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The movie is well produced and well acted and keeps the viewer's interest throughout. Doris in her later years is portrayed by movie legend Lauren Bacall. Other actresses portray Doris as a child and her young adult and middle years. Duke lived a rich and elegant life, but was burdened by her wealth. She was never sure if people loved her for herself or for her money. She married only to be unhappy in her marriage and had numerous affairs with well-known people. The film is produced in the form of flashbacks from the present day to the past telling the story of Duke's life from childhood to her death. The movie takes us to some exotic locations such as Hawaii where Duke kept a home. The relationship between Lafferty and Duke was somewhat codependent. He needed her and she needed him, and that suited them. In the end, he took care of her until she died, although in the movie Lafferty took advantage of her feeble state and managed to get her to sign power over to him. I thought Richard Chamberlain gave a great performance in this film. He is well suited for the "bad" guy who connives and plots to get what he wants. He portrayed Lafferty as a multidimensional character. He was charming to the hilt, and yet controlling of the Duke household. He had a sweet and caring side with a vindictive side as well. You kind of wonder what type of relationship Duke and Lafferty really had. Even though he was her servant, and class differences kept them at a distance, I think that in the end he truly cared for her and grieved at her death. I would recommend this film to anyone who is a fan of Richard Chamberlain. He keeps the movie going at a good pace and of course he is great to look at, even this being one of his later films, where he is in his sixties. Here are some facts that I found about the real Duke and Lafferty: "The majority of the money was earmarked for charity through the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation that supported the arts, environmental causes and life sciences. What shocked everyone was when the semi-illiterate Bernard Lafferty was named trustee of the Foundation, providing him with a payment of over $4 million dollars and a lifetime annuity of $500,000. "While the directors of the Foundation carefully gave out the monies as stipulated in Duke' fifty-page will, Lafferty began to spend and spend - far beyond his annual stipend. He was the person who handed over the checks to high-profile charities such as $2 million to Duke University for AIDS research and $1 million dollars to the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. Lafferty became the much-publicized figurehead for all that was good with Doris Dukes giving and he had to go. After much legal wrangling Lafferty was ousted as co-executor of Duke's will and was finally given an undisclosed amount to go away. "Depressed and embittered over his removal, Lafferty eventually spent his last years drinking and carousing. He died peacefully in his sleep in his Los Angeles home in November 1996. The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation continues to support social, cultural and health-related programs today." Taken from "Divas,TheSite" Review by Betty Ackerman
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Executive
producer Martin Rabbett produced this miniseries in 1999. Richard Chamberlain
portrays Bernard Lafferty, the butler of Doris Duke, "the richest
little girl in the world". His character of Lafferty is based on
a real life person, Duke's butler for some years. It was said at one point
in the movie that he worked for her for at least six years. In the movie,
Bernard Lafferty was an alcoholic who was down on his luck and was hired
by Duke's adoptive daughter. He became a scheming, conniving person that
managed to take advantage of Duke's deteriating condition in her old age
to become her financial and medical power of attorney during the end part
of her life. He also became the trustee of The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
with an inheritance of four million dollars and a lifetime yearly allowance
of five hundred thousand dollars after Duke's death. Unfortunately, Lafferty
died three years after Duke's death, from what Doris was to call the "curse".
It was the curse of having too much money.