Watch The Sisters For Free

People are voting emotionally.

Boring

Better Late Then Never

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

. . . please please PLEAE do NOT confuse viewers by posting actual lingering shots of chapter-opening pages, leaving them on-screen long enough for even watchers WITHOUT a "pause" function to take in sentences which completely confuse folks just wanting to watch a flick (and who would have BOUGHT THE BOOK, if that was their intention). It's okay to have some fine print in your opening credits to specify what connection, if any, your film has to a printed story (often of the same name as the motion picture). But it's probably NEVER smart to reduce your feature film to Kindle-like marginalia on an interactive E-book page. That's essentially what Warner Bros. does in adapting its version of Myron Brinig's novel, THE SISTERS. This movie begins with a lingering shot of the novel's first page, followed by many other such static "scenes." About 54 minutes, 5 seconds into SISTERS we're up to "Chapter 12." However, more than 26 minutes later (or at 1:20:25, to be precise), we're back at "Chapter 10"! Worse yet, the first sentence of this EARLIER chapter is "Two years passed." Did Warner Bros. just slip into a TIME MACHINE when no one was looking?! What the heck just happened, and WHEN are we?! THE SISTERS teaches us that Charles W. Fairbanks was America's Vice President from 1905-1909, and that James S. Sherman held that job for the following four years--but not much else.

Bette Davis never missed a chance to knock Errol Flynn in public--"He thought I was a fool to work so hard," she related to Dick Cavett. But in this well-produced period romance, he's much more interesting than she is, playing a rootless journalist who falls in love with Davis at first sight (and can you believe that, with Anita Louise in the room?) and proves an unreliable, alcoholic, ill-tempered spouse. Bette hasn't much to play, and does so quietly and realistically. But a parade of great character actors keeps turning up in the supporting cast--Beulah Bondi, Henry Travers, Alan Hale, Jane Bryan, Lee Patrick, Laura Hope Crews, Ian Hunter, the always-underrated Dick Foran--and the period details, including a short but spiffy 1906 San Francisco earthquake, are excellent. Max Steiner contributes one of his usual single-tuneful-theme-repeated-over-and-over scores, and Anatole Litvak keeps things moving fast. The happy ending is totally unconvincing, and, as others have suggested, it wouldn't have hurt to provide a little more detail on the lives of the two other sisters. But it's an exceedingly handsome film, with an exceedingly handsome leading man.

Bette Davis (as Louise Elliott) is a Montana woman who marries San Franciscan sports reporter Errol Flynn (as Frank Medlin). Her sisters Anita Louise (as Helen), and Jane Bryan (as Grace) marry at the same time; the three sisters find wedded bliss is short-lived. Supporting floozies Lee Patrick and Laura Hope Crews are a very well-matched mother and daughter tag-team who befriend the deserted "Louise".Whatever the film's original intentions may have been, it is really about ONE sister; naturally, it's the sister played by Bette Davis, and HER marriage to the character played by Errol Flynn. The stars are in fine form as the love-struck young couple who hit on hard times. Ms. Davis is refreshing as a housewife who becomes ill in a smoke-filled boxing arena, and Mr. Flynn is convincing as the husband who drinks to heal his wounded pride. Flynn asks a significant question about his character: why did marriage make his wife strong, and himself weak? Similarly, the objective of "The Sisters" as a film is strong, and the story weak. Yet, the production level is high; and, historical events like Presidential elections (Roosevelt, Taft) and the San Francisco earthquake are used to great advantage. ****** The Sisters (1938) Anatole Litvak ~ Bette Davis, Errol Flynn, Anita Louise

Errol Flynn and Bette Davis did the first of two films together in The Sisters and curiously enough it followed landmark films for both of them, The Adventures of Robin Hood for Flynn and Bette's second Academy Award winner, Jezebel.It was an interesting project for both, but fell somewhat flat at the box office. Still it's not a bad film at all and for Flynn it was an attempt to expand his range as player.Bette's usual shtick is held firmly in check my director Anatole Litvak. She's one of three daughters of Henry Travers and Beulah Bondi of Broken Bow Montana and the action of the film takes place between Election Day of 1904 and 1908. Shortly after the first election where all three encounter the men they would marry.For Jane Bryan it's Dick Foran, a proper young man of business who soon becomes president of the bank and they settle down to a nice middle class existence. It's only threatened when Foran falls victim to the town tart briefly, one of many men in the area.For Anita Louise, she's a naughty flirt who likes romance, but also likes her creature comforts. She marries Alan Hale who's the wealthiest guy in town, who's also a widower looking for a trophy wife. She lucks into the best of both worlds when he dies leaving her well provided for and free to pursue love in comfort.But the main plot revolves around Bette Davis who marries newspapermen Errol Flynn, a charming, but essentially weak character. He likes to drink and carouse and even impending fatherhood doesn't put a damper on that. He leaves her, purely coincidentally right in the middle of the San Francisco Earthquake.Some don't like Flynn's performance, but I think he did fine in the role. The problem was that the brothers Warner filmed two different endings and gave into public opinion in the one you see. Flynn, by the way thought they did the wrong thing. Without giving it away, the ending should have resembled one they gave Four Daughters which was also produced by them in 1938.Despite the fact that Errol and Bette hated each other they got through the film and it's not bad. Look also for good performances from Donald Crisp as Flynn's sportswriter friend and Ian Hunter who gives Bette a job after Flynn leaves her and loves her as well.