Fine Movie with A Few Nitpicks About Characters' Ages

The 1987 American drama film The Whales of August stars Bette Davis as Elizabeth Mae “Libby” Logan-Strong and Lillian Gish as Sarah Louise Logan-Webber, two elderly sisters from Philadelphia who have spent their summers in Maine since girlhood. The title refers to some whale watching they do when the leviathans arrive in August. The movie, based on a play of the same name, takes place in August 1954, either that or they hadn’t changed their wall calendar since 1954, anyhow during the summer which the widowed Sarah would have celebrated her 46th wedding anniversary with Philip, who died during the First World War, meaning if this was 1954 they’d have been married in 1908. If she was around 20 when she married, she would be only 66 in 1954. This confused me throughout the entire film as the actress playing Sarah was 93 at the time of filming and looked it. Was the character 47 when she married, was she mistaken about what anniversary it was, with the story taking place much later than 1954 and they just hadn’t changed the calendar since then, or was an actress over 90 not very convincingly playing a character in her 60s or 70s? This was never clear and served as a distraction throughout the film. Of course people did age more rapidly and drastically in past times. Arthur Godfrey was still on the radio, so the date cannot be later than 1972 when his daily show ended.

Sarah takes care of her sister Libby, who at some point over the years went blind. It was never stated when or how, just that she had no vision impairment when young. Libby is a difficult and bitter character and Sarah is not sure how much longer she can continue to take care of her.

Vincent Price plays Nicholas Maranov, an elderly Russian nobleman expatriate who comes to this location in Maine every summer as he enjoys the fishing and the company. He is in a dilemma as the person with whom he usually stays has just died. Sarah makes him welcome and he tells a fascinating story of some of his life experiences. Libby, however, makes him unwelcome and rebuffs him. Vincent Price is excellent in this role. He is courtly and gentlemanly, saying “My dear” several times, which is always great to hear him say. Perhaps some thorough fan has compiled how many times he said this throughout his long career.

Besides the sisters and Mr. Maranov, there is a noisy handyman, Joshua Brackett, played by Harry Carey Jr., providing comic relief, and Libby’s friend Tisha, played by Ann Sothern. They have known each other around 50 years. Ann Sothern is 16 years younger than Lillian Gish but in the flashback showing them when young they look no more than a few years apart in age, again confusing. If Tisha had not been shown as a girl with Sarah and Libby, she could have been a younger person who befriended Sarah later. My guess is Sarah and Tisha were both meant to be in their 70s with Libby being somewhat older but not by too much. Other than the confusing details I have noted, this is an excellent movie. Joshua Brackett may throw out a swear word or two, but otherwise there is no violence, foul language, or other objectionable elements. This is a fine film, highly recommended.