The Killing of Sister George (1968)

75% of critics liked it
(12 reviews)
79% of users liked it
(616 ratings)

A year after helming The Dirty Dozen, director Robert Aldrich took on this controversial drama based on the play of the same name by Frank Marcus. Beryl Reid stars as soap opera star June, an alcoholic lesbian who spends most of her time with her younger lover, Alice (Susannah York). When vindictive… More A year after helming The Dirty Dozen, director Robert Aldrich took on this controversial drama based on the play of the same name by Frank Marcus. Beryl Reid stars as soap opera star June, an alcoholic lesbian who spends most of her time with her younger lover, Alice (Susannah York). When vindictive television executive Mercy Croft (Coral Browne) takes a liking to Alice, she arranges to have June's character, Sister George, killed off the show. Drunk and paranoid, June struggles to keep it together or risk losing Alice. Because of its exploration of a subject as taboo as homosexuality, The Killing of Sister George earned an X rating. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

Play Trailer

Rating, Runtime: R, 2 hr. 18 min.
Directed By: Robert Aldrich
Written By: Lukas Heller, Frank Marcus
Genres: Drama, Television, Classics, Comedy

In Theaters: Dec 12, 1968 Limited
On DVD: Aug 23, 2005
Studio: Anchor Bay Entertainment

Critic Reviews

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.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Because of its outre subject of lesbianism and one sexually graphic scene, Aldrich's well acted, lurid melodrama was slapped with X-rating upon its release.
Leo Goldsmith, Reverse Shot
Melodrama, slapstick, romance, exploitation, and psychological horror all vie for dominance throughout the film, giving it an air of fickle, feminine hysteria, which the graphic sex scene at the end of the film makes still more difficult to pin down.
Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com
Talky, exploitive (for 1968) drama focusing on lesbianism.
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
Quase um Quem Tem Medo de Virginia Woolf? lésbico, este é um filme denso, muitas vezes desagradável como sua protagonista (Reid, fantástica), mas sempre instigante e corajoso.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Excellently acted version of the play is finally rather dull.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
More wearisome than appealing.

Read all 7 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

jay n

An outstanding performance by Beryl Reid, she is not afraid to show her character as an at times rather unpleasant and selfish woman but still very human and makes you feel for her plight, is the highlight of this landmark film with very good support from Susannah York and Coral… More
An outstanding performance by Beryl Reid, she is not afraid to show her character as an at times rather unpleasant and selfish woman but still very human and makes you feel for her plight, is the highlight of this landmark film with very good support from Susannah York and Coral Browne. Dated and sometimes drawn out still worth seeing for the lead performers.
William S

"Not all girls are raving bloody lesbians you know" "That is a misfortune I'm perfectly well aware of" "A flawed credible cow!?" "Mooo... mooo!... MOOO!!" I do love the lesbians in The Killing of Sister George.… More
"Not all girls are raving bloody lesbians you know" "That is a misfortune I'm perfectly well aware of" "A flawed credible cow!?" "Mooo... mooo!... MOOO!!" I do love the lesbians in The Killing of Sister George. By today's standards they may seem extremely non-pc - you couldn't say they were sympathetic characterisations by any stretch - self-destructive diesel-dyke and child-like lipstick dipstick - not to mention Coral Browne's positively vampiric predator! Despite this, in it's own antiquated way, they are still believable and their tragic existence is quite moving. But, as we have come to expect from Aldrich, there are plenty of scraps and campery - Beryl Reid and Coral Browne positively lick their lips - Browne, at one point, calling Reid a "dreary, inadequate, drunken old bag" and Reid rounding off a fight and telling Browne "Why don't you piss off?" A particular highlight, for me at least, is the outrageous sex-scene. It's gob-smacking: filmed like a scene from a Hammer film, as Coral Browne bares down on Susannah York like a vampire - coal-black eye make-up, blood red lips and dress and creepy insinuating violins on the soundtrack. It's wonderfully gothic and totally inappropriate for a sex scene. It's one of the many reasons I cherish this film! If you are looking for a touching and poignant portrayal of lesbian love then go search out the marvellous and much under-rated Desert Hearts. But if you want more of the same screaming camp bitchery and over-the-top performances a la Baby Jane and Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte then look no further than the melodramatic and tawdry tale of Georgie, Childie and Mercy Croft.