Family of Strangers is a docudrama that centers around Gilbert's character blacking-out behind the wheel of her car only to need brain surgery.  Before she can have it, however, her doctor asks if there is a history of stroke in her family.  If there is, Melissa cannot have the surgery and will die.  When Gilbert asks her father, he stuns her by admitting she was adopted.  The remainder of the movie centers around Gilbert's attempts at locating her birth parents to find out if she is eligible for the necessary surgery. 

Duke plays Gilbert's birth mother, Beth Thompson.  It seems as though she enjoys her work as a beautician and comes across as someone who is very caring and whom one would love to have as a friend.  However, appearances can be deceiving.

 
Family of Strangers is one of my favorite movies.  Both Gilbert and Duke give wonderful performances; the dramatic scenes are brilliantly acted.  On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give this movie a 10.

--Written for The Official Patty Duke Webpage by Millie Tirk.

A Christmas Memory (1997 TV)

Patty Duke, Piper Laurie, Jeffery DeMunn, Anita Gillette, Eric Lloyd.

Poignant retelling of Truman Capote’s touching Christmas-themed memoir.  Perhaps best known for his incisive endeavor into literary journalism with his best-selling book, In Cold Blood, and his public denouncement of Valley of the Dolls author, Jacqueline Susann, Capote’s story proves a warm and touching look at family life during 1930s America .

The movie begins with seven-year-old Buddy (Lloyd) and his almost eldery and slightly learning disabled cousin, Sook (Duke), cooking in the family kitchen.  Immediately, one is able to witness the chemistry shared not only by the two characters, but by the actors who portray them.  Eric Lloyd’s conveyance of emotion is spellbinding, while Patty Duke’s depiction of Sook’s childlike naiveté should have captured the Emmy Award.

Thoroughly encapsulating all aspects of Depression-era living in the Deep South , A Christmas Memory follows the misadventures of Buddy’s childhood.  With Sook, he shared a bond so strong, he feared death if ever separated.

While on Christmas vacation, Buddy and Sook spend their days baking holiday fruit cakes to send to those most important: friends and family, Eleanor Roosevelt, and beloved movie star, Joan Crawford.  Because neither has the money to spend on ingredients or postage, they saved spare pennies all year, and bartered with Mr. Ha Ha, the town bartender, for a low price on whiskey—Sook’s secret ingredient.

According to Duke, Sook remains one of her favorite roles.  Additionally, she turned to the memory of her mother, Frances, for her character’s stylistic idiosyncrasies.  And perhaps in no film since The Miracle Worker, has Duke’s portrayal been so compelling, so believable.

Although critics did not look favorably upon this adaptation, the collective experience of pathos produced by the ensemble is extremely powerful.

This story was originally released on television in 1967, in which actress Geraldine Page won the Emmy.  However, Duke’s version embodies the emotion and audience’s devotion and loyalties, reducing Page’s version to a mere narration.

- Carrie Smith, The Official Patty Duke Webpage  ****

A heartwarming new holiday drama starring Patty Duke and Eric Lloyd, based on Truman Capote’s short story of that title about a young boy’s special friendship with his much older cousin as they prepare for their last Christmas together.

- CBS Television Network