The Whales of August

Plot synopsis:
The events take place during a single summer day in Maine, in a cottage on an island. The camera stays indoors except when the characters take walks to the water. Two elderly widowed sisters are summering in the cottage, as they have done for 60 years. The sisters frequently relate events of the past to each other. Sarah Webber (Lillian Gish) is the older of the two, the owner, and is caretaker to her blind sister Libby Strong (Bette Davis). Every August, they have watched the whales passing in the nearby waters, but the sense is that this may be their last summer together.Sarah is living life the way it's important to her, friendly, attentive, gracious, worried about continuing to care for her sister. She cleans, makes beanie animals for the fall fair, cooks, serves meals and tea and keeps the house in order. Libby is contrary, cantankerous, and psychologically ready to die.Mr. Maranov (Vincent Price) is an old man originally of the Imperial Russian aristocracy who has been living in a rented room in the house of a neighbor woman who has recently died. Maranov arrives in mid-morning, announces his presence and makes small talk, asks permission to fish from their shore, and goes to the shore to fish, but he really is fishing around for a place to live.Joshua Brackett (Harry Carey, Jr.) is a noisy handyman man who drops in to offer to install a picture window.
Joshua says he can get a good deal on the materials and can do the work in about two weeks. Libby brushes off the idea, saying they are too old for anything new.A neighbor and life long friend of the sisters, Tisha Doughty (Ann Sothern) shows up to gossip, complain about newcomers and losing her drivers license, and by the way suggests to Sarah that she might want to think of selling the old cottage and leave Libby's care to her daughter. Sarah is close to being convinced, until she remembers how Libby helped her when her own husband died. They guess that Maranov is trying to ingratiate himself with Sarah to see whether she will rent him a room, as he needs to move soon.There are quiet scenes in which Sarah talks to old photographs as she cleans or fixes up her hair and makeup.Later in the day, Maranov has caught some fish and offers part of his catch to Sarah. Sarah accepts, puts the fish in her refrigerator, and invites Maranov to come to dinner to eat the fish. Libby protests that she will not under any circumstances eat of that fish, nor get dressed for dinner. Sarah promises to fix a pork chop for Libby, as she is sweet in her sisterly devotion to Libby and avoids getting drawn into her moods. She always calls her dear. She brushes her hair, fixes breakfast for her, gets her clothes together and tends to the garden. "Busy, busy, busy" is how Libby talks about her, and irritatingly calls her Say-rah throughout. In a moving sequence, Libby brushes her own face with a lock of her husband's hairwhile sitting alone in her bedroom.Mr. Maranov arrives for dinner, dressed up as best he can, after having picked a few flowers, and the threesome have a candlelight dinner, during which Maranov entertains the sisters with stories from the old aristocratic days, exile in Paris, and his life since then. He has little money and has survived mainly on the kindness of others.The relatively pleasant dinner session comes to an end when Libby unequivocally announces that no way will they even consider letting Maranov live in their house. Sarah is shown in an emotional scene in which she celebrates her 46th wedding anniversary by having an imaginary conversation with her long deceased husband. "Forty-six years, Phillip", she tells him. "Forty-six red roses; forty-six white. White for truth--red for passion. That's what you always said--passion and truth; that's all we need. I wish you were here, Phillip."Tisha Doughty arrives together with Mr. Beckwith (Frank Grimes) in a vintage car. Beckwith is a real estate agent who believes that Sarah may want to put her house up for sale. Sarah, much annoyed at the suggestion, eventually orders Mr. Beckwith out, determined not to sell.Joshua Brackett the handyman returns to the house to look for a wrench he might have left behind earlier. He is constantly making a racket as he enters or leaves or rummages in the garden. Libby asks for Joshua to come into the house, asks questions about the proposed picture window, and announces that she and her sister have agreed to go ahead with the project.The picture window project is symbolic, in that Libby shows her first sign in possibly many years of not giving in to death. Sarah is delighted with the prospect of getting her picture window installed. Libby asks Sarah to walk her out to the point, the spot from which they used to watch the whales go by.

