''They Were Sisters'' is a 1945 British melodrama film directed by Arthur Crabtree for

Gainsborough Pictures Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, east London. Gainsborough Studios was active between 1924 and 1951. The co ...

and starring

Phyllis Calvert Phyllis Hannah Murray-Hill (née Bickle; 18 February 1915 – 8 October 2002), known professionally as Phyllis Calvert, was an English film, stage and television actress. She was one of the leading stars of the Gainsborough melodramas of the 1 ...

and

James Mason James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, three Golden Globes (winning once) and two ...

. The film was produced by Harold Huth, with cinematography from Jack Cox and screenplay by

Roland Pertwee Roland Pertwee (15 May 1885 – 26 April 1963) was an English playwright, film and television screenwriter, director and actor. He was the father of ''Doctor Who'' actor Jon Pertwee and playwright and screenwriter Michael Pertwee. He was al ...

. ''They Were Sisters'' is noted for its frank, unsparing depiction of marital abuse at a time when the subject was rarely discussed openly. It was one of the Gainsborough melodramas.

Plot

The film focuses on the lives of three sisters: Lucy, Vera and Charlotte. It opens at a dance in 1919, establishing their personalities and following them through courtship and marriage. While the sisters remain close to one another, their characters and paths through life are very different. Lucy is the most stable, sensible, practical and in a happy marriage, whose greatest sadness is her inability to have children, which she sublimates by lavishing affection on her nephews and nieces. Vera is married with a child but the relationship is humdrum and loveless and she is restless and bored, indulging her appetite for adventure and excitement through a series of flirtations, which sometimes go beyond the bounds of the socially acceptable. Charlotte is a cowed drudge, suffering emotional abuse at the hands of her manipulative, brutal husband Geoffrey, who belittles and humiliates her in front of their three children. The film shifts between the three households but its main focus is the way in which Lucy and Vera have to look on, unable to provide effective help despite their best attempts, as Charlotte's treatment by her husband (who, it is strongly implied, is also engaging in an unhealthy relationship with their elder daughter) becomes ever more shocking and she descends into alcoholism to blur her despair. A final attempt by Charlotte to flee Geoffrey ends in tragedy. Vera's marriage, too, crumbles as her husband discovers her in a serious extra-marital relationship and petitions for divorce. The film ends by showing Charlotte's and Vera's children being cared for by the childless Lucy.

Cast

as Lucy Moore *

as Geoffrey Lee *

Hugh Sinclair Admiral Sir Hugh Francis Paget Sinclair, (18 August 1873 – 4 November 1939), known as Quex Sinclair, was a British intelligence officer. He was Director of British Naval Intelligence between 1919 and 1921, and he subsequently helped to se ...

as Terry Crawford * Anne Crawford as Vera Sargeant * Peter Murray Hill as William Moore *

Dulcie Gray Dulcie Winifred Catherine Savage Denison (''née'' Bailey; 20 November 1915 – 15 November 2011), known professionally as Dulcie Gray, was a British actress, mystery writer and lepidopterist. While at drama school in the late 1930s she met a ...

as Charlotte Lee * Barry Livesey as Brian Sargeant * Pamela Kellino as Margaret Lee * Ann Stephens as Judith Lee * Brian Nissen as John Watson * David Horne as Mr. Field *

Joss Ambler Joss Ambler (23 June 1900 – 1959) was an Australian-born British film and television actor. He usually played somewhat pompous and irascible figures of authority, particularly in comedy films. He was an effective foil to George Formby in both ...

as Blakemore *

as Sir Hamish Nair *

Amy Veness Amy Veness (26 February 1876 – 22 September 1960) was an English film actress. She played the role of Grandma Huggett in '' The Huggetts Trilogy'' and was sometimes credited as Amy Van Ness. Veness was born Amy Clarice Beart in Aldeburgh, Su ...

as Mrs. Pursley * Thorley Walters as Channing * John Gilpin as Stephen Lee *

Brefni O'Rorke Brefni O'Rorke (26 June 1889 – 11 November 1946) was an Irish actor, both on the stage and in movies. Early life O'Rorke was born as William Francis Breffni O'Rorke at 2 Esplande Villas in Dollymount, Clontarf, Dublin on 26 June 1889, and b ...

