. . . nearly half as bad as America's current dire straits. About 20% of the characters portrayed in the 1900s England of this CONSPIRATOR flick are Russian Red Commie KGB tools or sympathizers. A poll taken this week in the USA disclosed that slightly more than 40% of Today's U.S. population currently falls under the sway of American Strongman Putin, making up his "base" of "core supporters." Stalin's master spy CONSPIRATOR "Mike" has the "back story" of being a third generation representative of an I.R.A. malcontent Crime Family. Putin's master spy "Donnie" has a similar background as the grandson of New York City's wealthiest pimp, and the son of a KKK Community Organizer. Mike man-handles and shoots at his wife, cackling that no one will believe her as he burns the evidence of his treason. CONSPIRATOR Donnie is a court-documented spouse rapist, cackling that no one will believe his brazen mistreatment of many other women (who are keeping Putin's spin masters on the 24-hour Putin TV channel working overtime). CONSPIRATOR emphasizes the need to round up and liquidate or deport all of the KGB traitors, tools, and enablers threatening to overrun 1900s England. Today's CONSPIRATOR viewers may well recognize a similar necessity to round up, liquidate or deport all of Putin's U.S. traitors and their dupes, ASAP.

A teenage American hottie arrives for a visit to the UK and fall in love with a 38-year-old English military man. For some unclear reason he falls for her as well, so they get married.The teen wife, however, soon learns that her perfecto husband is in fact a Soviet spy. How does she learn it? Well, she finds in his pocket a typed letter saying – and I quote almost verbatim – "In view of my success in obtaining secret information for the USSR, I'd like to have a personal interview with the head of Soviet intelligence." I'm not kidding – the letter was not coded in any way, and it had the word "Soviet" printed in plain language. Poor Liz, finding and reading it, literally blanches. Her hubby is a Russian spy! He's a traitor! It's unclear, however, as to why the word "traitor" should have any strong meaning for her – she's not from the UK, but from another country altogether, so she's basically a traitor herself – betraying her motherland on a whim of romance.Ah, traitors… This word features prominently in an earlier scene where a bunch of guys discuss intelligence matters. "They are criminals!" an older dude proclaims angrily. I wonder why such strong emotion concerning treason, seeing as England has not been in a serious defensive war since 1760s. (The only exceptions are Napoleon 1812 and Hitler 1940 – and in both those cases it was Russia who saved the British ass from becoming enslaved by France and Germany.) There were tons of AGGRESSIVE wars of course – but is it appropriate to talk about criminal behavior when your country's been slaughtering innocent folks all over the globe for centuries? Poor Russia in this movie is presented as a Sort-of-Enemy, while America's presented as an ally. Weird considering that Russia never ever fought England nor betrayed it crassly, while the Americans both fought it and betrayed it - by signing the Declaration of Independence.The Founding Fathers of America are doubtless the biggest English traitors ever. Biggest. Traitors. Ever. Because of them, Britain lost millions of miles of fabulous land, trillions of pounds in money, incalculable amounts of mineral resources, and had its military and geopolitical prestige undermined forever. But let bygones be bygones, I guess.In a conversation with friends where both husbands and wife were present, Liz says contemptuously : "My husbands decided to give up his career – he's gonna be a Communist instead." Everybody present thinks it's a joke on her part, of course, but Liz is full of venom. Those terrible commies! It doesn't bother her that she, an 18-year-old girl, is served around the house by a lady in her mid-fifties – she never for a moment questions the justice of it. "No one is, like, forcing her to serve me, right? Let her eat cake or whatever." Yeah, servants are great; commies suck.But on the whole, taking into account the time and historical circumstances when this movie was made, it's a pretty decent picture with a number of effective scenes and a passable performance from ET – something that not all her movies can boast.

In her first adult role Elizabeth Taylor was all of 17 years old, but her co-star Robert Taylor who was a most discreet man when talking about his leading ladies, couldn't help but remark about how mature Liz was when they made this first of two films together. Her youthfulness helped because in Conspirator the part called for Liz to be young and somewhat naive. She's not too much older in the film than her real age. And the role calls for the young American visitor to London, staying with Lord Wilfrid Hyde-White, Marie Ney, and their daughter Honor Blackman. At a ball Liz can't take her eyes off officer Robert Taylor as neither could half the American female population. In a whirlwind courtship they're married. Taylor is identified as 31 in the film and in fact he wasn't too much older, being 38 when he was making Conspirator.Taylor had played British before, no one minded his distinct American speech pattern in Waterloo Bridge. And it's not a hindrance in Conspirator either.Not long after they're married Liz discovers her husband has been a Communist agent for years. As for Bob his marriage did not meet with party approval and he takes heat for it. And when she threatens to turn him in, Bob's given a choice, it's Liz or the party.Conspirator is a sincere anti-Communist film, not a piece of Cold War junk like some of what was coming out of studios like RKO. The film itself was prophetic because a few years later Donald MacLean and Guy Burgess would be caught and exposed, after that Kim Philby and long after he was dead Sir Anthony Blunt, the famous fourth man in that subversive ring. The problem with Conspirator is the lack of definition of Robert Taylor's character, we get bits and pieces about an Irish mother, a forbidding English father stuff that might make him question loyalty to king and country. But it's never really fleshed out in the script and Taylor never got a handle on his character.Liz however really shows the promise she had as an adult actress. Two years later she was in A Place In The Sun and after that her career was assured.Honor Blackman, the future Pussy Galore, was five years older than Elizabeth Taylor, but had made far fewer films. She was only in the third year of a career that's still going strong. She also does a very good job as Liz's wise young friend who just happens to be keeping company with one of Taylor mess-mates Robert Flemyng.Conspirator was shot over in MGM's British studio with its two American stars and a cast of players from the UK's cinema. A little more development on Robert Taylor's character and Conspirator could have been far better than it was.

Conspirator gives us a chance to see Robert Taylor, once again as the villain. We almost hope that he is not what he seems to be. If not for the moviegoer but for Elizabeth Taylor, who is so in love with him that she is breathless. When she first meets Michael (Taylor) she is stunned by his looks, and when they dance, she falls hopelessly in love with him. They go to the country and the first time we realize there is something not right with Michael. It is on the rabbit hunt with his niece and nephew. One of the rabbits is caught in the trap, hurt, and Melinda asks Michael to help and he says "it is only a rabbit". That evening she rejects him, as he tells her he is desperately in love with her. She forgives him and they marry. Everything seems idyllic until strange postcards, blank and unsigned begin to show up in the mail. There are mysterious trips, sullen leavings, and when she tries to tease him, he explodes. She discovers the notes with secrets written on them, and is devastated. He promises to stop, but never does, and the Party is not happy with his marriage. They want him to kill her, but he in love, and hesitates. He does try on a hunting trip, but Melinda stumbles and the gun misfires. Instead in the end, when he knows that Melinda will give him up to the authorities, he kills himself. Robert Taylor gave Elizabeth Taylor her first grown up screen kiss. He was so smitten with her beauty that he had to be filmed from the waist up in many scenes because he could not control his amorous feelings. He was always an underrated actor, and this film proves it. Another film would be "Undercurrent" with Kathryn Hepburn. Evil again, and so good.