Tags: flashback

Review:
I'm 22 years old and yet this movie about two elderly sisters and their friends touched my heart deeply.I must admit before I begin that I am a fan of Bette Davis and Vincent Price, and that Miss Lillian Gish is my all time favorite actress, so my view of this film may be skewed.
However, I must admit and admire the sheer artistry of these actors (including the unsung Ann Sothern) and their ability to take a simple story and turn it into an engaging, emotional tour de force film of power and majesty.Miss Gish was in the twilight of her life in this, her last film, but you could still see the same actress who touched audiences in 1919's "Broken Blossoms"...the same powerful skills which are on display in 1928's "The Wind", and the same quiet dignity portrayed in 1959's "The Night of the Hunter".
His role as the Count, warm, friendly, scared and courtly, was probably the most sympathetic character in the film.All in all, a touching, beautiful tribute to the legends of the screen and to the movies themselves.
Starring not only Bette Davis and Lilian Gish, alone worth anybody's money, well advanced into the autumn of their years, but also a very welcome Vincent Price, and a magnificent Ann Sothern together with her real daughter, Tisha Sterling.A slow sensitive story in which each one looks back on life from differing perspectives; as usual, Bette Davis is in a dominating rôle, which, despite her advanced years, carries off quite well; Lillian Gish is just superb, lending that toned-down equanimous nature of hers which pervades the whole atmosphere of the film.
Just a few weeks after being invited to the San Sebastián Film Festival  her last public engagement  Bette Davis died, as has Lillian Gish: unrepeatable..
The film centers on a beautiful and simple story about the bonds of sisters, the disappointments of life, and the waning days of one last summer on the coast of Maine.The legendary, and I mean LEGENDARY, Lillian Gish stars here at age 93 as Sarah.
Lindsay Anderson's The Whales of August stars silent film legend Lillian Gish, in her 95th year, and Bette Davis, 79, as widowed sisters, one warm and supportive, the other cold and cantankerous, who have been coming to a small cottage on the Maine seacoast for sixty years.
The film also features Vincent Price as Mr. Maranov, a down on his luck but charming Russian refugee whom Libby suspects is trying to worm his way in with them, and Haray Caray, Jr. as Joshua Brackett, a handyman who is forever making a racket in the house.
I had heard that The Whales of August was little more than a vehicle for two aging stars to sing their swan song; however, I found the screenplay by David Berry to gracefully complement the performances with an emotional honesty that captures the truth of the characters.
Elegantly tasteful inter-personal story about 2 elderly sisters -- played by Gish and Davis, the all-time queens of the screen -- who are haunted by the past and unsure of the future.
One sister, the elder (Davis) is literally blind -- an attribute she claims is intentional: "I'm working on my ears, now."  Gish suffers her changing emotions and bitter appraisal of life only so far -- she wants to have a future, even if it is a frightening, uncertain one.
I will attempt to be as impartial as possible in my review, but right from the outset, I do believe that the flaw in this magnificently presented tribute' is not in the actresses (as most commentary' seem to be intent  particularly on Davis), but in the film itself.Libby (Davis) provides with gusto a controlled, deep and thoughtful portrayal of ageing that has soured with time.
If there is one fault in her overall performance, it is her first scene, where appearing to almost glow in the dark like a ghostly image, wanting to convey to us her blindness, she relies heavily upon her trademark hand and eye movement, for which she is renowned for instead of allowing us to observe more gently the introduction of Libby Strong.Gish stands out as truly magnificent.
Thank you Bette Davis, Lillian Gish, Sothern, Carey Jr. and Price.
Lillian Gish plays Sarah Webber the oldest of the two and she is caring for her sister Libby Strong (Bette Davis) who is blind and maybe in the early stages of senility.
I was charmed by the simple beauty of watching aged movie stars in their final film roles.