as Coroner * Helen Stephens as Sarah Sargeant * Roy Russell as Lethbridge * Edie Martin as Cook * Dora Sevening as Janet * Helen Goss as Webster * John Dodsworth as Cyril

Background

Unlike most of the hugely successful melodramas made by Gainsborough during the mid-1940s, ''They Were Sisters'' has a near-contemporary rather than a

costume Costume is the distinctive style of dress and/or makeup of an individual or group that reflects class, gender, occupation, ethnicity, nationality, activity or epoch—in short, culture. The term also was traditionally used to describe typica ...

setting, spanning the years from the end of the First World War, to the late 1930s. The screenplay was developed by Pertwee from a popular novel of the same name by Dorothy Whipple, published in 1943. ''They Were Sisters'' features the spouses of both Mason and Calvert; Pamela Mason (billed under her first married name Pamela Kellino, and playing Mason's daughter, despite being only seven years younger) and Peter Murray Hill. Mason later admitted that he acted most of his bullying, sadistic role with a permanent hangover as a result of his using drinking as a means of dealing with the frustration he felt from his role and the British film industry in general.

Reception

The film was very popular at the British box office, being one of the biggest hits of the year. According to ''Kinematograph Weekly'' the 'biggest winners' at the box office in 1945 Britain were '' The Seventh Veil'', with "runners up" being (in release order), '' Madonna of the Seven Moons'', '' Old Acquaintance'', '' Frenchman's Creek'', '' Mrs. Parkington'', '' Arsenic and Old Lace'', '' Meet Me in St. Louis'', '' A Song to Remember'', '' Since You Went Away'', '' Here Come the Waves'', ''

Tonight and Every Night Tonight may refer to: Television * Tonight (1957 TV programme), ''Tonight'' (1957 TV programme), a 1957–1965 British current events television programme hosted by Cliff Michelmore that was broadcast on BBC * Tonight (1975 TV programme), ''Tonigh ...

'', '' Hollywood Canteen'', ''They Were Sisters'', '' The Princess and the Pirate'', '' The Adventures of Susan'', '' National Velvet'', '' Mr. Skeffington'', '' I Live in Grosvenor Square'', ''

Nob Hill Nob Hill is a neighborhood of San Francisco, California, United States that is known for its numerous luxury hotels and historic mansions. Nob Hill has historically served as a center of San Francisco's upper class. Nob Hill is among the highe ...

'', '' Perfect Strangers'', '' The Valley of Decision'', '' Conflict'' and ''

Duffy's Tavern ''Duffy's Tavern'' is an American radio programming, radio sitcom that ran for a decade on several networks (CBS, 1941–42; Blue Network, NBC-Blue Network, 1942–44; and NBC, 1944–51), concluding with the December 28, 1951, broadcast. The ...

''. British "runners up" were ''They Were Sisters'', ''I Live in Grosvenor Square'', ''Perfect Strangers'', ''Madonna of the Seven Moons'', '' Waterloo Road'', '' Blithe Spirit'', '' The Way to the Stars'', '' I'll Be Your Sweetheart'', ''

Dead of Night ''Dead of Night'' is a 1945 British supernatural horror anthology film directed by Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden, and Robert Hamer. It stars Mervyn Johns, Googie Withers, Sally Ann Howes, and Michael Redgrave. Produ ...

'', '' Waltz Time'' and ''

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1216–1281 ...

''.

Critical

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' wrote, "the merit of this long and intelligent film lies in the skill with which it establishes the personalities of the sisters...the acting throughout has strength and sincerity."

References

External links

* *
Review of film
at '' Variety'' {{DEFAULTSORT:They Were Sisters 1945 films 1945 drama films British drama films Gainsborough Pictures films British black-and-white films Films directed by Arthur Crabtree Films based on British novels Films set in England Films set in 1919 Islington Studios films 1940s melodrama films 1940s English-language films 1940s British films Films scored by Louis Levy