Caroline?

At first, the only question that seems to be asked in the plot is : "Is she or not Caroline?" Of course the answer you will only have near the end. But central to the movie are also other more universal questions like : "What do you do with a handicapped child?" and then again, more importantly : "What do you do with the (rich) parents of a handicapped child?" This flick kept my interest from the beginning to the end. The psychology of the characters, especially the mother and the young boy, whose lives are organized exclusively around the little girl's handicapped condition, are complex and most interesting.

Caroline? a made-for-TV movie based on the E.L. Konigsburg novel (teleplay by Michael DeGuzman) is a superior movie of the highest order. Being part mystery, part topical storytelling, it takes the viewer into the lives of a well to do family with a few skeletons. Seemingly Caroline Carmichael dies in a plane accident 15 years ago, or did she? Her father believes the girl claiming to be her, or does he? Now you won't guess why she's come back, or will you? Deftly played by Stephanie Zimbalist, Caroline is much richer in spirit than the old Caroline seemed to be. Caroline returns just before the deadline to claim her Grandmother Adkins inheritance. This is a matter of consternation for her father's younger wife. Caroline returns to find she has a half brother and sister and a suspicious stepmother. George Grizzard, Pamela Reed, the late Shawn Phelan and Jenny Jacobs play her present family. As Caroline becomes involved in the lives of the Carmichaels she learns family secrets galore. Rounding out the wonderful cast are the great Patricia Neal, the phenomenal Dorothy McGuire and Mary Nell Santacroce. To tell more would be scandalous. This was originally shown on CBS television in 1990 as a Hallmark Hall of Fame Presentation. By the way, this won an Emmy for Best Television Movie or Special. When you need an inspirational movie to get you through the day, put this in your VCR, you won't be disappointed. Still not on DVD, but is on Prime Video.

I think this is one of the best tv movies that I have ever seen. STEPHANIE ZIMBALIST was excellent in this movie. The story kept me on the edge of my seat. It is a good mystery and you have to watch it until the end to find out if STEPHANIE is the real CAROLINE or not. This is a keeper and I can't wait until I own it on VHS.

Did the author of the book on which this movie is based actually win a Newbery? I can understand why, without ever having read it. The movie is like an above average after-school special. There are two equally important themes dealt with. (1) Is Stephanie Zimbalist really the Caroline who disappeared fourteen years earlier, or an imposter come to claim the matriarch's fortune? In the end, it becomes a matter of little importance (and in fact has been done better elsewhere) except that the lingering questions trigger fits of jealousy and rivalry on the part of Pamela Reed as Caroline's stepmother. (2) Is little Hillary (whom her parents call Heidi) as retarded as she seems or is she educable? Before "Caroline"'s arrival, a family therapist would immediately recognize Heidi as the "identified patient," the glue that holds the rest of the family together because of her disability. In giving all their attention to Heidi, the other family members can avoid dealing with deeper and potentially more disturbing issues, like "Who's giving the orders around here"? To deprive the other members of Heidi's affliction is like suddenly restoring the use of his legs to a man who has been a paraplegic for years and has managed to adjust to his condition, however precarious that adjustment may be. Yet this is precisely what Caroline threatens to do, when she discovers that Heidi has remained a "baby", as she calls herself, through the simple process of having always been treated as one. Her parents and brother have convinced themselves that Heidi will never be able to read or even perform simple tasks like removing her own coat. Under Caroline's compassionate tutelage, however, she begins to do exactly that, which threatens the dynamic underpinning of the family. Caroline brings discord to a barely functioning family, but it is the sort of pain that is necessary for one to undergo in order to remove an abcessing tooth. The story is interesting and, for the perceptive, those looking for more than just another mystery, kind of educational as well. Of course, all ends happily, with Heidi (a name for a little Swiss girl) evolving into Hillary (a name that now has acquired Senatorial resonance). The performances are all quite good. Pamela Reed, the putative villain of the piece, is not without sympathy. George Grizzard is likeable, as always, even when his character is dubious. Stephanie Zimbalist often seems to bring, willy nilly, a certain devious sensuality to her roles. That quality must be noted in anyone who can inspire incestuous urges in somebody like Charlton Heston. Here, it's muted, and most of the time she seems like just a nice young woman trying to do something good. I have no idea if Jenny Jacobs, playing Heidi, suffered from a neurological deficit, but whether she did or not makes no difference; her enactment of the character would be hard to improve upon. Sometimes the dialogue is a bit new-agey, especially towards the end -- "You can be whoever you want to be" or something. What on earth does that mean? (I'd like to be King Farouk.) But it's a minor weakness in an otherwise superior TV movie.

Truly remarkable on so many levels, and worth repeated viewings because it's easy to miss some things the first time around. For example, notice who is in the background when Caroline's father laments "I don't even know my own daughter," or the book the adult Winston picks up when speaking to Hilary. The acting is exceptional all around, but especially by Shawn Phelan as young Winston and Jenny Jacobs as Heidi- yes, Jenny Jacobs really does have a disability in real life, and I wouldn't be surprised if the woman who played Hilary also does, as well. Stephanie Zimbalist is luminous as Caroline, and the scenes between her and Patricia Neal (as the headmistress who doesn't believe she's really Caroline) virtually crackle with tension. The ending always puts a lump in my throat, but this is a rare movie that actually earns it's tears. It originally aired on CBS against the Jim Bakker story, which all the critics thought would destroy Caroline in the ratings, but it was the other way around! I've read the book as well and while I liked it, the movie in my opinion is better, because the actors bring the characters to life in a way that the written word can't.