The Whales of August

The Whales of August
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Lindsay Anderson
Produced by	Carolyn Pfeiffer Mike Kaplan
Screenplay by	David Berry
Based on	The Whales of August by David Berry
Starring	Bette Davis Lillian Gish Vincent Price Ann Sothern
Music by	Alan Price
Cinematography	Mike Fash
Edited by	Nicolas Gaster
Distributed by	Alive Films
Release date	October 16, 1987
Running time	90 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Whales of August is a 1987 American drama film based on the play of the same name by David Berry and starring Bette Davis and Lillian Gish as elderly sisters. Also in the cast were Ann Sothern as one of their friends, and Vincent Price as a peripheral member of the former Russian aristocracy.

The film was shot on location on Maine's Cliff Island. The house still stands and is a popular subject of artists on the island. This was the final film directed by Lindsay Anderson.

The Whales of August tells the story of two elderly widowed sisters near the end of their lives, spending a summer in a seaside house in Maine. The surroundings cause them to recall their relationship as young women, and the summers they had enjoyed there in the past. They reflect on the passage of time, and the bitterness, jealousies and misunderstandings that slowly festered over the years and kept them from establishing a true closeness in their relationship.

Libby, played by Davis, is the elder and the more infirm of the two sisters, and her nature has become bitter and cold as a result. Sarah, played by Gish, is the younger sister, a softer and more tolerant character, intent on nursing her sister through her discomfort and trying to breach the gulf that has grown between them. The resentment that Libby so clearly displays to her stifles Sarah's every attempt at making a friendly overture towards her, and Sarah cautiously retreats from her.

Maranov (Price) is an expatriate from Russia who has recently lost the friend that he has been living with. Tisha (Sothern) is a vivacious lifelong friend who provides common sense, fun and laughter, and is the catalyst for some of the sisters' conversations and revelations. In flashbacks, actresses Margaret Ladd, Mary Steenburgen and Tisha Sterling (Sothern's real-life daughter) play respectively Libby, Sarah, and Tisha as young women.

The film's producer, Mike Kaplan, saw the play performed by the Trinity Repertory Company while he was visiting Rhode Island on family business. Kaplan, who had met Lillian Gish many years earlier when he was a publicist involved in The Comedians (1967), decided immediately that the role of Sarah Webber was a role that would introduce new generations of filmgoers to the great talent of the "First Lady of American Film", who had begun her film career in 1912.