The Killing of Sister George

The "Sister George" of the title is Britain’s best-loved soap-opera character, a sweet old Miss Marple-ish nurse who putters around her quaint little village on a motor scooter. Actress June Buckridge (Beryl Reid) has become so identified with her TV character that she’s known as George to her friends, but outside the studio she’s a hard-drinking, hot-tempered, foul-mouthed lesbian living with an immature young thing she’s nicknamed "Childie" (Susannah York, who makes her memorable entrance in a sheer Baby Doll nightie). At her worst, June is an abusive monster but beneath the bluster is an insecure actress who desperately clings to her young lover when the studio decides to kill her character off, and a predatory studio executive (Coral Browne) makes a play for Childie. Director Robert Aldrich, best known for his tough action films and gothic thrillers, brings his fierce vision of human nature to this adaptation of the stage play by Frank Marcus. For all her crude, alcoholic, and abusive behavior, Aldrich has sympathy for June as she desperately holds on to the character that has become her life. In its best moments the film simmers in angry suspicion and helpless frustration, brought to life by Reid’s vivacious performance, but other scenes are overlong and stage-bound, and the caricatured portrayals of lesbian life have aged rather poorly. Extras include two audio commentary tracks (one by film historian Kat Ellinger, the other by film historian David Del Valle and actor-director Michael Varrarti), and an interview with camera operator Brian West. Optional. (S. Axmaker)