Whales of August, The (1987)
The Whales of August (1987), directed by Lindsay Anderson.
Given the cast, all near the end of their lives, I tend to neglect the simple plot, adapted from a stage play, and marvel over their long fruitful careers. What a long strange trip it was.
In order of seniority we have:
Lillian Gish (94), her last film.
Bette Davis (79), her second to last film.
Ann Sothern (78), her last film.
Vincent Price (76), ten more credits over the next six years.
Harry Carey Jr. (66), lived and worked another 25 years.
They speak and move like elderly people and the acting is "large", but that may be realistic. Old people sometimes do speak with exaggerated emphasis.
Favorite moment: the two sisters are reminiscing about their long-dead husbands and the days of passion. Bette Davis: "You two didn't have to go off and make whoopee every hour". Lillian Gish looks away and sighs.
Ann Sothern had 106 IMDB credits and I cannot remember the last time I saw her. I'll have to revisit A Letter to Three Wives (1949) soon.
I only know Lindsay Anderson from such oddities as if... (1968) and O Lucky Man! (1973) and this was an unexpected subject for him.
Produced by Alive/Island Alive Films who also gave us so many 1980s indie films: Insignificance (1985), The Hit (1984), Choose Me (1984), Trouble in Mind (1985) and The Moderns (1988).
Available on Blu-ray from Kino. The commentary track is a conversation with Mike Kaplan, the producer who conceived the project and got it made. He knew Lillian Gish and wanted a vehicle for her.
He says
Vincent Price's role was meant for John Gielgud, who was otherwise engaged.
Bette Davis was high-maintenance and always accompanied by a lot of drama, but Price and Sothern tended to keep her in check.
