Scott Amundsen The same year that Mart Crowley's landmark play about Gay men in New York, THE BOYS IN THE BAND, opened off-Broadway, Robert Aldrich, one of Hollywood's brightest and most versatile voices, gave us the distaff version with his adaptation of Frank Marcus's play THE KILLING OF SISTER GEORGE. Two years later, William Friedkin would bring Crowley's work to the screen, with much better results than Aldrich achieves here, but I think it is only fair to point out that, flaws and all, Marcus and Aldrich got there first.And they brought a cast of heavy-hitters with them: Beryl Reid, a force of nature as June Buckridge ("Sister George," a nurse on a popular soap opera), Susannah York as her somewhat infantile lover "Childie," and the third point in the triangle, a serpentine BBC executive by the name of Mercy Croft, played to a fare-thee-well by Coral Browne, who has a dual agenda: telling June that she's been sacked and stealing Childie from her into the bargain.The acting by all three of these women is, in a word, sensational. Reid in particular dominates the proceedings: June Buckridge is an unpleasant, loud, obnoxious woman who is abusive to her lover. York, however, it must be said, is no slouch in the role of the submissive Childie; in fact, there is one scene with a cigar butt where Childie turns the tables on "George" with devilish glee. And Browne as Mrs Croft is a perfect foil for the both of them: a serpent in a Chanel suit; oozing style from every pore while scheming to get her way.The only problem is that the basic situation really isn't enough to hang a two-hour-and-eighteen-minute movie on. With THE BOYS IN THE BAND, setting the proceedings at a birthday party allowed the drama to unfold almost in real time, with room for a cast of nine actors crammed into a fancy Village apartment; the claustrophobic nature of the set actually works in the film's favor.Unfortunately, GEORGE is a bare-bones story of an aging actress about to lose a job that she has grown to take for granted, much as she takes for granted her lover, a woman who retreats into her dolls when under stress and whom George abuses mercilessly. Childie, as I mentioned, sometimes gets her own back, and once or twice we see some real affection between the two women, but halfway through this thing I found them both quite unbearable and I had a hard time swallowing the notion that either of them would stand for the other's nonsense for so many years. The addition of Mrs Croft to the proceedings does add a little something extra, but though Browne works hard, the part is underwritten and we really don't understand what motivates her. Is she really attracted to Childie, or is she just a bitch out to get George, and taking her lover just an added bit of venom? In the end we are forced to draw our own conclusions. And June, as difficult as she has been, is most certainly the one left with the short end of the stick as the curtain falls.The sex scene, which garnered a lot of press in its day, and which in fact is a pivotal moment, is frankly the movie's low point. Much was made at the time of Susannah York's reluctance to play the scene; I do not know if there was any truth to that, but Browne's icy-cold approach to the "seduction," her fixation on one of York's breasts as if it were a rare specimen of beetle under a microscope, and York's orgasm, which sounds more like a blood-curdling scream of pain than ecstasy, all add up to what must be the most unpleasant seduction scene in film history.At the end of the day, this is a film worth seeing for the performances (Reid's in particular), and for its historical importance, but it's a rather unpleasant business, and goes on way too long; frankly, by the time the thing finally ended, I was ready to take a hatchet to all three of them.

preppy-3 June Buckridge (Beryl Reid) plays a character named Sister George on a popular TV show. She gets word that her character is going to be killed and panics. She is also a lesbian and her relationship with her lover (Susannah York) is falling apart. Network executive Mercy Croft (Coral Browne) tries to help her...or does she?This movie has problems--it's way too long (almost 2 1/2 hours), has unlikable characters and is pretty depressing. Still it's very well-directed (I love the way the opening credits are done) and has three great performances. Reid had already been in the play on stage so she pretty much knew what she was doing. She's just great--you see her anger but also sympathize with her. York is very good as her lover. Browne is just superb as Mercy Croft. SPOILERS IN THE NEXT PARAGRAPH!!!! This was (for its time) pretty extreme. It was seen as a lesbian movie. In my opinion it really isn't. It's about an older woman whose behavior and attitude ends up destroying her. She just happens to be a lesbian. Still this was pretty raw for 1968. They shot the bar scenes in an actual lesbian bar in England and there was a sexual seduction in the movie that wasn't in the play. It's when Browne and York get together. York hated doing that scene and it shows. This got slapped with an X rating originally just for the subject matter alone. Director Robert Aldrich fought against that rating for years--he thought it deserved an R. It was re rated to an R in 1972. I remember it played here in Boston for months on end. Lines were around the block every night despite the rating. Still it was only a modest hit and quickly was forgotten. The stigma of the X rating still haunts this film which is too bad. No great masterpiece but worth seeing for the great acting by the three leads.

G-R-Lea I did not see the stage play upon which this film is based (too young) but, based on its own merits, this film surely deserves a closer look.The central trio of performers (Reid, York, Browne) provide career "bests" and there are some amusing vignettes from the others (Fraser, in particular, as a truly odious soap actor).The much-discussed sex scene is, by today's standards (and, it would seem, even those of the 1960s stage play), tame, but its real value as a display of the shift of power between the three central characters is very neatly worked through in the closing quarter.The final five minutes of (self-) destruction is heartbreaking, with excellent use made of the music track.In short: miss it and miss out.

julikell This movie is a heck of a lot more relevant than more recent films dealing with lesbianism -- the shallow, lame DESERT HEARTS comes to mind. Though over two hours long, TKOSG held me with little effort. The action moved freely from the studio to the apartment to the pub. And the seduction scene was totally erotic and ... well ... never mind. Was this particular scene overly long? Only to a generation raised on sex scenes which rarely last as long as it takes to cook a three-minute egg. Explicit? Grow up!And the performances ... wow! I had no problem with the hold George had over Childie, with Beryl Reid's superior portrayal complemented perfectly by Susannah York's fragile and, at the same time, forceful Childie. I must admit, York was a bit over the top in the beginning, but I wouldn't say that if I didn't count her as one of my all-time favorite actresses. And how about Coral Browne -- she was sensational! Sublty menacing, eerily sensuous -- and when I realized this was the same woman from AUNTIE MAME and LYLA CLARE, well, I nearly fell off my chair. I love this lady!