Years ago, someone wrote into the Sunday "Parade" magazine asking if Farrah Fawcett was considered a good actress. The droll response? "Farrah Fawcett is kind to her father". That was after her season on "Charlie's Angels" before she could prove what she was really capable of, taking on stronger roles mainly in TV movies where her name alone could bring in enough advertising revenue to get a decent time slot. Her reputation rose from those sardonic critical assessments, and thus was offered parts like this where she sinks her teeth into the role of Barbara Hutton with gusto.
Basically a saga of eacg of her unsuccessful marriages (7!) and general unhappiness at being a million (actually billion!) dollar baby, wanting love more than anything, and perhaps not capable of receiving it, and giving it with far too many demands. Or perhaps it was just a string of jerks (Cary Grant being the exception) wanting to control her and her fortune, jet setting around the world, yet trying to make the best use of her fortune in humanitarian ways while keeping the lifestyle she's become accustomed to.
Burl Ives as her maternal grandfather (a Woolworth) and Kevin McCarthy as her father (who according to Barbara drove her mother to her death) are the patriarchal figures in her life, and with socialite friends like Doris Duke (another poor little rich girl) and the Countess DeFrasso, brassy columnist Elsa Maxwell (a hysterical Miriam Margolyes) and cousin Marjorie Merriweather Post are the influential women in her life. Husbands from around the world indicate that even though she held the purse strings, this was a patriarchal world, and her money was only meant to pay for it.
Certainly mesmerizing to watch on the level of the beautiful places and fabulous clothes she wore, and even not judging her for the money others say she should have given more of, I found this frequently tedious and definitely overly long. But back then, we'd watch these multi part TV specials over a series of nights and not binge through.
I like the fact that Barbara is presented as basically a kind woman with ladylike characteristics, only on occasion showing a self centered controlling nature. For the most part as shown here, she was the victim of greedy men and unhappy as a result of her planned destiny. It gets better when showing the world around her, especially when confronted with great poverty and issues of her reputation from being one married to someone who ended up a Nazi. James Read seems closer to Clark Gable than Cary Grant, but he definitely gives her the most happiness and least drama of all the husbands.
Basically a saga of eacg of her unsuccessful marriages (7!) and general unhappiness at being a million (actually billion!) dollar baby, wanting love more than anything, and perhaps not capable of receiving it, and giving it with far too many demands. Or perhaps it was just a string of jerks (Cary Grant being the exception) wanting to control her and her fortune, jet setting around the world, yet trying to make the best use of her fortune in humanitarian ways while keeping the lifestyle she's become accustomed to.
Burl Ives as her maternal grandfather (a Woolworth) and Kevin McCarthy as her father (who according to Barbara drove her mother to her death) are the patriarchal figures in her life, and with socialite friends like Doris Duke (another poor little rich girl) and the Countess DeFrasso, brassy columnist Elsa Maxwell (a hysterical Miriam Margolyes) and cousin Marjorie Merriweather Post are the influential women in her life. Husbands from around the world indicate that even though she held the purse strings, this was a patriarchal world, and her money was only meant to pay for it.
Certainly mesmerizing to watch on the level of the beautiful places and fabulous clothes she wore, and even not judging her for the money others say she should have given more of, I found this frequently tedious and definitely overly long. But back then, we'd watch these multi part TV specials over a series of nights and not binge through.
I like the fact that Barbara is presented as basically a kind woman with ladylike characteristics, only on occasion showing a self centered controlling nature. For the most part as shown here, she was the victim of greedy men and unhappy as a result of her planned destiny. It gets better when showing the world around her, especially when confronted with great poverty and issues of her reputation from being one married to someone who ended up a Nazi. James Read seems closer to Clark Gable than Cary Grant, but he definitely gives her the most happiness and least drama of all the husbands.