Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson were among the most famed movie stars in the 1950s and both enjoyed significant fees for participating in films of the day. Back then only a few people knew - today public knowledge - that Rock Hudson was homesexual and thus lived a private life that had very little to do with the roles he so often portryed on the white screen.

Elizabeth Taylor, born in England as the daughter of American expats, had her first movie part in 1943, just 11 years old, when she took part in “Lassie Come Home”. In 1944 she got the lead role in “National Velvet”, another MGM production, which made her a star, a status she kept for the rest of her life. The movie realized 4 million dollars.