Deep into their twilight years, screen legends Lillian Gish and
Bette Davis joined forces in The Whales of August, a poignant film which
explores how people cope with the aging process and the thought of approaching death. Also starring Vincent Price, and featuring Ann
Sothern and Harry Carey, Jr. in supporting roles, this 1987 film was adapted
from the David Berry play of the same name.
It saw Miss Sothern receiving a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award
nomination.
Widowed elderly sisters Libby Strong (Bette Davis) and
Sarah Webber (Lillian Gish) have been spending their summers in a cottage on the coast of Maine
all their lives. As young girls, they,
along with their friend Tisha (Ann Sothern), used to watch expectantly for the annual August arrival of the migrating whales. Eventually, the whales no longer made an
appearance, but that is not the only change the women have known.
Libby is blind . . . and bitter.
Somewhat estranged from her daughter, she is now dependent upon Sarah to
take care of her. Yet far from being
grateful for Sarah’s love and care, Libby is crotchety, unhappy, and
extremely negative. She believes death
is right at her door, even suggesting to Sarah that they are too old to
consider new things, that their lives are over and the grim reaper will be along
for them any day now.
A true gentleman, Mr. Maranov accepts Sarah's dinner invitation, even bringing along that morning's catch to share with the sisters. Libby is rude to him, though, saying there is no need for him in their house. Although Sarah would be interested in seeing the kindly gentleman, with Libby’s negativity, it doesn’t seem likely that she will. Sarah very much wants to go on with living for what time she has left,
while Libby feels that her life is already over. Tisha suggests to Sarah that she make other arrangements for Libby and then move in with her.
Will Libby ever be able to enjoy the time she has
left, thus enabling Sarah to do the same?
Or will Sarah be forced to make other arrangements for her sister so
that she will be able to embrace the remaining years of her life? These are the questions which play out in the
balance of this touching drama.
The Whales of August is a lovely, sentimental, heart-tugging movie, made all the more so by the knowledge that it is, essentially, a goodbye song---and not just for Libby and Sarah. This is the final film of both Miss Gish and Miss Sothern and the next to last of Miss Davis. Vincent Price would make less than a half dozen more films after this one, so he is in the final stages of his career as well, and director Lindsay Anderson made no more feature films after this. In a touching and beautiful way, The Whales of August gives us--and each of them---the chance to say goodbye.
Hard to believe that Miss Gish is 93 years old here---she definitely aged beautifully and looks years younger than her age. Gracious, spry, and lovely, she gives a moving performance, ending her seven-and-a-half decade career on a beautiful, grace-filled note. By taking on this role "at the age of 93, Miss Gish became the oldest actress to have appeared in a starring role."[1]
Bette Davis, two years away from her death here, is very clearly in poor health. Earlier in the decade, she had battled cancer (which would ultimately return and be the cause of her death) and been afflicted with a series of strokes, resulting in partial paralysis of the left side of her face. The effects of the paralysis are obvious. Still, though, she does her usual great job of bringing an unkind, largely unlikable character to life, and she plays blind very believably. Without all the bizarre makeup so prevalent in her late-career films, Bette looks less harsh---younger-looking even---than in some of her 1960's works. Even here at the end of her career, she remains my #1 gal.
Putting these two screen legends together, of course, had
the potential for contention and rivalry.
However, according to Bette Davis, Larger Than Life, “Miss Gish proved far tougher and more
impervious to Davis ’s
barbs than many lesser players by simply switching off her hearing aid whenever
any nonsense occurred.” [1] Touche for Lilllian! That is definitely one way to tune out those who drive us crazy!
Vincent Price, while not having a whole lot to do, is
well-suited to this role. Given that I
have a predisposed negativity towards Mr. Price (the result of The House of
Usher as a child), for me to see him in a positive light says a lot for the
man’s acting skills. I enjoyed his
chivalrous character here. Ann Sothern received a Best Supporting Actress nomination
for her work here, and while she doesn't have much to do, she's funny and sweet in her role.
Besides Misses Gish and Davis, the other star of The Whales
of August is the stunning scenery. Who
wouldn’t enjoy a trip to the coast of Maine
after finishing this. Although the film is slow-moving and without any dramatic action scenes or special effects, the characters, the stars’ performances, the scenery, and the touching story are enough to make it quite charming.
Out on DVD, The Whales of August ought to be fairly easy to
track down. Fans of any of these four wonderful stars will enjoy catching them in their final years. I'm calling this a 4-star film---one definitely worth a watch.
Happy viewing!
[1] Bette Davis,
Larger Than Life, by Richard Schickel and George Perry, Running
Press Book Publishers, 2009