The Killing of Sister George

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The Killing of Sister George

R

Released Dec 12, 1968

2h 17m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

59%

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17 Reviews

78%

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500+ Ratings

June is an actress who portrays the popular Sister George in a British soap opera. The actress spends her time drinking and engaging in lesbian sex with her much younger lover Alice. A television executive decides she likes Alice and wants to write Sister George off the show. June watches as her behavior and insecurity drives Alice away.

Melissa Anderson

Film Comment Magazine

Aldrich's film endures not because it's an example of bad, pre-Stonewall homo images but because of its sly way of celebrating.

Mar 19, 2018

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Pat Graham

Chicago Reader

Robert Aldrich's "daring" 1968 mating of lesbianism and commerce was, as I recall, considered pretty tame even then; lord knows what it looks like today.

Apr 24, 2009

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Harold Clurman

The Nation

The spurious seriousness of the picture spoils the comedy, while its brave assault on convention is little but hollow show.

Oct 3, 2023

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Barbara Grier

The Advocate

The Killing of Sister George... has almost as much relationship to the life of the ordinary Lesbian, as Donald Duck has to the ordinary man.

May 24, 2022

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Harvey G. Cox

Tempo (National Council of Churches)

The acting is uneven. The camera work and direction is listless. Some scenes drag on endlessly. The film is utterly forgettable.

Jan 7, 2021

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Penelope Houston

The Spectator

It's Beryl Reid and Susannah York drifting dismasted towards caricature.

Jul 18, 2018

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Alec B

Reid gives a brilliant performance (we're very lucky that more famous people passed on the role) which doesn't shy away from the character's uglier tendencies while, at the same time, getting you to at least partially sympathize with her alienation.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/28/24

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PridePosterStudios

Psycho. Lesbian. Trope.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

06/13/24

Full Review

Audience Member

This groundbreaking movie was released December 1968. The Children's Hour with Shirley MacLaine and Audrey Hepburn had been released seven years before. Marlon Brando portrayed a closet a homosexual in 1967's Reflection in a Golden Eye the year before. "...Sister George" is a sincere attempt by director Robert Aldrich to show culture of people, not a social or psychological "problem" film. The movie could have been trimmed in places to speed up the action. The love scene between Coral Brown and Susannah York is shot like a thriller. However the performances are florid and vivid. Beryl Reid is heartbreaking. The story is fascinating. Most importantly of all, there is no suicide or conversion to "normal" heterosexuality at at the end. All the characters develop and move on. This film is worth a look. Just keep it in context.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

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steve d

Shocking at the time, now the performances hold it together.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Audience Member

aldrich's attempt at tackling controversy considered tame by today's standards.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

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Audience Member

very groundbreaking for its time, landmark of a movie. a should-watch, quite the cult classic.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

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Robert Aldrich

Director

Beryl Reid

June Buckridge

Susannah York

Alice "Childie" McNaught

Coral Browne

Mercy Croft

Ronald Fraser

Leo Lockhart

Patricia Medina

Betty Thaxter

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Synopsis

June is an actress who portrays the popular Sister George in a British soap opera. The actress spends her time drinking and engaging in lesbian sex with her much younger lover Alice. A television executive decides she likes Alice and wants to write Sister George off the show. June watches as her behavior and insecurity drives Alice away.

Director: Robert Aldrich
Producer: Robert Aldrich
Screenwriter: Lukas Heller, Frank Marcus
Distributor: Cinerama Releasing Corporation [us]
Production Co: American Broadcasting Company (ABC), The Associates & Aldrich Company Inc., Palomar Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 12, 1968, Wide
Release Date (DVD): Aug 23, 2005
Runtime: 2h 17m