Elephant Walk (1954)

A tea grower (Peter Finch) brings his new English bride (Elizabeth Taylor) home to his plantation in Ceylon. But it's not long before, she realizes the man she married is different from the man who courted her in England. He seems morbidly obsessed with the memory of his dead father and more interested in partying with his fellow plantation owners than her. The attentions of the handsome plantation manager (Dana Andrews) become more welcome. Based upon the novel by Digby George Gerahty, this handsome Technicolor production shot in lush Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) locations with interiors shot on the Paramount lot is a diverting entertainment. If movie romances aren't your thing, in addition to the exotic locations, there's a Cholera epidemic and a knockout of an elephant stampede. Taylor, a substitute for Vivien Leigh (who can clearly be seen in some of the film's long shots), is at her most movie goddess beautiful and looks stunning in her Edith Head creations. Standing at the center of the action is an awesome dream house and gardens (courtesy of art directors Hal Pereira and J. McMillan Johnson) that anyone would kill for. Directed by William Dieterle (HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME). With Abraham Sofaer, Abner Biberman and Norma Varden.