The old song lyric “Two different faces, but in tight places, we think and we act as one” pretty much sums up the bond often shared by sisters.
No matter how close the connection — or how many sterling silver “sisters are a forever friend” catch bangle message bracelets are exchanged — there is bound to be some tension between sibs. Even the tagline for this weekend’s kid comedy Ramona and Beezus — “A little sister goes a long way”— suggests some good-natured conflict between the girls. Here’s a look at other kinds of cinematic sibling rivalry.
Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?
If sisters are blossoms in the garden of life as one poet said, then Jane Hudson must be a poison ivy plant. Played to great creepy effect by Bette Davis — wearing an inch of thick pasty make-up —Jane was ranked No. 44 on the AFI’s 50 Best Villains list. As she descends into madness, she keeps her sister Blanche (Joan Crawford) captive and even tries to make her eat her pet parakeet. The movie is great campy fun, but the behind-the-scenes stories are almost as psychotic as anything on screen. The aging divas couldn’t stand one another and fought constantly. In fact, Davis “accidentally” kicked Crawford in the head, requiring stitches.
Sisters
Sisters, Brian De Palma’s ode to deviant sororal behaviour may well be the Citizen Kane of the genre. On one hand, we have Danielle (Margot Kidder), a French/Canadian model and one half of a set of Siamese twins. Then there’s the murderously mad Dominique (also Kidder), who fools her prey into thinking she is the demure Danielle before, well, going murderously mad on them.
