Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story

There are few TV movies as good as "Poor Little Rich Girl" starring Farrah Fawcett. The film is biographical and at the same time interesting to the extent that one really has to ask whether money brings happiness and even more than that, whether the desire to be ordinary also brings happiness and fulfillment in life. Barbara's need for love, for humanity, despite all that money, only led her to disappointments and, in the end, to the biggest loss of her life. Perhaps the film would not have been so impressive if the lead role had not been played by the excellent Farrah Fawcett, who seemed not to be acting. Thanks to her acting, we learn not only about Barbara Hutton as one of the richest women in the world of her time, but also about one of the greatest human tragedies despite all the glamor around her.

I've watched this mini series twice, it's a shame that this woman had to buy so called love. That shows she had a low opinion of herself. True her father neglected her, but no way would I have given money to men, who just had a title and nothing else. The danish count was a sadist and over bearing. The prince was a loser period. The only one who really loved her was Cary grant I think. James Read was definitely not the Cary Grant type in looks or anything else. And his so called accent was hilarious. She was a self indulgent person, money wasted on material things, and men that weren't worth anything.

It is fashionable to look down on made-for-TV movies. But this one is one of the best examples of such flicks. Despite its length, I watched it fully, because the title character was an interesting person. Farrah Fawcett does a good job playing Barbara Hutton, the much-married Woolworth heiress. Cary Grant, who was, at one time, wedded to her is portrayed as a nice guy, who divorces her because of her partying. Hutton was also married to a sadistic Danish count who tries to steal her fortune. She even renounced her American citizenship in order to live with him. Another of her husbands was Count von Kramm, the Nazi-trained tennis player who failed to win at Wimbledon and suffered consequences in Germany. Hutton discovered that he was bisexual, so she divorced him. Barbara Hutton was an ardent socialite, so she neglected her only son. The movie has her telling him that she could not live with him in Arizona because she was not that kind of mother. Later, when someone calls him a "son of a bitch", he simply says "Exactly"! Probably, the most memorable dialogue in the film!

The film follows Hutton around the world. It is interesting to see the film's depiction of exotic countries in the middle part of the twentieth century.

(Reviewed by Sundar Narayan)

My comment isn't so much about the quality of the film itself, Whilst Farrah played the role to a tee, The film if you watched with awe represents to you the value of our existence. All anyone ever really needs in life is validation and the love we find within ourselves and others to make our lives worthwhile. Barbra clearly missed out on a life of happiness, in fact she missed out on the role model's that in society, would shape you in to a person that sees value in your worth. I believe not having known Barbra that more than likely if given the validation of her worth her demise may not have been as it was, I sat in awe and appreciation whilst watching this flick, I remember seeing it on television years ago and it has been in my mind ever since, it impacted my life in many ways, I could relate to it on many levels. I am currently trying to track down a copy that is viewable here in Australia. I hope that for future viewers of this film that you try to find your own personal lesson from it. seeing Barbra's life helped me find the value in my own, its sad to think that maybe if she had have known her value in this world her life may have been fantastic instead of Tragic. Thankyou to Charles Jarrott,the Producer. Fantastic...

This is one of the best biographical miniseries ever made. The fascinating life of Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton is told to perfection here. Very entertaining and well cast and acted. Really enjoyable from her sad childhood through the many marriages to her death. The screenplay is very good. It's told chronologically - no needless jumping around in time. It shows both the triumph and tragedy of her life but doesn't dwell too much on the sordid or unpleasant like some of the new biopics. It's much better than the Doris Duke TV movie with Lauren Bacall and Richard Chamberlain - that one was depressing. The locations are beautiful from South of France and Venice to Morocco. Farrah Fawcett did a superb job. She is beautiful here and shows a lot of range. The supporting cast are all very well cast - especially those who played her many husbands. Some of the outstanding supporting cast drawn from European and US actors include Carmen du Sautoy as her sister in law, James Reed as Cary Grant, Nicholas Clay as her first husband the list goes on. The actor who played Court Raventlow is good too. Bruce Davison as cousin Jimmy is a scene stealer. The score is very suited too. They don't make miniseries like this anymore.