8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Poor little rich girl, October 15, 2005
This review is from: Little Gloria Happy at Last [VHS] (VHS Tape)
This is the famous story of the custody battle for little Gloria Vanderbilt, recreated with an all-star cast. When Gloria was a baby, her father (Christopher Plummer) died, and her underage mother was unable to manage her inheritance. Lawyers took over that job until Gloria was ten; then her aunt, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (Angela Landsbury), sued for legal custody claiming the mother was morally unfit. The trial was a huge scandal in 1934, and the outcome did little to boost Gloria's confidence. She felt unloved and unwanted until middle age, never reconciling with her mother.
The opulent homes and beautiful costumes and sets create a real sense of the era, when, at the height of the depression, the little heiress inherited $2.5 M. This is a fascinating look at a real-life soap opera.
Kona
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The story of more than one poor little rich girl, March 21, 2009
This review is from: Little Gloria Happy at Last [VHS] (VHS Tape)
I never thought I'd say this about a film made in my adult lifetime, but they just don't make them like this anymore. From 1975 until the early 1990's the miniseries was one of the mainstays of broadcast TV. In the better ones - which this was - the production values were high, the story intricately told, and prominent stars were involved.
In this day of people who seem to believe that they deserve what they have simply because they have always lived this way, this story of the super-rich set against the background of the Great Depression is timely.
Gloria Morgan is the bride of 43 year-old Reggie Vanderbilt at 18, a mother at 19, and a widow at 20 when her husband, whose health has been ruined by a dissolute lifestyle, dies and leaves her penniless. The fact that she is the mother of one of Reggie's two surviving children leaves her the impoverished mother of a wealthy infant. As Gloria is an infant, though, and she is the surviving parent, big Gloria has an income of 48 thousand dollars a year on which to live, a limitation over which she complains endlessly. 48 thousand dollars a year would be roughly half a million dollars annually in today's currency.
Over the next ten years or so, Gloria travels around Europe and complains when the judge that is her daughter's guardian says that she must come back to America so that little Gloria can grow up there, as per their prior agreement. She gripes that she can't live the way she wants and that it is all Gloria's fault. Big Gloria seems to forget she would be living in a cardboard box were it not for little Gloria's existence. Eventually big Gloria's lifestyle, her vengeful mother, and little Gloria's religious nurse all work against her when her former sister-in-law, Gertrude, sues for custody of Gloria.
There are really no sympathetic characters in this story. The doctors are more than glad to give quack treatments to little Gloria and take the Vanderbilt money, the lawyers -as always - are glad to take anyone's money, the judge in the case is more interested in the Vanderbilt's opinion than justice, and Big Gloria doesn't come across so much as a bad mother as she does as someone who simply knows no other way to live than the way she has been living. Not exactly having a glowing example of motherhood upon which to rely, Big Gloria seems genuinely baffled as to why everyone is upset with her.
Unfortunately, miniseries such as these have been replaced with one reality show after another all of which are just variations on the theme "Human Beings Behaving Badly". 27 years from now I doubt anyone will be interested in them other than as exhibits on a degenerating culture. This film was a theatric reproduction of an actual true story, and for that reason it surprises me that Gloria Warren Vanderbilt's story has so many parallels in the biography of silent film star Lina Basquette. Her tragic tale can be found in the book
Lina Demille's Godless Girl. This is a rare title, but it is good reading if you can find it.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Little Gloria... Happy At Last (1982-TV), June 4, 2009
This review is from: Little Gloria Happy at Last [VHS] (VHS Tape)
This in my opinion is one of the greatest TV-mini series of all time. It is filled with heartwarming moments, laughter, and even a few tears, the perfect combination. I consider this to be a must for every family, if you love tender moments and great films this is for you. Also, it's all based on facts and real people, The Vanderbilt name is synonymous with elegance, taste, and wealth, and Little Gloria (Gloria Vanderbilt) grew up to be a famous designer, and is the Mother of CNN's Anderson Cooper. Whenever you get the chance buy this film It won't disappoint. And that cast you can't beat it Bette Davis, Angela Lansbury, Christopher Plummer & Martin Balsam, how delicious is that.
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