Release Date: March 29, 1931
Running Time: 68 minutes
Cast: Conrad Nagel, Sidney Fox, Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart
Directed By: Hobart Henley
There are many things that can be lauded about The Bad Sister. For one, Bette Davis got her start in this film as the timid and shy Laura Madison and, even though she felt upon seeing it that her short career was already over, she is actually pretty good in it. Likewise Sidney Fox as her older sister Marianne is solid. What fails Sidney in this film is a poorly written script and a truly miscast Humphrey Bogart as the “likable” con-man Valentine Corliss. Marianne is written as so unlikable in fact that we are never on her side, a problem considering we are asked to follow her throughout the bulk of this film.
The story opens with Marianne pressuring her father into giving her money he doesn’t have to buy fancy clothes. He is reluctant but she lays it on thick until he relents. She then spends all the money and charges even more to his account. She is practically engaged to Dick Lindley, a doctor whom she is using for material reasons but holds no true affection for. Meanwhile shy Laura pines for Dr Lindley in private, unable to tell him of her feelings. There is also Wade Trumbull, a hefty man with some money of his own who is attracted to Marianne.
Into this soap opera setup enters Valentine Corliss, a fast talking con-man who quickly manages to win over Marianne and, in turn, her family. Valentine has a business proposition that would require Marianne’s father to vouch for him to some wealthy friends so that they will pony up some starter cash for an opportunity that seems too good to be true. When Mr. Madison’s better judgement won’t allow him to vouch for Valentine’s integrity, Marianne forges his signature on a letter of recommendation to get the money.
With Valentine coming between Marianne and Dr. Lindley, that opens up the possibilities for Laura to step up and make a move but she is too timid to act. It will take some intervention from a surprising and, not particularly altruistic source to make things happen there. It is this aspect that perhaps upset Bette Davis about her performance. She is so shy that it takes those around her to make anything happen for her. A scene late in the film involving her younger brother and her diary is heart wrenching. It is powerful and emotional and shows perhaps the only time where the brother displays any true emotion. It also spurs on the relationship between Laura and Dick that would probably have never happened without a little intervention.
Humphrey Bogart as Valentine Corliss is just badly cast. Bogart is game, playing the part with plenty of energy but at no point do we believe anyone would not see through his facade. His character is so shallow and obvious that anyone would be able to see through it. The right actor could hide this better, making the obvious leaps in logic a little easier to buy, but Bogart is not that man this early in his career.
Worst than all of this though is the completely unforgivable Marianne. From the first moments we feel she is in need of some humbling. However, by the time we make it to the final moments of the film she is beyond our ability to forgive her. Her ultimate fate is unsatisfying and so shewed in and abrupt that it brings no catharsis or satisfaction. We didn’t care about her at the start and that feeling only worsened as the film goes on. There needed to be something for us to hold on to with her character; something to like about her, but there just isn’t. So when things come crashing down for her and she comes home repentant and humbled we just don’t care.
The Bad Sister is far from unwatchable. It is fun at times watching the brassy, in real life, Bette Davis so timid and innocent. She was so innocent, in fact, that one scene involving changing a babies diaper came as a shock to her when she opened the diaper and discovered the baby was male. Having never seen a nude male before, baby or otherwise, her reaction caught on screen (she blushed so fiercely that it can be seen through the black and white photography) is hilarious. She would perfect this type of character over a decade later in the classic Now, Voyager. Whether or not Miss Davis liked the performance, it is a treat to watch and a decent look into the actress she would become even if her later characters were much more assertive.
The film had much going for it. It was based on a book by Booth Tarkington called The Flirt. The film took from that novel and made an early pre-code film that is a little fun at times but really isn’t much more than that. It is really only of interest to Bogart and Davis fans. These fans would be better serviced a few years later with The Petrified Forrest
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