The Killing of Sister George (film)

The Killing of Sister George
Original film poster
Directed byRobert Aldrich
Written byLukas Heller
Based onThe Killing of Sister George
by Frank Marcus
Produced byRobert Aldrich
Starring
CinematographyJoseph F. Biroc
Edited byMichael Luciano
Music byGerald Fried
Production
companies
Distributed byCinerama Releasing Corporation
Release date
  • 12 December 1968 (1968-12-12)
Running time
138 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2,550,000
Box office$5,325,000

The Killing of Sister George is a 1968 American film directed by Robert Aldrich and filmed at his Aldrich Studios in Los Angeles. It is based on the 1964 play by British playwright Frank Marcus. In the film, an ageing lesbian television actress, June "George" Buckridge (Beryl Reid, reprising her role from the stage play), simultaneously faces the loss of her popular television role and the breakdown of her long-term relationship with a younger woman (Susannah York). Although Marcus's play was a black comedy, the film version was marketed as a "shocking drama"; it added explicit lesbian content that was not in the original play, and was presented as a serious treatment of lesbianism.

Along with the more campy films What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? and Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte, The Killing of Sister George cemented Robert Aldrich's status as a cult-favorite director with queer audiences.