BroadcastChic
Excellent, a Must See
CrawlerChunky
In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.
Jenni Devyn
Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.
mark.waltz
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.
marcslope
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.
Incalculacable
The Sisters (1938) is a little-known Bette Davis movie set in the Victorian era. Louise Elliott (Bette Davis) is expecting a proposal any minute but when she goes to celebrate the inauguration of Teddy Roosevelt, her mind changes when she meets the charming Frank Medlin (a young Errol Flynn). They elope to San Francisco and start their life together. Meanwhile, her two younger sisters back home are making decisions of their own.This is a predictable story, yes, but that does not make it less entertaining. It was a sweet and hopeful movie. Bette Davis is just amazing in it as the sweet sister, hopelessly in life. Her accent is much changed from the last movie I saw her in. Errol Flynn is very dashing, but I can't help thinking he looks a little different from what I remember him as Robin Hood. His acting isn't the best, but he does his best with the material given to him. It's a little soppy at times (especally Flynn's lines) but it brings a smile to your face - it doesn't make you cringe.Overall, a lovely little drama from start to finish. Bette Davis is her usual perfect, captivating self. Thoroughly enjoyable.
MartinHafer
This movie is about three affluent sisters, the men they marry and the result this has on their lives. The focus in particular is on Bette Davis and her unwise choice of Errol Flynn for a husband. This SHOULDN'T come as a big surprise to the audience, as this sort of behavior is more expected from the real-life Flynn than the other male leads! The other sisters have differing success with their love lives, though through it all they have a strong sense of family and decency.The movie scores high marks for excellent acting, writing and production values. While not the best Warner Brothers has to offer, it certainly is among their better efforts.
