The Whales of August

10/14/19871h 30m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ The Screen's Immortals... A movie you'll never forget. ~

Overview:

Two aged sisters reflect on life and the past during a late summer day in Maine.

Director:

Lindsay Anderson

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Key words:

sibling relationship
based on play or musical
maine
elderly
elderly lady
sister sister relationship

Cast

Bette Davis

~ as ~

Libby Strong

Lillian Gish

~ as ~

Sarah Webber

Vincent Price

~ as ~

Mr. Maranov

Ann Sothern

~ as ~

Tisha Doughty

Harry Carey, Jr.

~ as ~

Joshua Brackett

Margaret Ladd

~ as ~

Young Libby

Mary Steenburgen

~ as ~

Young Sarah

Tisha Sterling

~ as ~

Young Tisha

Frank Grimes

~ as ~

Mr. Beckwith

Frank Pitkin

~ as ~

Old Randall

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

CinemaSerf
Written 3 year(s) ago
7
When I see this, I cannot help but wonder how much actual acting Bette Davis and Lilian Gish (who made her first film in 1912!) were doing, and how much of their performances were but second nature for two elderly ladies who were simply being themselves in this screen adaptation of David Berry's play. The sisters, now spinsters, spend their summers away from the heat of Pittsburgh in a small cottage on an island off the coat of Maine. Davis ("Libby") is blind and reliant on Gish ("Sarah"), her slightly more nimble, certainly more amenable sister as they live out their lives contemplating what has gone before. Vincent Price adds some delicate diversion to the dynamic, sparingly, as a local gentlemen who, having escaped from revolutionary Russia, has his own stories to tell too. It moves very much at it's own pace, evoking quite poignantly the day-to-lives of the women as one of them is clearly suffering the effects of senility tempered with odd spells of lucidity that demonstrate the fragility of life and of the aging process. You won't need a tissue, but you might want to pick up the phone to your grandmother afterwards...