The Sainted Sisters (1948)

After stealing 10 thousand dollars from a New York businessman, two female cons hide in a small Maine town where, against their will, they perform good deeds and become respectable.

Director:

William D. Russell

Writers:

Elisa Bialk (play), Elisa Bialk (story)

Stars:

Veronica Lake, Joan Caulfield, Barry Fitzgerald

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Veronica Lake	...	Letty Stanton
Joan Caulfield	...	Jane Stanton
Barry Fitzgerald	...	Robbie McCleary
George Reeves	...	Sam Stoaks
William Demarest	...	Vern Tewilliger
Beulah Bondi	...	Hester Rivercomb
Chill Wills	...	Will Twitchell
Kathryn Card	...	Martha Tewilliger
Darryl Hickman	...	Jud Tewilliger
Jimmy Hunt	...	David Frisbee
Ray Walker	...	Abel Rivercomb
Clancy Cooper	...	Cal Frisbee
Dorothy Adams	...	Widow Davitt
Hank Worden	...	Taub Beasley
Harold Vermilyea	...	Lederer

Storyline

Two female con artists from New York City, fleeing the law with loot from their latest scam, hide out in a small Maine town, near the Canadian border. However - the residents of this small town aren't quite as unsophisticated as the girls think they are.

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Plot Keywords:

maine | small town | cemetery | leg in cast | sheriff | 

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Taglines:

You'll love every illegal inch of 'em!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 April 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

As Duas Santinhas

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of over 700 Paramount productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.

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Connections

Referenced in Still Life 2 (2009)

User Reviews

Keep your money on you

Sisters Veronica Lake (Letty) and Joan Caulfield (Jane) are bad-ass con merchants who fleece men of their money and then skip town. Weirdly, I had just watched a film called "Larceny" from the same year (1948) a week prior to seeing this film. It has exactly the same premise with John Payne and Dan Duryea as the bad-ass con merchants who fleece victims of their money and skip town. And check this, Joan Caulfield is also in that effort although her role in that film is one of a victim. Here she is part of the bad-girl duo. Another difference is that "Larceny" is a crime thriller whilst "The Sainted Sisters" is a comedy. And both films are as enjoyable as each other. So, the sisters are on the run and take shelter in the house of Barry Fitzgerald (Robbie) who knows what they are up to. Can the girls make it across the Canadian border to freedom?

The film works as a comedy in that the comedy isn't slapstick or dated, tiresome screwball nonsense. It is actually funny and is driven by humerous situations instead of characters shouting over each other or falling over in obvious pratfalls. I was worried when I saw William Demarest in the cast but I have to give him credit in this as he only does one unfunny pratfall that I can remember. Barry Fitzgerald is a bit difficult to understand at times but he drives the film along. The other strong characters are Lake Veronica, the town's wealthy Beulah Bondi (Hester) who is one mean woman dressed in black, and, surprisingly, the usually appalling Demarest as the town's sheriff. You get comedy moments and a morality lesson for the two sisters although the romance thread is a bit difficult to take. No way.