Feb. 19, 1962 - Twentieth Century-Fox heaved a $20 million sigh of relief today when it learned that Elizabeth Taylor would return to work in Rome this week. The star’s brief hospitalization because of food poisoning and exhaustion demonstrated how the fate of “Cleopatra,” the most expensive movie in history, is dependent on the health of one person. It also indicated how the future of the entire Fox studio is affected by the well-being of Miss Taylor. If she was unable to continue working on “Cleopatra” it could be disastrous for the company. More than two hours of the movie is now in fairly finished condition. But the picture is expected to be about three and one-half hours long when released. If the picture were halted at this point, the footage would be of no value. Fox has been unable to get insurance on the illness-plagued Miss Taylor, who left a Rome hospital today on the arm of her husband, Eddie Fisher.
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