Nuits de bal

A very watchable chick flick, with a marvelous Bette Davis, and a mundane Errol Flynn. Chick flick (a damnable moniker) is modern shorthand for movies that deal with female themes, relationships, romance, and emotions, which this movie has in abundance. But this film is wonderful; and at the very least is a time capsule preserving 1938 attitudes of turn of the 20th Century history. (From one who has been in a few earthquakes, trust me, the San Francisco Quakescenes are very well done). The story is about the wooing and wedding tales of three sisters, and focuses primarily on the Bette Davis character's romance with Errol Flynn. Davis is pushing the outside of the envelope for a great performance (more than the script gives her),and Flynn is a handsome but uninspired scarecrow. He did not have to reach very far to find the serious minded, alcoholic, sexually confused, and restless soul that he plays here. What spills out is drab. Still, even when he was mediocre, he was special.

I found it difficult to turn this one off, as the production values are superb. The set director does an incredible job of decoration, placing the story in the era. The cinematography and lighting are exceptional. And the makeup! The characters are full of detail from the period, right down to the grease on the face of the automobile drivers. A film lovers film. Don't miss this.

This movie is about three affluent sisters, the men they marry and the result this has on their lives. The focus in particular is on Bette Davis and her unwise choice of Errol Flynn for a husband. This SHOULDN'T come as a big surprise to the audience, as this sort of behavior is more expected from the real-life Flynn than the other male leads! The other sisters have differing success with their love lives, though through it all they have a strong sense of family and decency.

The movie scores high marks for excellent acting, writing and production values. While not the best Warner Brothers has to offer, it certainly is among their better efforts.

Errol Flynn and Bette Davis did the first of two films together in The Sisters and curiously enough it followed landmark films for both of them, The Adventures of Robin Hood for Flynn and Bette's second Academy Award winner, Jezebel.

It was an interesting project for both, but fell somewhat flat at the box office. Still it's not a bad film at all and for Flynn it was an attempt to expand his range as player.

Bette's usual shtick is held firmly in check my director Anatole Litvak. She's one of three daughters of Henry Travers and Beulah Bondi of Broken Bow Montana and the action of the film takes place between Election Day of 1904 and 1908. Shortly after the first election where all three encounter the men they would marry.

For Jane Bryan it's Dick Foran, a proper young man of business who soon becomes president of the bank and they settle down to a nice middle class existence. It's only threatened when Foran falls victim to the town tart briefly, one of many men in the area.

For Anita Louise, she's a naughty flirt who likes romance, but also likes her creature comforts. She marries Alan Hale who's the wealthiest guy in town, who's also a widower looking for a trophy wife. She lucks into the best of both worlds when he dies leaving her well provided for and free to pursue love in comfort.

But the main plot revolves around Bette Davis who marries newspapermen Errol Flynn, a charming, but essentially weak character. He likes to drink and carouse and even impending fatherhood doesn't put a damper on that. He leaves her, purely coincidentally right in the middle of the San Francisco Earthquake.

Some don't like Flynn's performance, but I think he did fine in the role. The problem was that the brothers Warner filmed two different endings and gave into public opinion in the one you see. Flynn, by the way thought they did the wrong thing. Without giving it away, the ending should have resembled one they gave Four Daughters which was also produced by them in 1938.

Despite the fact that Errol and Bette hated each other they got through the film and it's not bad. Look also for good performances from Donald Crisp as Flynn's sportswriter friend and Ian Hunter who gives Bette a job after Flynn leaves her and loves her as well.

Big sister Louise from small-town Silver Bow, Montana, falls in love instantly with dashing sports reporter Frank from San Francisco. The year is 1904, and Roosevelt is getting re-elected. The couple elope and try to eke out a living in the big city, but he is restless and nothing comes of his writing ambitions, and their marriage looks like it is failing ...

There is nothing great or everlasting about 'The Sisters', but you might want to watch it for its stars. Bette Davis is resourceful and unassuming as Louise, a far cry from her Jezebel of the following year.

So that leaves Errol Flynn, the very young Errol Flynn, but nevertheless an actor of such abundant charisma that you quite understand how Louise's heart skips a beat, and how her dancing gets out of sync, as she gazes at him at their first meeting. Frank is the quintessential reckless, impetuous and fundamentally enchanting man about town, earnest in love, but quick to give up on all he holds dear. It goes without saying that he looks stunning, with his exquisite bone structure and muzzled up hair. How could Ian Hunter ever hope to compete? Director Anatole Litvak does provide a few touches to redeem this otherwise quite pedestrian romantic melodrama. The earthquake was well done, and the cunning way the sisters conspire to rid the town of the local tramp by telling their menfolk, "We consider it a community problem". Point taken!

Bette Davis to me and many others is/was one of the greatest actresses of her time and still one of the greats, 'All About Eve', 'Now Voyager', 'Little Foxes', 'The Letter' and 'Jezebel' (all very good to masterpiece films) being especially great performances. Am also fond of Errol Flynn, though don't consider him as good an actor, with my first and favourite film of his being 'The Adventures of Robin Hood' (he's great in his other swashbucklers too).

There is a lot to recommend in regard to 'The Sisters'. It is not a classic by any stretch and not everything works, with the balance not being quite right. The biggest attraction though is Davis and Flynn, and 'The Sisters' does nothing to disgrace either of them and they are two of the main best things about the film. Neither at their best sure, but for anybody who likes or is a fan of either or both should find little reason to not watch this, even if it is just the once.

Davis doesn't disappoint, it is a restrained performance but a wholly riveting one. Flynn is dashing and charismatic and their chemistry is very sensitively written and acted. The production values are very handsome, time, effort and money and a huge amount of all three at that clearly went into them. The earthquake effects are still impressive and put a vast majority of earthquake effects in films today to shame. The whole earthquake sequence is very memorable.

Max Steiner's score is typically luscious and dramatic. The script avoids being too soapy, it's nicely directed and the story generally moves along nicely. The supporting cast are not exceptional but do more than competently, Lee Patrick standing out.

On the other hand, the supporting characters seem underdeveloped and sidelined in favour of Davis and Flynn. It was right for them to be focused on primarily, but it really shouldn't have been to the extent that there is not an awful lot else in characterisation that one remembers.

Also, the ending felt too pat and tacked on, not ringing true with what happened before in the story and like the writers were favouring star power over realism.

In summary, not great but worth seeing. 7/10