''Kaleidoscope'', also known as ''Danielle Steel's Kaleidoscope'', is a 1990

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

romantic drama film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typica ...

directed by

Jud Taylor Judson Taylor (February 25, 1932August 6, 2008) was an American actor, television director, and television producer. Early years Born in New York City, Taylor graduated from the University of California, Berkeley. Career Taylor is perhaps best ...

. The film is based upon the 1987 novel of the same name by

Danielle Steel Danielle Fernandes Dominique Schuelein-Steel (born August 14, 1947) is an American writer, best known for her romance novels. She is the bestselling author alive and the fourth-bestselling fiction author of all time, with over 800 million ...

Plot

When wealthy Arthur Patterson (

Donald Moffat Donald Moffat (26 December 1930 – 20 December 2018) was a British–American actor with a decades-long career in film and stage in the United States. He began his acting career on- and off-Broadway, which included appearances in ''The Wild D ...

) finds out that he is dying, he tries to make peace with his past. He looks back to his

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

years, when he was a soldier in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. There, he met a poor French girl, Solange Bertrand (

Kim Thomson Kim Ellen Thomson (born 30 October 1959) is an English actress who has appeared on stage, television and film since the early 1980s in both the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Early life Thomson was born on 30 October 1959, altho ...

), whom he fell in love with. Solange married his good friend Sam (

Bruce Abbott Bruce Paul Abbott (born July 28, 1954) is an American film, stage, and television actor. Originally beginning his career in theater, Abbott later gained notoriety for his role as Dan Cain in the cult film, cult sci-fi horror films ''Re-Animator'' ...

), though, and they settled in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

after the War, where Sam worked as an actor on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

. Solange gave birth to three girls, who were all separated after the tragic deaths of their parents. Arthur is determined to reunite the girls, with the help of private detective John Chapman (

Perry King Perry Firestone King (born April 30, 1948) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles on television and in films. King received a Golden Globe nomination for his role in the television film ''The Hasty Heart'' (1983), which is a rema ...

). John warns the old man for a disappointing outcome, but Arthur remains determined to correct the past. First, John contacts the oldest sister, who was eight when her parents died. Hilary Walker (

Jaclyn Smith Jacquelyn Ellen "Jaclyn" Smith (born October 26, 1945) is an American actress and businesswoman. She is best known for her role as Kelly Garrett in the television series ''Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1981), and was the only original female lead ...

), now working as the head of a big Manhattan firm, initially denies having any acquaintance with Mr. Patterson, and claims that she has lived in Manhattan all of her life. Through her assistant Paula (

Penny Johnson Jerald Penny Johnson Jerald (born March 14, 1961) is an American actress. She played Beverly Barnes on the HBO comedy series ''The Larry Sanders Show'', Kasidy Yates on the syndicated science fiction series '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', Sherry Palmer ...

), John finds out that Hilary lied to him about her past, and confronts her with the facts. Hilary angrily explains that she is still trying to bury her past, and has no interest in reliving it. She eventually reveals that she was severely abused by her aunt and uncle, who she and her sisters lived with after her parents died. Her sisters were soon adopted by other people, but Hilary stayed behind with her abusive family, because most people had no interest in adopting her due to her age. When she was eighteen, she got away and tried to contact Mr. Patterson, but he refused to see her. Second, John meets the middle daughter, Alexandra (

Patricia Kalember Patricia Kathryn Kalember (born December 30, 1956) is an American actress, best known for her role as Georgiana "Georgie" Reed Whitsig in the NBC drama series, ''Sisters'' (1991–1996). Kalember also had the leading roles in the number of televi ...

), who was adopted by Margaret (

Colleen Dewhurst Colleen Rose Dewhurst (3 June 1924 – 22 August 1991) was a Canadian-American actress mostly known for theatre roles. She was a renowned interpreter of the works of Eugene O'Neill on the stage, and her career also encompassed film, early drama ...

), and currently resides in

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

as the wife of Senator Henry (

Terry O'Quinn Terrance Quinn (born July 15, 1952), known professionally as Terry O'Quinn, is an American actor. He played John Locke on the TV series ''Lost'', the title role in '' The Stepfather'' and ''Stepfather II'', and Peter Watts in ''Millennium'', w ...

). She has a rich social life and two lovely daughters, though feels that her husband treats her more as a servant than as a loving wife. When John arrives in town, he first speaks to Margaret, through whom he learns that Alexandra is not aware that she is adopted. Margaret tries to prevent John from telling Alexandra the truth, but realizing that she cannot, she decides to tell her daughter the truth herself. Alexandra assures Margaret that she still sees her as her real mother, though blames her that she never informed her about having two sisters. Henry feels that the situation could cause a scandal and ruin his political career. Despite his objection, Alexandra eagerly agrees to meet her sisters and Mr. Chapman at his

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

mansion. Third, John travels to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

to meet with the youngest daughter Meagan (

Claudia Christian Claudia Christian (born Claudia Ann Coghlan August 10, 1965) is an American actress, singer and author, known for her roles as Commander Susan Ivanova on '' Babylon 5'', as Captain Maynard on Fox's ''9-1-1'', and as the voice of Hera on the N ...

), who is now working as a doctor. She and her husband have been trying for ages to get pregnant, though she has suffered several miscarriages. Her husband (Robert Bidaman) feels that their love life has now become a tight schedule, and he is frustrated that Meagan will not consider adopting. Meagan, who has known that she is adopted from the very first minute, is surprised with John's visit, but quickly agrees to travel with him to Connecticut. Back on the East Coast, John still has trouble convincing Hilary to meet with her sisters. Due to his constant visits to her office and home, they fall in love. Because of John, Hilary becomes the third sister to agree to travel to Connecticut. At Patterson's mansion, the three women are happily reunited, and they have dinner with Chapman. Hilary, who feels the whole get-together is a charade, publicly blames Patterson for the death of her parents. She then goes on to explain that she witnessed her father strangling her mother to death, after she had admitted that she has been in love with Patterson for years, and was certain that Meagan is his child. Hilary then leaves the scene in tears. Patterson assures Meagan that he never knew that he was her father, and she calmly tries to process the information. Meagan decides to stay at his death bed, and before he dies, he apologizes for not being in her life. Hilary initially refuses to attend the funeral, but, as a gesture for accepting her past, finally shows up, aided by her new partner John.

Cast

as Hilary Walker *

as John Chapman *

as Alexandra *

as Meagan *

as Arthur Patterson *

as Henry *

as Sam (Father) *

as Solange Bertrand (Mother) *

as Margaret *

as Paula * Mary Jo Keenen as Debi * Ben Lemon as Young Arthur * Erika Flores as Young Hilary *

Rebecca Herbst Rebecca Ann Herbst (born May 12, 1977) is an American actress, known for playing nurse Elizabeth Webber on the ABC Daytime drama ''General Hospital'', a role she originated on August 1, 1997, and Suzee, an alien, on the Nickelodeon show, '' Spa ...

as Emily

References

External links

*
Danielle Steel's ''Fine Things''/''Kaleidoscope''
(''EW'' review) {{Jud Taylor 1990 films 1990 television films 1990 romantic drama films American romantic drama films Films about adoption Films based on American novels Films directed by Jud Taylor Films set in the 1940s Films set in the 1950s Films set in the 1990s Films set in Connecticut Films set in France Films set in New York City Films set in San Francisco Films set in South Carolina American World War II films NBC network original films NBC Productions films Films scored by Dennis McCarthy Films based on works by Danielle Steel American drama television films 1990s American films 1990s English-language films English-language romantic drama films