Bette Davis, Lillian Gish and Vincent Price, as well as Ann Sothern, are all veterans of the great "Hollywood Era" and it shows.
The Whales of August follow the events of just more than a day in the life of two sisters, Sarah (Lillian Gish) and Libby (Bette Davis).
I found Vincent Price wonderfully suited to the role of Mr. Maranov, and Ann Sothern was quite convincing as the sisters' childhood friend.Obviously, if you are looking for action or high drama, this isn't it.
Sensitive and compassionate little movie about the last days of live of two senior sisters (superbly played by Davis and Gish) in their house in Maine.
Anyway, the chance of watch two great actress, in fact, more than that because Davis and Gish are really two simbols of the movie history, is a fine and rewarding experience.
for the memories from films in which Lillian Gish, Bettle Davis, Ann Sothern,Haarry Carey Jr. or Vincent Price were the stars.
This charming and thoroughly enjoyable film features a magnificent cast headed by screen legends Bette Davis and Lillian Gish.
Ann Sothern co-stars as their spirited friend and neighbor, Harry Carey is their rackety handyman, and Vincent Price is a gentlemanly Russian 'emigre' who takes a romantic interest in Gish.Ann Sothern received a much deserved Academy Award nomination for her delightful performance.
Two Sisters, One Family House in Maine, One day in August, Summer is ending, and so are the lives of the Sisters and their summers at the house.This is a great movie, Bette Davis and Lillian Gish, to have seen them in their early films, and see them in this movie, time may have taken their youth, but time has not taken their inner beauty and their ability to act....To watch these two ladies in the film, you would think that this isn't a movie, but a moment that is happening right now, being filmed on a camera.Vincent Price and Ann Southern are a wonderful addition to the cast, Price as a member of 'royalty' who is down on his luck and broke...
Gish's character Sarah is a wonderful woman, she's living life the way it's important to her, at her age, she cleans, makes beanie animals for the fall fair, and spends an intimate moment with her husbands memory.
Bette Davis and Vincent Price are the two actors that do that but it really is Lillian Gish that steels the show and it doesn't matter that none of them are still with us as this timeless classic will keep them close to hand..
Bette Davis (Libby) and Lillian Gish (Sarah) are outstanding in their roles.
The effects of Miss Davis' recent real-life stroke only add to the poignancy of her performance.Deliberately and lovingly paced by director Lindsay Anderson, the story reveals how the sisters interact with a dispossessed Russian aristocrat played by Vincent Price, neighbor Ann Sothern, and handyman Harry Carey Jr. during a day at their island cottage.
The tension between the bitter Libby and sunny Sarah doesn't obscure the underlying subtle affection they have for each other.The Whales of August is a crowning achievement for Lillian Gish and Bette Davis at the end of their long careers..
The blind sister, portrayed by Bette Davis, is irascible and hard-to-please, whereas her sister, winningly played by Lillian Gish, displays an inner strength in her patient dealings with her difficult sibling.
"Can one live beyond one's time?" ponders the 93 year old Sarah (Lillian Gish).
This summarises one of the key themes in Lindsay Anderson's moving drama The Whales of August, which focuses on the relationship between sisters Sarah and Libby (Bette Davis).
While Sarah is positive and open to changes, Libby is bitter, resigned to her looming death, and opposes Sarah's ideas to install a window that would allow the moonlight to shine through the home in the evening.There is no real plot in The Whales of August, and is instead a moving character piece that allows a quartet of wonderful actors - Vincent Price and Ann Sothern as well as the aforementioned - to flex their muscles again.
Post-stroke and looking extremely gaunt, Davis sadly fairs less well, and although I consider her to be possibly the greatest actress to ever grace the screen, her performance lacks any real emotion.Beyond the performances, the film is contemplative and somewhat sad.
