This was the last film of Lillian Gish and it has to be the most graceful exit an actor or actress has ever had. All screen legends should have the dignity of their last film being this touching. This story is about two elderly sisters who are staying in their family cottage on the coast of Maine. Lillian Gish plays Sarah Webber the oldest of the two and she is caring for her sister Libby Strong (Bette Davis) who is blind and maybe in the early stages of senility. They have a neighbor and life long friend in Tisha (Ann Sothern) who suggests to Sarah that she might want to think of selling the old cottage. An acquantance named Mr. Maranov (Vincent Price) asks to fish on their shore but he really is fishing around for a place to live. He is of European nobility and full of stories but he has no money and seems to exist on the kindness of others. Both Sarah and Libby are widows and frequently relate events of the past to each other. The film is directed by Lindsay Anderson who usually makes satirical English films and this was his first American feature. He does an adequate job but he has the sense of just allowing the camera to catch every emotion these actors convey. This is not a great film but it is a very special one. Its a very simple story but thats just fine, something extra special doesn't have to be happening for this film to work. Gish was an amazing 93 when she made this and even at that age she showed she could carry a film and display an incredible amount of energy. She still had that girlish nature about her and her performance is a revelation. Davis was also incredibly strong but she suffered from having to recite some unbelievable dialogue. I didn't quite buy the scene where she comes out of her bedroom saying she had a dream about her and Sarah. But her best moments come in the quieter scenes. When Davis is gazing at nothing and thinking about her future you can only guess what is going on in her head. I thought she was at her best when the camera would just focus in on her face and she didn't speak. These two actress's were very different in their personalities and Davis was very difficult to work with later in her career. But I read a wonderful thing about the wrapping of this film. When the shooting was done Bette walked over to Lillian Gish and gave her a hug of mutual respect. It was high praise to have a cantankerous Bette Davis show that type of respect. Of course, Gish could charm anyone. She spent her career doing it. For you trivia buffs, Ann Sotherns real life daughter Tisha Sterling (Valley of the Giants) plays her as a young woman and Mary Steenburgen plays a young Sarah. This film is a must for all film buffs.

Definitely not one for the Multiplexes this has Art House written all over it and it's all the better for it. There's a definite Checkovian 'feel' to this one, albeit minor Checkov, with five characters doing nothing much except give a Master Class in Screen Acting. If you actively look for such things you'll find resonances with titles like On Golden Pond and, having brought up Checkov I could argue that they could have re-titled it Two Sisters. Whatever it's a Collectors item even if the story is best not subjected to a strong light; two sisters, both widowed, continue to spend their summers in a cottage in Maine where, years ago, they could track whales briefly; now the whales have gone as has the metaphorical youth of the sisters. Sarah, Lillian Gish, has a suitor of sorts in Vincent Price, a White Russian who exists like Blanche du Bois on the kindness of strangers. Libby, Bette Davis, will have none of it and sends him on his way with a flea in his ear. The two other characters are Ann 'Maisie' Sothern, a friend of Sarah's for sixty years and Harry Carey Jnr - light years away from Monument Valley where he weighed in with support in almost every John Ford Western - as the local repairman. Gentle, Unobtrusive, Unforgettable.