Stylish but barely mediocre overall

Sadly Over-hyped

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Louise is swept off 19th century feet When Frank comes to a local dance. These characters in the film are your neighbors next door, likeable and honest. Errol gives a fine performance of a man who wants to accomplish more in his life. Frank is frustrated he wants to provide more for his wife, seven by guilt it's easier to bend your elbow with a drink in your hand Donald Crisp plays a friend to Frank yet Frank is torn up inside The scene where Frank meets Louise at her office he tells her about a job he is taking the look of anguish and guilt hit me hard. Watch this movie Enjoy the story An afternoon spent with Errol Flynn is never a waste of time

The same year as her Oscar winning role in "Jezebel" and the Oscar nominated family drama, "Four Daughters", Bette Davis was one of three daughters in this sensational sleeper. Along with Jane Bryan and Anita Louise, Davis is the daughter of stern, judgmental (but still loving) Beulah Bondi and the plain spoken, more understanding Henry Travers, simple folk in a small Montana town. One sensational night, Davis meets San Francisco based sports writer Errol Flynn who proposes without even thinking about the words coming out. Bryan marries the man of her dreams (Dick Foran) and starts a family, while Louise agrees to marry the much older Alan Hale Sr. who gives her everything she wants even though he knows she doesn't love him. Davis relocates to San Francisco and goes through every possible turmoil imaginable, even finding herself in the middle of the great earthquake of 1906. Through correspondence, the sisters all express their individual problems, including Bryan who believes that her husband is cheating on her. This leads to a great scene where the three sisters confront three other men allegedly involved with the unseen woman. What works about this drama is not just the great Bette Davis and the very complicated Errol Flynn, pretty much the same lovable cad as John Garfield's in "Four Daughters". That sensational Warner Brothers sound comes through in the lush musical score, aided by the lush sets and costumes, and fantastic special effects for the earthquake sequence.A great supporting cast including Donald Crisp as the adviser pal to Flynn, Lee Patrick as the irritating but likable chatterbox neighbor of Davis and Flynn, and Ian Hunter as Davis's understanding boss makes this truly an underrated gem. This starts on the day of Theodore Roosevelt's presidential election, deals with the rise of automobiles as the main method of transportation, and ends with the election of President Taft. It shows that as the world changes, so does family.

"The Sisters" was Bette Davis first film after "Jezabel" and she was definitely on her way, into the territory of romantic women's films ie "The Old Maid", "The Letter" and "In This Our Life". They were glossy and highly dramatic films to showcase Warner's top female star. They were very entertaining as well. Davis must have been very pleased when she was given the role of the quiet, dependable Louise Elliot, who along with her two sisters, flirty Helen ( beautiful Anita Louise) and young and enthusiastic Grace (Jane Bryan) are preparing for the 1904 election night ball. They also meet their future husbands at the ball. Louise is almost engaged to boorish Tom'(Dick Foran) when she meets restless but exciting Frank Medlin. Errol Flynn is so heartbreakingly handsome in this early role. It is love at first sight for both of them.Vain Helen opts for security and marries genial Sam (Alan Hale). Grace, who has always admired Tom, is around to pick up the pieces when Louise elopes with Frank to San Francisco. Life is tough for Louise. Money is tight and Frank takes to drinking heavily when responsibility catches up with him. When Louise loses her baby, she finds a job in a department store to help pay bills, while Frank sinks into a depression, and decides to walk out and "find" himself.Then comes the San Francisco earthquake. Louise wanders the city looking for Frank, but finds her neighbour Flora (Lee Patrick), who is staying with her mother (Laura Hope Crewes), who in turn is running a brothel. They nurse her back to health and when Frank doesn't turn up she returns to work and makes herself indispensable to Benson (Ian Hunter).Two years pass - Helen, who has enjoyed an "open" marriage with Sam, is now a widow. Louise goes back to Silver Bow to help save Grace's marriage to Tom. He is running around with the town tramp Isabel Taylorthe sisters help run her out of town.The 1908 election ball is on. Helen is going with soon to be husband No. 3, Grace has reconciled with Tom and Frank goes to Silver Bow for a reconciliation with Louise. It all ends with the three sisters united in happiness.Beulah Bondi is excellent as usual as their mother.Highly Recommended.

Upon seeing this relatively forgotten film, I kept getting flashes of the type of movie adaptations of E. M. Forster's novels "Howard's End" and "Where Angels Fear to Tread", both made into successful movies during the early 1990s.Despite being a story heavily entrenched in Americana, beginning and ending with the election of presidents and the symbolic position of the three Eliott sisters and their relation to their husbands and their parents, there is an interesting feel that this would have eventually been picked up by the BBC and turned into a Masterpiece Theatre miniseries. The reason for this being that while Bette Davis' character Louise Elliot gets the lion's share of the story of the three sisters, I felt that the other two -- Grace and Helen -- are left somewhat adrift and under-developed, and this leaves the title of the movie a little misleading. There is so much that could have been done had the entire Elliot family been fleshed out, but due to an expiration date of 100 minutes and the presence of Davis, Errol Flynn and Ian Hunter (all stars in their own right and needing screen time), this would have been nearly impossible and back then, ensemble movies were rare.However, THE SISTERS is a very good movie that holds up well. The San Francisco earthquake scene is handled well using a mix of stock footage and a shaking set, making the viewing experience real, even when it's clear that the background "skyline" is as still as Ayer's Rock. It's also a part of the films Bette Davis made during the time when she was getting better parts and high-profile projects and was about to become BETTE DAVIS. She looks remarkably similar -- minus the pencil-thin line she draws on her mouth -- to Regina Giddens in THE LITTLE FOXES, without the harshness. Errol Flynn is well-matched with Davis although she stated not liking working with him and fought to have her name over his in the opening credits due to the fact the plot revolved around her and not him. She would get this, though, the next time they'd work together in THE PRIVATE LIVES OF ELIZABETH AND ESSEX, and by then she'd be an even bigger, stronger star than Flynn.