The Sisters (1938)

Director:

Anatole Litvak

Writers:

Milton Krims (screenplay)
Myron Brinig (novel)

Release Date:

14 October 1938 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Three sisters attend a celebration of the inauguration of Teddy Roosevelt. Each will marry a man in attendance...

Plot Keywords:

Montana | Earthquake | Miscarriage | William Howard Taft | Department Store

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Errol Flynn	...	Frank Medlin
Bette Davis	...	Louise Elliott Medlin
Anita Louise	...	Helen Elliott Johnson
Ian Hunter	...	William Benson
Donald Crisp	...	Tim Hazelton
Beulah Bondi	...	Rose Elliott
Jane Bryan	...	Grace Elliott Knivel
Alan Hale	...	Sam Johnson
Dick Foran	...	Tom Knivel
Henry Travers	...	Ned Elliott
Patric Knowles	...	Norman French
Lee Patrick	...	Flora Gibbon
Laura Hope Crews	...	Flora's Mother
Janet Shaw	...	Stella Johnson
Harry Davenport	...	Doc Moore

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #4407)

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Several people are in studio records/casting call lists as cast members, but they did not appear or were not identifiable in the movie. These were (with their character names, if any): Edwin Brian (Newsboy), Rosella Towne, Susan Hayward, Paulette Evans and Frances Morris (Telephone Operators), John Harron, Lew Harvey, Richard Bond and Mira McKinney. The 4 telephone operators were possibly among a group seen only from the rear and are not recognizable.

Quotes:

Ned Elliott: Unhappiness ain't so bad. It makes happiness all the keener.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in All About Bette (1994) (TV)

Soundtrack:

He's My Pal

Davis good, Flynn not so much

A very watchable chick flick, with a marvelous Bette Davis, and a mundane Errol Flynn. Chick flick (a damnable moniker) is modern shorthand for movies that deal with female themes, relationships, romance, and emotions, which this movie has in abundance. But this film is wonderful; and at the very least is a time capsule preserving 1938 attitudes of turn of the 20th Century history. (From one who has been in a few earthquakes, trust me, the San Francisco Quakescenes are very well done). The story is about the wooing and wedding tales of three sisters, and focuses primarily on the Bette Davis character's romance with Errol Flynn. Davis is pushing the outside of the envelope for a great performance (more than the script gives her),and Flynn is a handsome but uninspired scarecrow. He did not have to reach very far to find the serious minded, alcoholic, sexually confused, and restless soul that he plays here. What spills out is drab. Still, even when he was mediocre, he was special.

I found it difficult to turn this one off, as the production values are superb. The set director does an incredible job of decoration, placing the story in the era. The cinematography and lighting are exceptional. And the makeup! The characters are full of detail from the period, right down to the grease on the face of the automobile drivers. A film lovers film. Don't miss this.