Butterfield 8 (MGM) as a novel by John O'Hara was a crude but affecting tart's tragedy. As a film, it has been turned into a sleek and libidinous lingerie meller.
In the book, which was based on the 1931 real-life tragedy of a gay young thing who called herself Starr Faithfull, the heroine was a semiprofessional call girl, with a phone on Manhattan's BUtterfield exchange. In the movie, she is just an enthusiastic amateur (Elizabeth Taylor) who promiscuously offers peace to the tired businessman. In the book, the hero was a middle-aged commuter with...
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