Who Is Clark Rockefeller?
Who Is Clark Rockefeller? | |
---|---|
![]() Film poster | |
Written by | Edithe Swensen |
Directed by | Mikael Salomon |
Starring | Eric McCormack Sherry Stringfield |
Theme music composer | Jeff Toyne |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Producers | Edithe Swensen John M. Eckert |
Cinematography | John Dyer |
Editor | Michael D. Ornstein |
Running time | 120 minutes |
Production company | Sony Pictures Television |
Original release | |
Network | Lifetime Television |
Release | March 13, 2010 |
Who Is Clark Rockefeller? is a 2010 American police procedural television film directed by Mikael Salomon and written and co-produced by Edithe Swensen. It stars Eric McCormack as Christian Gerhartsreiter/Clark Rockefeller and Sherry Stringfield as Sandra Boss.
The film is based on the life of Christian Gerhartsreiter, a German con artist who for years impersonated many people, at one point claiming to be part of the Rockefeller family going by the faux name "Clark Rockefeller", and kidnapping his daughter.
Filming took place in Toronto in October 2009 and was released on March 13, 2010 on the Lifetime network to mixed reviews.[1][2]
Premise
[edit]![]() | This article needs an improved plot summary. (January 2023) |
Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, also known as "Clark Rockefeller," was a master imposter who successfully posed as various individuals, including a television host and a Pentagon advisor, before claiming to be a member of the famous Rockefeller family. He used his fabricated high society status to win the affections of Sandra Boss, a wealthy businesswoman, and the two eventually married and had a child. However, their relationship ended in divorce and custody battles, leading Clark to abduct their daughter. The incident ultimately exposed Clark's fraudulent past and raised questions about his true identity and the extent of his deception.
Cast
[edit]- Eric McCormack as Christian Gerhartsreiter/Clark Rockefeller, a German con artist. In order to prepare for the role, McCormack read everything about Gerhartsreiter's case, studied Natalie Morales's jailhouse interview, and also read his Vanity Fair profile. McCormack said, "The dialogue in the scene was based on public record".[3][4]
- Sherry Stringfield as Sandra Boss, Gerhartsreiter's ex-wife, a millionaire with a Harvard MBA and a partner at McKinsey & Company.
- Emily Alyn Lind as Reigh 'Snooks' Boss, Gerhartsreiter and Sandra's daughter
- Stephen McHattie as Mark Sutton, an FBI detective
- Regina Taylor as Megan Norton, an FBI detective
- Ted Atherton as Det. John Ryan
- Krista Bridges as Agent Susan Pascale
- Mark Taylor as Detective Mike Ruggio
- Philip Akin as Det. Lewis Cook
- Art Hindle as William Boss
- Janet Porter as Julia Boss
- Jeffrey R. Smith as Max Bernard
- Jack Grinhaus as Lawrence Jones
- Carleigh Beverly as Meredith
Reviews
[edit]The film was met with mixed reviews. Brian Lowry of Variety said, "Who Is Clark Rockefeller? plays a bit like The Great Imposter, only with a woman caught up in the 'She's young, beautiful — and she married a con man!' scenario in the best Lifetime tradition. Sherry Stringfield stars as the hapless gal, whose character would be more sympathetic if she hadn't agreed to call her daughter 'Snooks'." He went on to praise McCormack's performance by saying, "But the real kitsch factor resides in Eric McCormack's performance as the suave charmer, which adds an element of high camp to the proceedings.[1] Mike Hale of The New York Times said in his review that, "As a mystery and a police procedural, Who Is Clark Rockefeller? attains glossy mediocrity, but every few minutes Mr. McCormack shows up and says something like, 'You were tedious about money when I married you, and you're still tedious,' and it feels like Will & Grace all over again." He went on to praise Stringfield's performance by saying, "[she] gives a dignified, believable performance as Sandra Boss."[5]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Lowry, Brian (March 10, 2010). "Who Is Clark Rockefeller? TV Show Reviews". Variety. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (September 13, 2009). "Eric McCormack lines up two projects". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 23, 2009. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
- ^ Albiniak, Paige (March 7, 2010). "Phony Rockefeller". New York Post. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
- ^ Heslam, Jessica (February 23, 2010). "Actor marvels at Crockefeller's 'twists and turns'". Boston Herald. Archived from the original on February 26, 2010. Retrieved February 23, 2010.
- ^ Hale, Mike (March 12, 2010). "He Could Sell a Bridge Over the East River". The New York Times. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
Further reading
[edit]- Seal, Mark. Archived from the original on February 16, 2011. "The Man in the Rockefeller Suit". Vanity Fair. (Condé Nast Publications). January 2009. Accessed April 26, 2010.
External links
[edit]- Official website (archive)
- Official website
- Who Is Clark Rockefeller? at IMDb
- 2010 television films
- 2010 films
- American crime drama films
- Films about the mass media in the United States
- Films directed by Mikael Salomon
- Films set in the 1970s
- Films set in the 1980s
- Films set in the 1990s
- Films set in the 2000s
- Films shot in Toronto
- Lifetime (TV channel) films
- Crime films based on actual events
- 2010s English-language films
- 2010s American films