day.
I love how open minded she was on sexuality and sexual orientation. Her work for AIDS charities will never be forgotten nor should they.

Nothing really new here but I can see why these two were Lifelong friends. Elizabeth always said they kept each other's secrets. I believe they did.

Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift were two sensational deep dimensional actors! This book by Charles Casillo is about not only about their acting careers together and separate, but also the foibles and trauma of having substance abuse illnesses. Elizabeth and Monty is filled with many stories of their love affair which Elizabeth wished would happen, unfortunately, Monty as much as he loved Elizabeth and found her his equal and sexy, he was attracted to men, even though he could never come out in the world of Hollywood during his career. If he had, there would be no career, even though it was not a secret, they pretended he wasn't attracted to men and would patch him to his women friends.

Elizabeth and Monty is written like Hedda Hopper's gossip column. I love Montgomery Clift, I haven't watched all his movies, but as a child, I fell in love with him and Elizabeth's movie -- Raintree County. I know it isn't their best movie but as a kid, I was just fascinated by this aloof teacher and his desperate and haunted wife, Susanna. It was good to learn the background of each person's life while filming Raintree County. Such sad stuff.
My only complaint about this book is that I feel that the gossip of Monty's same-sex attraction was repeated ad nauseam, not that I have a problem with him being gay, it just felt like Monty was marginalized down to just being a gay man with a drinking problem as if that was all that he was. That isn't what he only was. He was a gay man who was brilliant, soft-hearted, a lover of people, and a teacher to those who were just starting out in Hollywood. I wanted him to be quantified more than just his orientation. I would have loved to have those qualities celebrated also even with the heartache and struggles that he lived through until his dying day.
Elizabeth struggled with acceptance, love, and needed to have someone constantly around her, Monty was her person, the one that she could talk to, the one she wanted the most in her life, and he was there for her, until the day he died, even when they were across the nation from each other. Elizabeth and Monty did a good job of telling Elizabeth's story, her relationship with her mother, her relationship with her 7 husbands (some of which were remarriages), and her relationship with the love of her life -- Monty.

I give this book 3.5 stars as I don't think I would read it again.

Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift had an unusual connection, particularly for Hollywood: a lasting, loyal friendship as intimate as a marriage, which endured throughout decades. In Elizabeth and Monty: The Untold Story of Their Intimate Friendship, Charles Casillo tells the story of their lives and how they supported each other through the best and worst of times.

Taylor and Clift met while making the George Stevens film A Place in the Sun (1951). Elizabeth was a teenage MGM player, while Monty was at the time a bigger star and more seasoned as an actor. He taught her that acting was something to take seriously, but there was also an immediate, visceral connection between the two. For her it was passionate love, but eventually he made it clear that he would always prefer men sexually, though he deeply connected with women emotionally.

The friendship that began on that production would last until death parted them, their loyalty to each other unaffected by distance, scandal, poor health, and the myriad disappointments that can complicated a life. They would make two more films together: Raintree County (1957) and Suddenly, Last Summer (1959), the latter due to Taylor’s instance that a troubled Clift be cast. Casillo explores the way their relationship changed, from Elizabeth’s early desire for Monty to the more enduring, soulful friendship that developed over the years.

Much of the story here will be familiar to fans of Taylor and Clift. Casillo draws heavily on Patricia Bosworth’s Clift biography and Kitty Kelley’s biography of Taylor. Aside from these more familiar sources, there are some interesting tidbits; I especially appreciated the insight from director Edward Dmytryk’s unpublished manuscript The Making of Raintree County, which reflects a critical time in Monty’s life and in his relationship with Elizabeth.

Of the first source interviews included in the book, the most revealing and touching memories come from actor Kevin McCarthy, who with his wife Augusta Dabney was a close friend of Clift’s, though the couple had to withdraw from him to a degree as his behavior became more dangerous and erratic. McCarthy’s point of view is important, because he was present for many of the key points of Clift’s life, from his start on the stage in New York, to the decline of his Hollywood career. Most importantly, he was a guest at Elizabeth Taylor’s house and was driving ahead of Clift down a twisting hill on the night he crashed into a tree, changing his face and his life.

The book leans heavily into the sex and scandals in Taylor and Clift’s lives, seeming to squeeze every last bit of sensation out of those elements. While these are important and even formative moments in their story, the degree to which they were lingered upon felt excessive.

