The 1938 filmization of Myron Brinig's novel The Sisters stars Bette Davis, Jane Bryan and Anita Louise as Louise, Grace and Helen Elliot. The daughters of turn-of-the-century druggist Henry Travers and his wife Beulah Bondi, the Elliot girls all meet their future husbands at a 1904 ball in honor of President Teddy Roosevelt. Special emphasis is given the relationship between Louise and reckless, irresponsible newspaperman Frank Medlin (Errol Flynn). Feeling trapped by his marriage, Medlin turns
to drink and philandering. When Frank eventually runs off to Singapore, Louise is too proud to hold her husband by informing him that she's pregnant. Caught up in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake (superbly conveyed with a single interior shot of a collapsing apartment), Louise wanders around dazedly until she finds shelter in an Oakland brothel (though it is not so specified). She loses her baby, but is consoled by her employer Ian Hunter, who falls in love with her. The original book ended with Louise giving up her unhappy marriage for a joyous relationship with her boss; the film ends with Louise being reunited with the suddenly sobered Frank (despite the protests of both Bette Davis and Errol Flynn). A prime example of Hollywood Soap Opera, The Sisters also yielded an amusing reel of outtakes, the best of which shows Bette Davis breaking up Errol Flynn by sighing "I've just had a baby in the ladies' room." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
***1/2 (out of four)
Bette Davis and her fellow actors are all in fine form in this soapy drama that rises above its atmosphere and becomes a little gem.
The storyu centers around three sisters and the future husbands they meet at a 1904 ball honoring Theodore Roosevelt. Davis falls for a dashing newspaper man who
tends to bolt when he feels tied down.
The film is highlighted with a nicely shot backdrop of the San Francisco earthquake.
May 25, 2011
Steve Smith
Any Bette Davis movie is worth checking out. This one is very fine, with Bette not letting her fans down. It's a good story of three sisters marrying and their lives taking different paths. Errol Flynn does well as Bette's husband. Well produced by Warner Brothers.
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