Thus, we have Lillian Gish, arguably the greatest actress of the silent screen, 91 years old here and in her final film; Bette Davis, arguably the greatest actress of Hollywood's Golden Age, poststroke here at 79; Ann Sothern, everyone's favorite sweet/tough broad, at 78; AND that grand old guy Vincent Price, the relative stripling of the bunch at a tender 76!
The story here concerns two sisters, played by Gish and Davis, who spend their days puttering around in their house off the coast of Maine in the mid-1950s.
The incredible nine decade career of Lillian Gish came to a glorious end when partnered with Bette Davis she made The Whales Of August.
I only wish that Bette had ended her six decade career on the high note of this film.There's no real plot to The Whales Of August, but the film is a fascinating and heart breaking story of old age when two widowed sisters have no one else but each other in extreme old age.
The stars are aided and abetted by some cinema contemporaries including Ann Sothern as a long time friend, Vincent Price departing the horror genre to play an aging gigolo and permanent party guest, and Harry Carey, Jr. in one of his non-western credits playing the village handyman.
And I'm glad to see it was photographed on Cliff Isle, Maine and not somewhere in Canada standing for the USA.But what drives the film are the two performances and the chemistry between Lillian Gish and Bette Davis.
Whales of August, The (1989)*** (out of 4) Bette Davis, Lillian Gish and Vincent Price lead this terrific cast, which served as one last shining moment for the legends with Ann Sothern and Harry Carey, Jr. having supporting roles.
The film centers on Sarah (Gish) who is taking care of her sister Libby (Davis) who is blind.
The movie runs 90-minutes and is pretty much one dialogue scene after another and the "fun" in watching this film isn't the story but instead is just seeing these legends turning in fine performances at the end of their careers.
Also, how spectacular it is to see the performance of these great actors -- Gish, Davis, Souther, Price and Carey.
Lillian Gish and Bette Davis play sisters who spend the summer together on an island off the coast of Maine.
The Whales of August is the only film I have seen Lillian Gish actually speaking and acting.
Lillian Gish offers a fine performance in this her last film role.
During filming, Lillian Gish was 93 years of age, Bette Davis 79, Vincent Price 75 and Ann Southern 78..
Advancing years and a toll of illnesses have left their mark on Bette Davis, but seeing the still-sprightly 94-year old Lillian Gish, a silver screen veteran from cinema's infancy, is enough to send a shiver down the spine of any film buff.
Each is cast in perfect character, portraying widowed sisters living together on the coast of Maine: Gish is modest, optimistic, indefatigable; Davis is stubborn, moody, and cantankerous.
Unfortunately, the respected subject matter was well beyond their years.Lillian Gish shines her final film performance as Sarah, older sister to Libby, portrayed by Bette Davis.
There are even times when it seems a little frighteningly realistic to watch and see Bette Davis hobble around and screech "Say-rah!" in her sleep as you wonder exactly just how hard it really is for her to try and keep it together.Ann Sothern is one of the film's highlights.
One amusing highlight in this movie is when Sothern offers a bowl of blueberries to Davis and yet moves it out of her reach knowing fully well that she is blind.Vincent Price delivers a fine performance as a Russian immigrant who has a tender spot for Gish.
While indeed it is certainly astounding to see Gish, Davis, Price and Sothern on screen together, we are not there to watch a reunion of film veterans.
This play/film is really about the desire of movie-goers to see a final or near final performance of five well-known actors and actresses: Bette Davis, Lillian Gish, Vincent Price, Ann Sothern, and Harry Carey, Jr. In fact, the film is little more than that, plus some lovely shots of the Maine seashore.
Sothern in particular is excellent, playing a character, listening to the other players, fully present in every scene.The weakness of this film, I'm sorry to say, is the performance of Bette Davis.
