Joe: Cleopatra | The Plot Thickens (S6 E2) | TCM

Episode 2 – Joe While Elizabeth Taylor fights for her life in a London hospital, Joe Mankiewicz begins to grapple with the movie he’s inherited. The script is dreadful, the sets are grotesque, and none of the footage is usable. Joe decides to start over from scratch. A look at Joe’s long career in Hollywood gives some clues as to how he’ll handle this epic production and manage his high maintenance actors. 00:00 – Elizabeth's Coma 04:19 – Joe's Big Gamble 10:45 – Growing Up Mankiewicz 16:44 – Joe Goes Hollywood 24:12 – Defecting to Fox 33:20 – All Joe's Women 41:55 – After the Loss 44:02 – Suddenly Last Summer His studio was collapsing. His budget was skyrocketing. And his two stars were making headlines for all the wrong reasons. Those were just some of the headaches facing Joseph L. Mankiewicz, the writer and director of one of the most expensive and infamous movies ever made: Cleopatra. With Mankiewicz calling the shots and the luminous Elizabeth Taylor in the title role, Cleopatra should have been a smash. Instead, it was a shoot plagued by medical emergencies, climate disasters, nervous breakdowns, and egos as big as pyramids... not to mention Taylor's scandalous love affair with Richard Burton. It fell to Mankiewicz to somehow wrest an epic out of chaos. Writing at night and directing during the day, he struggled to stay one step ahead of financial disaster and his own failing health. This season on The Plot Thickens, Ben Mankiewicz digs through his own family stories to understand how it turned out so badly for his Oscar-winning uncle. The Plot Thickens is the official podcast from Turner Classic Movies (TCM) about movies and the people who make them. Season one premiered in May 2020, diving into the life and work of Oscar®-nominated director, writer, and actor Peter Bogdanovich. Season two, “The Devil’s Candy,” launched in June 2021 and chronicled the tumultuous production of the 1990 film The Bonfire of the Vanities. Season three uncovered fresh insights into the life and times of the iconic Lucille Ball and debuted in October 2021. Season four explored the life and work of trailblazing actor Pam Grier in fall 2022. The podcast has garnered more than nine million downloads and several industry awards: it was named a Webby Honoree in 2021 and 2022 and a Webby Nominee in 2023; won best branded podcast from the 2021 Adweek Podcast Awards; and was nominated for best entertainment podcast at the Ambie Awards two years in a row. It has been featured on “best-of” lists from The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, and Vanity Fair. Become a fan of Turner Classic Movies on social media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tcmtv X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/tcm Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tcm TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tcm Previous seasons are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-plot-thickens/id1504732282 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Qxe9jZsekmdQMifVwqmrJ iHeart Radio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/958-the-plot-thickens-60052717 Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is a two-time Peabody Award-winning network that presents classic films, uncut and commercial-free, from the largest film libraries in the world highlighting “where then meets now.” TCM features the insights from Primetime host Ben Mankiewicz along with hosts Alicia Malone, Dave Karger, Jacqueline Stewart and Eddie Muller, plus interviews with a wide range of special guests and serves as the ultimate movie lover destination. With more than two decades as a leading authority in classic film, TCM offers annual programming events like 31 Days of Oscar® and Summer Under the Stars. TCM also directly connects with movie fans through popular events such as the annual TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood and the TCM Classic Cruise. Fans can also enjoy a classic movie experience on the TCM hub on Max. Joe: Cleopatra | The Plot Thickens (S6 E2) | TCM https://youtu.be/IVPlPvhvgkA #ThePlotThickens #BenMankiewiczr #Cleopatra #TCM