Sister, Sister (1982 film)

Sister, Sister is a 1982 American drama television movie written by Maya Angelou and starring Diahann Carroll, Rosalind Cash, and Irene Cara.[3] The film tells the story of three sisters who come together to decide the fate of their family home after the death of their revered father. Originally filmed in February 1979, the film was shelved for three years before debuting on June 7, 1982 on NBC.[4][5]

Sister, Sister
Title card
GenreDrama
Family
Written byMaya Angelou
Directed byJohn Berry
StarringDiahann Carroll
Irene Cara
Rosalind Cash
Dick Anthony Williams
Paul Winfield
Theme music composerAlex North
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producerIrv Wilson
ProducersMaya Angelou
John Berry
Dennis Berry
(associate producer)
CinematographyGayne Rescher
EditorArt Seid
Running time98 minutes
Production company20th Century Fox Television
DistributorNBC[1]
BudgetUS $50,000
Release
Original networkNBC
Picture formatColor
Audio formatMono
Original releaseJune 7, 1982 (1982-06-07)[2]

Plot

The story starts out in a small town in North Carolina with Carolyne Lovejoy (Carroll), a schoolteacher, singing in the church choir at the local church. It is later revealed that she is having an intense affair with the pastor, Reverend Henderson (Dick Anthony Williams) who is also the state senator-elect. Carolyne later comes home to find her younger sister (who she raised after the death of their parents), 20-year old Sissy (Cara), with her boyfriend, Johnny. It is expressed that Sissy is an aspiring ice skater, but Carolyne wants her to follow in her footsteps and become a schoolteacher.

Their battle continues throughout the movie. Later their estranged sister, Frieda (Cash), who has been living 13 years in the slums of Detroit, shows up with her 12-year-old son, Danny (Kristoff St. John). They decide to stay for a while because Danny has had some trouble with the law and Frieda wants to give him a fresh start in a new environment. While all trying to co-exist in the same house, the sisters' lives turn upside down. Frieda suggest the idea of selling their childhood, stating their youngest sister will be out on her own soon and all the space isn't need for just Carolyne.

Frieda emerges as the troubled black sheep, while Carolyne is knocked off her martyr pedestal when the minister succumbs to Frieda's seduction. Sissy learns that their father never wanted another daughter, but had hoped she would be the son that eluded him. Their mother tried to abort her. After a physical altercation with Frieda and Carolyne, Frieda and Sissy decided to leave. The movie ends with Sissy leaving for New York and Frieda deciding to stay and work things out with Carolyne.

Production

Although the movie was filmed in February 1979, NBC chose to withhold it until June 1982, when it aired during primetime. According to JET, Fred Silverman, who was the head executive of the network at the time, decided not to air the film because it did not match his preferred formats of "action-packed or comedy shows," and that the film's focus on the intense personal dramas of middle-class blacks would not appeal to white sensibilities of the late 1970s. After Silverman's resignation, the new network president, Grant Tinker, decided to make his mark on NBC's programming by debuting all of the productions that Silverman had shelved.[6]

Though set in North Carolina, Sister, Sister was filmed on location in Montgomery[7] and Opelika, Alabama. The historic Old Ship African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in Montgomery was used for the church scenes, and the interior and exterior of the Lovejoy house were filmed at the J.W. Darden House in Opelika.[8]

Awards

The film won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special. Cara won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special for her role in the film.

Cast

References
  1. Encyclopedia of African-American Literature - By Wilfred D. Samuels
  2. The New York Times - TV: 'SISTER, SISTER' FILM AND 'COUPLES' SERIES - By John J. O'Connor - June 7, 1982
  3. Alex North, Film Composer: A Biography, with Musical Analyses of a Streetcar ... By Sanya Shoilevska Henderson
  4. Hide in Plain Sight: The Hollywood Blacklistees in Film and Television, 1950 ... By Paul Buhle, Dave Wagner
  5. NNDB - Sister, Sister (1982)
  6. Why 'Sister, Sister' Film Was Kept Off The Air For Three Years, JET, June 21, 1982.
  7. Film in Montgomery
  8. National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, Dr. J.W. Darden House, Opelika, Alabama
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