June Buckridge (Beryl Reid) plays a character named Sister George on a popular TV show. She gets word that her character is going to be killed and panics. She is also a lesbian and her relationship with her lover (Susannah York) is falling apart. Network executive Mercy Croft (Coral Browne) tries to help her...or does she?

This movie has problems--it's way too long (almost 2 1/2 hours), has unlikable characters and is pretty depressing. Still it's very well-directed (I love the way the opening credits are done) and has three great performances. Reid had already been in the play on stage so she pretty much knew what she was doing. She's just great--you see her anger but also sympathize with her. York is very good as her lover. Browne is just superb as Mercy Croft.

SPOILERS IN THE NEXT PARAGRAPH!!!! This was (for its time) pretty extreme. It was seen as a lesbian movie. In my opinion it really isn't. It's about an older woman whose behavior and attitude ends up destroying her. She just happens to be a lesbian. Still this was pretty raw for 1968. They shot the bar scenes in an actual lesbian bar in England and there was a sexual seduction in the movie that wasn't in the play. It's when Browne and York get together. York hated doing that scene and it shows. This got slapped with an X rating originally just for the subject matter alone. Director Robert Aldrich fought against that rating for years--he thought it deserved an R. It was re rated to an R in 1972.

I remember it played here in Boston for months on end. Lines were around the block every night despite the rating. Still it was only a modest hit and quickly was forgotten. The stigma of the X rating still haunts this film which is too bad. No great masterpiece but worth seeing for the great acting by the three leads.

One of the earliest British gay-themed films ever made, this tells the tale of June 'George' Buckridge, the soon to be eclipsed star on the TV soap opera Applehurst. We see her relationship with the Baby Doll-like Childie and also the interventions of television executive Mrs Crofts. But does Crofts have her own agenda?

This lesbian drama has the amazing tagline 'The story of three consenting adults in the privacy of their own home' which obviously mimics the mantra of liberals and homophobes alike regarding 'the gays'. It's also a reference to the wording of The Sexual Offences Act of 1967 decriminalising homosexuality.

There's something aesthetically pleasing about Beryl Reid in all of the films and TV programmes I've seen her in. This film is no exception. She plays George and she dominates proceedings whenever she is on screen. Her character is irreverent, rambunctious and a sheer delight. She's 'punk' years before the punk movement actually erupted. Also, notice how she plays her rebellious character to perfection and got under the skin of George. This is very evident in her body language. No unconscious crossing of the legs or keeping them together when she sits down. She can manspread with the best of them. This is a headstrong woman who lives life on her own terms rather than conforming to societal norms regarding how a 'lady' should act.

Part of the film takes place in the real life lesbian bar The Gateways Club which was then in Chelsea, just off The Kings Road. The film used the real patrons as extras and it feels so natural it's as if the crew just went in and filmed without warning. The wide range of cast extras show that the uneducated myth about lesbians being either 'butch' or 'femme' is a fallacy and the locale provides a fascinating peek inside not just 1960's Gay London but specifically Lesbian London. George and Childie are also dressed as Laurel and Hardy in this scene which makes it even more joyous, surreal and brilliant.

A primary theme of the film is the power play within the character's relationships. This is nicely shown in the 'contrition game' scene in which rather than being degraded by George's task, Childie makes herself enjoy it thus taking away the power from George and being in control herself.

The film depicts it's characters like human beings with all of their foibles rather than as freaks in a sideshow to be leered at and grimaced at by 'them there normal folks'. The film prompts a new discussion on our perceptions of gay people in a Britain in which homosexuality had just been decriminalised (this was carried out in 1967- the year before this film was released). The tagline for the film also references the wording used in The Sexual Offences Act.

The Killing of Sister George was unsurprisingly very contentious with the unenlightened British Board of Film Classification when it was due to be released. The main bone of contention was with the scene between Childie and Mrs Crofts- Crofts kisses and caresses Childie. There is nothing gratuitous about this scene and it is dealt with respectfully and mostly takes place off-screen. From the BBFC Case Study regarding the film-

''(But) the BBFC was adamant that the scene be removed in its entirety. Trevelyan stated that the BBFC was "not prepared as yet to accept lesbian sex to this point.''

It's unbelieveable today that the BBFC saw to not include this scene not because it may corrupt or adversely influence but because they thought the Great British public would have it's collective minds blown by such a scene.

The BBFC Case Study on the film notes-

''The BBFC classified The Killing of Sister George as 'X' in February 1969, with the encounter between Mrs Crofts and Childie deleted. Nevertheless, a number of local authorities across the UK banned the film even in this version. The Greater London Council allowed the film to be shown within its authority area with minor edits. The increase in the age bar for 'X' films from 16 to 18 in 1970 saw some local authorities relent on their previous decision and allow the film to be shown under this higher age restriction.''

Today the film is thankfully uncut. This movie is an amazing time capsule, a perceptive and all too revealing glimpse into human relationships and a groundbreaking slice of LGBT history- a history that generally erases lesbians altogether. This film noisily and joyously bucks this trend. And audiences should be truly thankful for that.

I find that some films of the 1960's are very difficult to watch because of their character shattering plot developments. Along with "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", this is one of them. It happens to a very similar character here, who like Martha in "VW", has begun to isolate many people around her. June (Beryl Reid) is a lesbian soap opera actress in London who plays Sister George, a popular nurse on a serial. She lives with the "Baby Doll" like Katie (Susannah York), and emotionally abuses her when Katie, in her mind, acts up.

On the set, June (called "Sister George" on and off screen) is more than a bit demanding, jealous of other actors whose popularity ratings are going up, and just a bit angry when it is insinuated by one of the crew members that her days are numbered. June gets rip-roaringly drunk, assaults two visiting nuns in a Taxi, and is reprimanded by Mercy Croft (Coral Browne) of the production staff. Her behavior gets more and more out of control until it all caves in on her and she is indeed prepared to be "killed off".

Even that, June can't take with dignity, and makes funny faces at the truck drivers who "killed her off", which sets the cast and crew tittering. It's not apparent whether or not they love her or take pleasure in watching her downfall, but that's what happens here. Katie obviously has had enough, and Mercy, having visited June at a gay bar to tell her the news of her dismissal, sets her sights on Katie. From there it's just a matter of time before June ("Sister George") has her blowout, and ends up having a breakdown herself, much like Martha did in "Virginia Woolf".

I think that you must be of an artistic, serious dramatic viewing mind, to watch "The Killing of Sister George", and familiar with having seen serious dramatic plays on stage. Every actor is outstanding, and the film is riveting to be sure, but it is deep, even if there is a lot of "black comedy" abound. Then, there is the lesbian issue. The films of the 60's have a bleak take on what living openly was like. Take a look at "Staircase" or "The Boys in the Band" to see the male version of this. These are not happy people.

"Sister George" is only happy when she is the center of attention on the set, or when she is humiliating Katie, punishing her by forcing her to eat her cigar butt. Reid is simply amazing to watch with her boundless energy, York is enchanting, and you certainly won't confuse Coral Browne's Vera Charles ("Auntie Mame") with Mercy Croft. The film shows its theatrical routes which indicates why many plays did better on stage and felt like an acid trip when put on screen.