I found the details of Elizabeth and Monty’s interactions more compelling. Their relationship was a fascinating combination of devotion and selfishness, tough love and absolute acceptance. While it was pure love that kept them close over the years, it is clear that a mutual understanding of the complexities of human relationships helped them through the rough spots. In the end, I saw their connection with more clarity and better appreciated how unusually strong their bond was.

I love classic films, so was delighted to read this biography of two of the stars of this era. And considering that one of the first biographies I remember reading was Kitty Kelly's book about Elizabeth Taylor, it was even more of an enjoyable journey to dive back into her life - alongside the life of her dear friend Montgomery Cliff.

It was lovely to take a walk in the past when Hollywood was Golden - and the PR machines of the studios managed the publicity of their stars. Especially during a time period when being gay was something to be hidden for Hollywood stars.

Though more than a decade apart in age, the lives of young Elizabeth and young Monty were similar: both had stage mothers, both were distanced from their fathers, and both had an inner drive to succeed in their professional lives. And, of course, both Elizabeth and Monty longed to simply be loved.

Elizabeth and Monty dives into some of the more salacious details of the lives of these two stars, and to be honest, helped me find empathy for them while being able to admire their professionalism. And in a day and age where people tend to tell all on an hourly basis, it's nice to see it as a retrospective look back rather than a current hot mess. It's easy to see why they became and remained such good friends - and all the sadder that Clift died when he was only 45.

If you enjoy tales of old Hollywood, you'll enjoy Elizabeth and Monty by Charles Casillo.

Thanks to Kensington, Net Galley, and the author for the chance to read and review Elizabeth and Monty.

This book was outstanding!!! I have read other books about Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift, but never combines. The styling of the chapters was very nice when reading the book. The way the chapters paralleled their lives was an added bonus. Very informative and the writing flows. Highly recommended. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the arc of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on this review.

After reading Charles Casillo's "Marilyn Monroe: The Private Life of a Public Icon" I was hooked to the writing style of this author. Casillo's approach to non-fiction is written through the eyes of the public with a discreet discernment that separates countless interviews, personal biases, and iconography that often his subjects possess. In this non-fiction work, Casillo examines the friendship between Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift two actors whose love and affection have become identified within Elizabeth Taylor's life for the films they made together and twenty years of intimate friendship. As a film history enthusiast, I was familiar with Elizabeth Taylor's story having read biography's describing the many loves and friendships throughout her life. This book expands on the mere chapters that Montgomery Clift was present in the stars' life to show the impact that they had on each other's life. Casillo was able to explore each actor's triumphs and lows in an honest yet sympathetic way. A part of their friendship that I found incredibly endearing was the origin of Montgomery Clift's nickname for Taylor. Clift would call her "Bessie Mae" as nobody but him could call her that. It was something that was shared in private and added to their growing bond when co-starring together in George Steven's "A Place in the Sun." I enjoyed every minute of this and would recommend it to those who are familiar with the actors mentioned and would like an in-depth experience of the love shared between two of Hollywood's brightest stars. As a thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, I wrote this review in exchange for an advanced reader's copy of this book. I gave this a high 5 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.

In the 1950's Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift were some of the hottest stars in Hollywood. This book follows their careers, friendships, and deaths. I had a hard time with this book. I found both Elizabeth and Monty to be very unlikable. They were both very spoiled, inconsiderate vain people. I also thought the book was extremely repetitive. Every chapter gave a brief recap of Monty's drug use and accident, which became very monotonous after time. Overall, not a book I would reread or recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.

I so wanted to love this book but it skims the surface with use of rumour and innuendo. Not for me!

This galley should have been spell and grammar checked before letting reviewers see it. It was an embarrassment of mistakes, duplicated words, awful unedited garbage. The narrative was cheesy, lame and uninteresting. Just a lot of gossip and no insight about the people at all.

This is a lively, fast-paced, gossipy overview of the devoted friendship between Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift. Some of the writing is intelligent and incisive, as in the dissection of George Steven’s masterpiece A PLACE IN THE SUN. There are details however that the author inexplicably wrong. He states that Elizabeth’s parents in FATHER OF THE BRIDE were played by Spencer Tracy and Myrna Loy when in fact the mother was famously played by Joan Bennett. These incorrect details hamper the book and dampen any enthusiasm I have for it.