Who Is Clark Rockefeller?

Who Is Clark Rockefeller? is a 2010 American police procedural television film directed by Mikael Salomon and written and co-produced by Edithe Swensen.[1] 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.[1] Filming took place in Toronto in October 2009 and was released on March 13, 2010 on the Lifetime network to mixed reviews.[2][3]

Who Is Clark Rockefeller?
Film poster
Written byEdithe Swensen
Directed byMikael Salomon
StarringEric McCormack
Sherry Stringfield
Theme music composerJeff Toyne
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducersEdithe Swensen
John M. Eckert
CinematographyJohn Dyer
EditorMichael D. Ornstein
Running time120 minutes
Production companySony Pictures Television
Release
Original networkLifetime Television
Original releaseMarch 13, 2010 (2010-03-13)

Plot summary

Called "the longest running con in FBI history," Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, the man that people knew as "Clark Rockefeller" (McCormack) had brilliantly impersonated numerous people, ranging from a talk show host to a Pentagon Advisor before ultimately claiming to be an heir to the famous Rockefeller family. Confident from the success of his prior scams, Clark quickly became well known and highly respected among Boston's elite and used his purported high society status to charm his way into the life of Sandra Boss (Stringfield), a millionaire with a Harvard MBA and a partner at the prestigious management consulting firm, McKinsey & Company. Following a whirlwind courtship, the two married and had a daughter, before their rocky 12-year union ended in divorce, leading Clark to abduct his beloved daughter after losing custody to Sandra. With the help of FBI agent Megan Norton (Taylor), Sandra's search for her daughter exposed Clark's lifelong con game for the world to see and ultimately raised questions about the real man and the deception he is capable of.

Cast

Reviews

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.[2] 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."[7]

References
  1. "Emmy(R) Award-Winner Eric McCormack Stars in the Highly Anticipated Lifetime Original Movie 'Who is Clark Rockefeller?'". PR Newswire. February 17, 2010. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  2. Lowry, Brian (March 10, 2010). "Who Is Clark Rockefeller? TV Show Reviews". Variety. Reed Business Information. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  3. Andreeva, Nellie (September 13, 2009). "Eric McCormack lines up two projects". The Hollywood Reporter. Nielsen Business Media. Archived from the original on September 23, 2009. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  4. Albiniak, Paige (March 7, 2010). "Phony Rockefeller". New York Post. News Corporation. Archived from the original on March 10, 2010. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  5. Heslam, Jessica (February 23, 2010). "Actor marvels at Crockefeller's 'twists and turns'". Boston Herald. Herald Media Inc. Archived from the original on 2010-02-23. Retrieved February 23, 2010.
  6. M. Silverman, Stephen (March 13, 2010). "Eric McCormack: Love Motivated Clark Rockefeller". People. Time Inc. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  7. Hale, Mike (March 12, 2010). "He Could Sell a Bridge Over the East River". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved April 26, 2010.

Further reading
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