Phantasmagoric

Caught a screening tonight at the Egyptian Theater on Hollywood Boulevard of the deliciously over-the-top Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton 1968 movie, "BOOM!"

What a glorious train wreck.

Filmed in Sardinia, (a too young for the part) Taylor stars as the super-rich recluse Sissy Goforth and (a too old for the part) Burton plays the wandering harbinger of death/gigolo/poet Chris Flanders.

Goforth lives at the top of an island that she rules with her pet monkey and mina bird. In fact, my favorite line was when Taylor screams in frustration, "Monkey, off the terrace!" She also screams "injection" into her elaborate intercom system whenever she needs her doctor's attention.

The screenplay was written by Tennessee Williams and Noel Coward even shows up in a role called the "Witch of Capri."

The rumor is Burton and Taylor were drunk during most of the filming -- and it shows.

No wonder this is supposed to be one of John Waters' favorite films.

It's based on a play also written by Tennessee Williams called, "The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore." The Broadway play starred Tallulah Bankhead and Tab Hunter. It ran for exactly four performances.

Since I was in the neighborhood, I stopped in the frozen custard palace "Lickity Split" next door to the Egyptian Theater. Some people believe frozen custard is even better than ice cream. I'm going to have to conduct more field research before rendering a verdict.