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

Arthur Crabtree Arthur Crabtree (29 October 1900 in Shipley, Yorkshire, England – 15 March 1975 in Worthing, Sussex, England) was a British cinematographer and film director. He directed films with comedians such as Will Hay, the Crazy Gang and Arthu ...

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, north London. Gainsborough Studios was active between 1924 and 1951. The com ...

and starring James Mason and

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 ...

. The film was produced by

Harold Huth Harold Huth (20 January 1892 – 26 October 1967) was a British actor, film director and producer. Biography Early life He was born in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, in 1892. He was a nephew of Eva Moore and a cousin of the actor Roland Pertwee. Fo ...

, with cinematography from

Jack Cox Jack Cox may refer to: People * Jack Cox (footballer) (1877–1955), English footballer * Jack E. Cox (1896–1960), English cinematographer * Jack Cox (Texas politician) (1921–1990), Texan politician and gubernatorial candidate Other uses * Jac ...

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 The Gainsborough melodramas were a sequence of films produced by the British film studio Gainsborough Pictures between 1943 and 1947 which conformed to a melodramatic style.Brooke, Michael. (2014)Gainsborough Melodrama Screenonline British Film Ins ...

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 or cosmetic of an individual or group that reflects class, gender, profession, ethnicity, nationality, activity or epoch. In short costume is a cultural visual of the people. The term also was tradition ...

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 Dorothy Whipple (née Stirrup) (26 February 1893 – 14 September 1966) was an English writer of popular fiction and children's books. Her work gained popularity between the world wars and again in the 2000s. Personal life Dorothy Stirrup was ...

, published in 1943. ''They Were Sisters'' features the spouses of both Mason and Calvert;

Pamela Mason Pamela Mason (10 March 1916 – 29 June 1996), also known as Pamela Kellino, was an English actress, author, and screenwriter, known for being the creative partner and first wife of English actor James Mason. Early life and personal life Born ...

(billed under her maiden name Pamela Kellino and playing Mason's daughter, despite being only seven years younger) and

Peter Murray-Hill Peter Auriol Murray Hill (20 April 1908 – 25 November 1957) was an English actor, and publisher He was married to the actress Phyllis Calvert from 1941 until his death. Career Murray Hill's first prominent acting role was in 1938's '' Jane St ...

. 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.

Plot

The film focuses on the lives of three sisters; Lucy (

), Vera (

Anne Crawford Imelda Anne Crawford (22 November 1920 – 17 October 1956) was a British film actress, born in Palestine of a Scottish father and an English mother, and brought up in Edinburgh. Biography A contemporary of Margaret Lockwood and Phyllis Calver ...

) and Charlotte (

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 ...

). 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 ( James Mason), 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

* James Mason as Geoffrey Lee *

as Lucy Moore *

as Charlotte Lee *

as Vera Sargeant *

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 set ...

as Terry Crawford *

as William Moore * Barry Livesey as Brian Sargeant *

Pamela Kellino Pamela Mason (10 March 1916 – 29 June 1996), also known as Pamela Kellino, was an English actress, author, and screenwriter, known for being the creative partner and first wife of English actor James Mason. Early life and personal life Born ...

as Margaret Lee *

Ann Stephens Ann Stephens (21 May 1931 – 15 July 1966) was a British child actress and singer, popular in the 1940s. She was born in London. In July 1941 she recorded several songs, including a popular version of "The Teddy Bears' Picnic", " Dicky Bird Hop ...

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, Suff ...

as Mrs. Pursley *

Thorley Walters Thorley Swinstead Walters (12 May 1913 – 6 July 1991) was an English character actor. He is probably best remembered for his comedy film roles such as in ''Two-Way Stretch'' and '' Carlton-Browne of the FO''. Early life Walters was born in Tei ...

as Channing *

John Gilpin John Gilpin (18th century) was featured as the subject in a well-known comic ballad of 1782 by William Cowper, entitled '' The Diverting History of John Gilpin''. Cowper had heard the story from his friend Lady Austen. Gilpin was said to be ...

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 bap ...

as Coroner * Helen Stephens as Sarah Sargeant * Roy Russell as Lethbridge *

Edie Martin Edie Martin (1 January 1880 – 22 February 1964) was a British actress. She was a ubiquitous performer, on stage from 1886, playing generally small parts but in high demand, appearing in scores of British films (although often uncredited). ...

as Cook * Dora Sevening as Janet *

Helen Goss Helen Goss (15 October 19031985) was a British stage, television and film actress. She was also a drama teacher and for a period was responsible for admissions to the Rank Charm School. Filmography References External links * 1903 b ...

as Webster

Reception

Guildford- Everyday Life in Wartime Guildford, Surrey, England, UK, 1945 D25191

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'', ''Hollywood Canteen'', ''They Were Sisters'', ''The Princess and the Pirate'', ''The Adventures of Susan'', ''National Velvet'', ''Mrs Skefflington'', ''I Live in Grosvenor Square'', ''Nob Hill'', ''Perfect Strangers'', ''Valley of Decision'', ''Conflict'' and ''Duffy's Tavern''. 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'', ''Waltz Time'' and ''Henry V''.

Critical

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' 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 Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' {{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 Melodrama films 1940s English-language films 1940s British films