Whether wearing rags and glass slippers, a blonde curly wig while screeching or being a blackmailing prostitute, Lesley Ann Warren has had a fantastic career even if she doesn't have the name value of lookalike Susan Sarandon. Resembling also British actress Sheila White (Messalina in "I Claudius"), Warren has a versatility that makes her stand out, and in this three-part miniseries based on Harold Robbins' controversial novel, she takes the character of the Lower East Side poor girl through many aspects of her life, from cheap dance hall hostess to high-class prostitute and finally to a real life madam.
Along the way, there are her struggling family, dying mother Barbara Barrie, and sleazy step-father Albert Salmi, love interests Marc Singer and David Dukes, confidante Polly Bergen (sensational as a Polly Adler type madam), mob involved Michael Constantine as Singer's nasty father, and memorable supporting characters played by Jack Weston, John Saxon and even Peter Marshall. Warren takes the audience through each of the steps of our heroine's life, desperate to get out but trapped.
The nearly six hour saga is mesmerizing yet frightening due to the violence Warren faces, trying to kill attempted rapist step-father Salmi (and unfortunately not succeeding), as well as from the men in her life who seem desperate to control her. The world of prostitution, whether organized or street based, is a frightening world, and while the life here is glamorized, that fact is not hidden. It's trash with class, and a lot of fun, but certainly no award winner even if Warren and perhaps Bergen are worthy of Emmy nominations.
Along the way, there are her struggling family, dying mother Barbara Barrie, and sleazy step-father Albert Salmi, love interests Marc Singer and David Dukes, confidante Polly Bergen (sensational as a Polly Adler type madam), mob involved Michael Constantine as Singer's nasty father, and memorable supporting characters played by Jack Weston, John Saxon and even Peter Marshall. Warren takes the audience through each of the steps of our heroine's life, desperate to get out but trapped.
The nearly six hour saga is mesmerizing yet frightening due to the violence Warren faces, trying to kill attempted rapist step-father Salmi (and unfortunately not succeeding), as well as from the men in her life who seem desperate to control her. The world of prostitution, whether organized or street based, is a frightening world, and while the life here is glamorized, that fact is not hidden. It's trash with class, and a lot of fun, but certainly no award winner even if Warren and perhaps Bergen are worthy of Emmy nominations.