The Whales of August (1987)

The Whales of August

Gentle film with excellent acting by the great Bette Davis and Lilian Gish, Ann Sothern and Vincent Price. Highly recommended for relaxing entertainment. September 19, 2008

Bette Davis's Swan Song- her last great performance

The Whales of August is a very character driven film with a lot of very good dialogue and not a lot of action. It is one of those films were to "get it" you have to really listen to the actors and their body language. Lillian Gish is perfect as Sarah an elderly lady who isn't ready to give up on life and still has things to look forward to and that she wants- like a picture window to look out at the moonlight. Bette Davis is amazing as Libby Sarah's blind sister who is very bitter and just wants to get life over with. But at times she is also very shrewd and poignant- a complex woman. Ann Sothern and Vincent Price are good supporting parts as a busybody neighbor and an elderly would be suitor. Harry Carey Jr is great as a handyman who comes over and always makes a lot of noise. I think you have to be an adult to enjoy this movie and get what it is about- living life and not giving up that just because you are elderly doesn't mean your time is gone- that it is gone only when you die. The film belongs to Bette Davis. It is all the more poignant because she was most likely dying of cancer while making this movie and to see her do such excellent acting a year before she died shows what we have lost. The scene that to me stands out is when Ms. Davis says, " We have such little time left." It doesn't get more poignant then that. You see in Ms. Davis a woman who has really lived. For anyone who loves Bette Davis as I do this movie is a must see and a must have. September 18, 2008

Legends of Hollywood

The final movie of legendary actors Bette Davis, Lillian Gish & Vincent Price. Movie is a little bit slow but well worth it just to see these stars doing what they do best, when they get a good script, in their last movie. The acting is flawless and very moving. Watching this movie is like reading a good book. A little extra bonus is the appearance of Harry Carey, Jr. who is like a breath of fresh air and steals the movie in every scene he appears in. August 15, 2008

Bette Davis' Swan Song Performance

This is the final "major" motion picture performance done by Bette Davis. As I watch it over and again, it is crystal clear to me that Miss Davis is knowingly telling her beloved fans, "thanks and goodbye," just before she died.

Co-starring with the magnificent Lillian Gish, Vincent Price, and Ann Sothern makes "Whale of August," an expertly acted motion picture that has an amazingly emotionally moving set of twists and turns for a drama about elderly people interacting with each other.

Set in Maine, in an old sea-side home, Gish and Davis play widowed sisters who are living together in their twilight years. Davis is, of course, the cantankerous one of them.

The actor famous for using her turquoise eyes to express herself plays an elderly blind person who is pretty bitter. Bette Davis was literally dying of cancer while making this movie. She was suffering terribly while doing so. Nonetheless, just as she had promised us, her fans, Bette Davis remained quite visible to the public and acted until the day she died (October 29th, 1989). Born April 5th, 1908, at this writing, it is a week from what would have been her 100th birthday.

19 years since her death, Bette Davis' movies are as popular today as they were two generations ago. "Whales of August," on DVD is in color, has special features about making the movie, and is a very collectible drama. March 29, 2008

Bette Davis carries a movie just like she did in the old days

During the last ten years or so of her career, the great Bette Davis was pretty much reduced to glorified cameo appearances: a production would hire her to play the family matron, a great aunt, or a similar role that would- by virtue of Ms. Davis' participation- add a certain pedigree to the film in question but in reality not give the actress very much to do (examples include "The Watcher in the Woods" and the TV film "Murder With Mirrors"). So, even though "The Whales of August" isn't a truly great film, it's certainly a good one, and it's certainly great to see Bette Davis go to work and carry a movie, just like in the old days.

To be sure, there are other notable performances in "The Whales of August": we get to see Vincent Price during one of the rare times we was asked to perform in an understated fashion, and he does a nice job; and we're treated to a rare late-career performance by the great Lillian Gish, whose career stretched back to the films of D.W. Griffith, and she does just as much work here as Ms. Davis, and it's very good work, too. But for me the true enjoyment of this film came from seeing Bette Davis do again what Bette Davis always used to do: create an indelible, complex character and generally command every scene in which she appears.

In short: good movie, great performance. This is a must-purchase or at least a must-see DVD for fans of America's great actors and actresses, and especially for fans of an actress near or at the top of that list, the wonderful Bette Davis. January 28, 2008

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