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The Whales of August (1987)
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Overview
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Director:
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Release Date:
November 1987 (USA)
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Plot:
Summer people in Maine: things are changing. Whales no longer pass close to the shore as they did during...
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Awards:
Nominated for Oscar.
Another 2 wins
&
4 nominations
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NewsDesk:
User Comments:
A Lost Breed of Movie
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Cast
(Complete credited cast) | Bette Davis | ... | Libby Strong |
 | Lillian Gish | ... | Sarah Webber |
 | Vincent Price | ... | Mr. Maranov |
 | Ann Sothern | ... | Tisha Doughty |
 | Harry Carey Jr. | ... | Joshua Brackett |
| Frank Grimes | ... | Mr. Beckwith |
| Margaret Ladd | ... | Young Libby |
| Tisha Sterling | ... | Young Tisha |
 | Mary Steenburgen | ... | Young Sarah |
| Frank Pitkin | ... | Old Randall |
| Mike Bush | ... | Young Randall |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
90 min
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Color:
Color (TVC)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
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Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Screen legend Lillian Gish was 93 when she co-starred in this film making her the oldest actress ever to feature in a leading role.
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Goofs:
Factual errors: When the radio (or wireless) is switched on in order for Libby to listen to her favourite programme, the sound of the broadcast is heard immediately as though it were a modern transistor or digital radio. But the film is set in the mid-1950s during the era of valve wireless receivers (see also the prop used in the scene), meaning that the ladies would have to wait for several seconds while the set warms up before the programme could be heard.
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Quotes:
Libby Strong:
Busy, Busy, busy, always busy.
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Movie Connections:
Featured in Stardust: The Bette Davis Story (2006) (TV)
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I'm 22 years old and yet this movie about two elderly sisters and their friends touched my heart deeply.
I must admit before I begin that I am a fan of Bette Davis and Vincent Price, and that Miss Lillian Gish is my all time favorite actress, so my view of this film may be skewed. However, I must admit and admire the sheer artistry of these actors (including the unsung Ann Sothern) and their ability to take a simple story and turn it into an engaging, emotional tour de force film of power and majesty.
Miss Gish was in the twilight of her life in this, her last film, but you could still see the same actress who touched audiences in 1919's "Broken Blossoms"...the same powerful skills which are on display in 1928's "The Wind", and the same quiet dignity portrayed in 1959's "The Night of the Hunter". Her scenes are by far the finest of the movie.
I must respectfully disagree with my fellow reviewers in their dismissal of Bette Davis's performance. Her character was supposed to be hard-headed, mean, and in bad health (why else keep harking on dying?). Bette is all of these things. I could really feel that she WAS Libby. Although her constant yelling of "SAY-rah" was a little annoying, but that's Ms. Davis for you.
Vincent Price was a revelation for those of us who have only seen him as a schlockmiester. His role as the Count, warm, friendly, scared and courtly, was probably the most sympathetic character in the film.
All in all, a touching, beautiful tribute to the legends of the screen and to the movies themselves. A lost breed of film.