Dotsthavesp I wanted to but couldn't!

JinRoz For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Loui Blair It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

utgard14 The three Gaylord sisters (Barbara Stanwyck, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Nancy Coleman), lose their parents at an early age and fight to keep their family mansion. George Brent plays the guy after the mansion and when you find out why your eyes will roll so hard they'll fall out of your head. Stanwyck is feisty to the point of obnoxiousness and Brent is a prick. He's also a rapist, if I interpreted one crucial scene correctly. Very disappointing melodrama with a plot that's much ado about nothing. Inappropriate moments of humor don't help. Protracted opening with Donald Woods as the father who goes on and on about the family legacy and what it means to be a Gaylord has next to nothing to do with the rest of the movie. One little bit of interesting trivia: actor (and future murderer) Gig Young took his stage name from the character he plays in this movie. Before this he went by his real name of Byron Barr.

jarrodmcdonald-1 In the case of 1942's The Gay Sisters, more is supposed to mean better. The mansion set and the very epic-like nature of the sisters' story lines signify that it is a top-grade project from a top-grade studio (Warner Brothers). Barbara Stanwyck, as the older sister, Fiona Gaylord, seems to be particularly tough. She is never really a soft-touch, except in those moments where she undergoes a severe script-sanctioned transformation. But I think she is at her most real in this film, and it is more true to her off-screen self. Like the character she plays, she was also orphaned; and also, like the character she plays, she had one son, so in many ways, this project is tailor-made for Stanwyck. It is a treat watching her, and if modern audiences can get over the title, they will discover a classic gem.

mark.waltz This highly underrated drama has seemed to have lost its way along with the many court documents filed in the case of the Gaylord family. Whuile the story seems to wallow in the melodramatic structure of soap operas, it is interesting, not only for its outstanding leading lady (Barbara Stanwyck) but its view of the family traditions of honor and the sometimes seemingly hypocritical lives of those in the public eye. This could be influenced by any number of celebrity poor little rich girls, from Barbara Hutton to Doris Duke, with the Gaylord family obviously influential in New York society like the wealthy Astors were around the same time. Young Ms. Gaylord (Mary Thomas) is first seen with her widowed father who is going off to fight in World War I, and the strength of her character dissolves when she realizes her legacy. As 25 years go by, she turns into a force to be reckoned with. Stanwyck, one of the greatest powerhouses of the golden age of Hollywood, delivers a performance that covers all emotions-toughness, vulnerability, humor, and even sexiness. Once again, she is paired with George Brent, the man making claims against the estate. Geraldine Fitzgerald and Nancy Coleman give strong performances as her sisters, with the wonderful Donald Crisp in great support as the family retainer. A great deal of the detail is shown with everything that wealthy families like this go through in estate court, creating law books based on their probate case, and being utilized by law students in their studies. While the narrative gets a bit overwrought by sudden revelations that pop up out of nowhere, it is unique in its storytelling even if at times it does seem to be rambling all over the place. Overshadowed possibly because of Warner Brothers' two other soap operas of 1942 ("Now Voyager" and "King's Row"), "The Gay Sisters" is certainly better than their other "sister soap", "In This Our Life", in which Bette Davis and Olivia de Havilland played two sisters, one irredeemably bad and the other oh-so-sweetly good. Each of the sisters has their own distinctive personality, although it is made very clear who is boss when Barbara Stanwyck is on screen. The music department and photography of the Warner Brothers production team made sure that every detail was outstanding, and the artistic look of the film is breathtaking. The storyline is romantic and filled with conflict. It is certainly no different than what producer Ross Hunter and director Douglas Sirk would do with the series of soaps they made at Universal with such leading ladies as Stanwyck, Jane Wyman, Lana Turner and Susan Hayward. The film is also noteworthy as the major debut of Gig Young who liked his on-screen character's name so much that he utilized it for his professional name.

cinefan-7 Here is one of those movies spoiled by the studio's insistence on a happy ending. Conflicts which have stretched out for years are settled in a few minutes. It would have been far more interesting to inject a tone of ambiguity. The talented Barbara Stanwyck is undone by a sudden metamorphosis from independent and assertive woman to a compliant female of the kind she has put down all her life. Brent, as usual, is well over his head and then there is the ludicrous situation of Gig Young playing a character named Gig Young. Someone mentions "Gig Young" and then who appears but Gig Young, the actor! Worth seeing though far below what it could have been.