Les Folles Héritières

Most of your reviewers certainly had an aversion to this film. One of them even asserted it had no music despite an excellent score by Max Steiner. I thought Barbara Stanwyck with all her emotional storms and plottings really sizzled. This must have been one of her best roles ever. I couldn't stop watching it though I came in somewhere in a courtroom scene after the beginning and missed all the prologues. I thought the emotional relationships of everybody involved were strong and fascinating. In contrast to most of your reviewers I thought the plot lines got wrapped up satisfactorily and clearly and I was quite happy with how everything finally turned out. Especially with Stanwyck and Brent trying finally to make a go of it basically because of their child. Call me soft hearted and sentimental but I felt for them and their final solution. Though this film rubbed most of your reviewers the wrong way I loved it and thought it was great.

Barbara Stanwyck, Geraldine Fitzgerald and Nancy Coleman are the Gaylord sisters. when the parental units croak, they must find a way to hang on to the family compound. Right at the beginning, we see that mom Gaylord has died on the Lusitania, and dad is going off to war, certainly an ominous start to the film. Then we're at the court house for some reason. The co-starring men are Gene Lockhart, George Brent, Gig Young, and Grant Mitchell. some pretty big hollywood names backing up this film. Grant Mitchell is the head of the group fighting to gain control of ten percent of the family fortune. Eighteen minutes in, we finally hear from Barbara Stanwyck, one of the heiress sisters. and the strongest one. she clearly runs the show. she has fired the family lawyer, and now they are scrambling to find a good lawyer to help them in court. Turns out that someone knows a secret about one of the sisters, and that secret could be worth a lot of money. It's pretty good! clearly, secrets and things that might be shocking in 1942 are really no big deal today. it was a different time, and of course the film code was in full force in the 1940s. Directed by Irving Rapper; had made SO MANY films with perfectionist Bette Davis... he must have been a pro!

When you have three fine actresses like Barbara Stanwyck, Geraldine Fitzgerald and Nancy Coleman, plus an intelligent script, and a good director, you have a very watchable movie. What makes the film particularly good is, that it concentrates on lives of each of the three sisters. Yes, it is a chick flick, but as a man, I found it quite engaging. The one weakness of the film, is George Brent, he lacks sexuality. But, the important point is, that it is an interesting story line, with complexity, and sophistication.

Like so many movies that were produced in the B&W era, much of this one is filled with melodramatic scenes and lines written to carry along the diverging feelings of a family of three sisters whose lives intermingle merely because they are related, not necessarily because they agree. In fact, it is often difficult to see where the three blend as a family, except that they are guided by the commands of a big sister.

Barbara Stanwyck is that big sister who rules the roost, though not in a way that is intentionally abusive. She thinks she knows what must be done to keep things in line with the purpose she was given as a little girl. It is what her father would have wanted, a devotion to something above even God. He leaves to fight in Europe during WWI where he is killed, which places the house in the care of Barbara Stanwyck.

Do the sisters love one another? Yes, in an argumentative sort of way, as each one's desires cross the others'. Big sister wants no man in her life, doesn't trust them, considers them merely a means to an end. Middle sister is playing romantic games with her little sister's love, Gig Young, which causes the youngest to attempt a drastic solution.

In addition to a housekeeper, the three sisters share their home with a little boy who knows nothing of the secret that's been hidden for a number of years and whose future is a matter for the courts. The little fellow is one of the most polite boys I have seen on screen in a long while -- a refreshing breath when compared to today's norm.

I recommend this film despite the melodramatics. The lines are well written and well spoken. Don't be run away by the negative reviews. This one is worth the time whether you like the ending or not.

The longest running case In New York County's Surrogate Court is the one about recent tycoon George Brent has going against the Gaylord sisters who were all quite young when their mom was lost in the Titanic and their dad killed in World War I. Now another World War is happening and the grownup sisters Barbara Stanwyck, Geraldine Fitzgerald, and Nancy Coleman.

Stanwyck and Brent have some serious if secret history and a product of said history is young Larry Simms. The two can't stand each other though obviously at one time they could.

A subplot involves Nancy Coleman and Geraldine Fitzgerald fighting over Gig Young. He's a modern artist keeping company with Coleman. Fitzgerald went over to Great Britain and married a title. Her husband is MIA with the Royal Air Force and she's come back to America.

Gig Young who was born Byron Barr apparently liked the character name and took it for his own. He got his first real notice in The Gay Sisters. It certainly worked for him.

Originally this was assigned to Bette Davis, but she rejected it the brothers Warner went outside the studio for Barbara Stanwyck. It's a great part for Stanwyck as she shows a whole range of emotions here. Gene Lockhart has a great part as a weasel of an attorney ready to sell out the Gaylords. He was so good in those type parts.

The Gay Sisters is a fine bit of drama that holds up well after over 70 years.