For any cinephile, thrills and veneration aplenty can be elicited from the sole banner "a movie starring Bette Davis and Lillian Gish", to say nothing of THE WHALES OF AUGUST is both celluloid doyennes' (quasi) swan song (Davis' penultimate, and Lillian's last film), plus in a lesser extent, it also features a fine Vincent Price in his twilight years and bookends veteran entertainer Ann Sothern's six-decade long career (and surprisingly, it is she who is given an Oscar nomination for a rather prosaic impression, which only precipitates one's reckoning it is a token validation of the film per se and her hitherto unheralded track record), lastly, it is the final theatrical feature of director Lindsay Anderson, the high priest of British New Wave.
It is only logical that THE WHALES OF AUGUST is an elegiac piece of work cogitating and reminiscing about time, mortality, past glory and reconciliation, two elderly widow sisters, Sarah (Gish) diligently attends to her blind, elder sister Libby (Davis) in their seaward abode on Maine's Cliff Island (In reality Gish was 93, 15-years senior of a 78-year-young Davis), while Libby has become ever so bitter and disagreeable to live with, Sarah is tempted to slough off the heavy burden and sell their house, encouraged by their common lifelong friend Tisha (Sothern), but after a visit from and sequentially a dinner with Nicholas Maranov (Price, still a handsome specimen of chivalry and proprieties, impeccably leaves a trace of hurt that otherwise, is beautifully hidden underneath his inscrutable facade), an old-money Russian expatriate who is forced to find a new lodging by his landlady's sudden departure, the next morning, Sarah finds a new take on her and her sister's status quo.
But that is not what matters now.I saw it on the first day of 2010, twenty-three years after it was made, 72 years after Vincent Price's first movie appearance, 79 years after Bette Davis's, 83 after Ann Sothern's, and 98 after Lillian Gish's -- in color, in a world I recognize well from my teenage years: I was 18 in 1987.
Oh, there are characters here, but are they Sarah, Libby, Tisha, and Maranov, or are they Gish, Davis, Sothern, and Price?
The thought of seeing Lillian Gish, Bette Davis, Vincent Price, Ann Sothern and Harry Carey, Jr. again after all these years made this a must-see for me, but a lot of people have no idea who many (or even all) of these people are and the slow pace may irritate those who MUST have an action picture or comedy or nothing.I must admit, the movie is very slow paced.
Patient, kind Lillian Gish (as Sarah Webber) and contrary, cantankerous Bette Davis (as Libby Strong) are two aging sisters; who spend what is likely to be their last summer together, arguing about their limited future.
Vincent Price, Ann Sothern, and Harry Carey Jr. are a great supporting cast.
********* The Whales of August (8/19/87) Lindsay Anderson ~ Lillian Gish, Bette Davis, Vincent Price, Ann Sothern.
Aging is difficult due to growing infirmities plus financial concerns, and especially in America the elderly are not liked because the young are terrified of eventually becoming like them.The Whales of August filmed in 1987 was a swan song for several outstanding performers: Lillian Gish, Bette Davis, Vincent Price.
Farewell My Lovelies: Davis, Gish, Sothern & Price.
It was a lovely film, starring Lillian Gish, Bette Davis, Ann Sothern, and Vincent Price.
Libby and Sarah are two sisters in their eighties, living in an old house by the sea in Maine, and life is going on as usual.
Their idle days are pleasantly interrupted by old friend Ann Sothern and a dashing Russian aristocrat (Vincent Price) who is courting Gish.
It's a real treat seeing Davis, Gish,, Sothern, and Vincent Price in their very senior years.
If I hadn't known that this script was a play before ever it was a film, watching her sit stubborn and hostile in her chair as Libby, the 'difficult' sister, I'd probably have assumed that the part had been written specifically for her as a typecast "Bette Davis role".
Any classic film aficionado will no likely feel their heart rate accelerate a bit seeing old pros Lillian Gish, Bette Davis, Vincent Price and Ann Sothern cast as the main protagonists in a drama, and deservedly so.
Bette Davis, Ann Southern and Vincent Price are likewise icons of yesteryear and watching them perform here, at the end of their own lives and careers, is strangely moving.
Bette Davis as her sister is really a second fiddle as her performance here is no different that it had been in several films.