They Were Sisters (1945)

An epic tale of three sisters, their loves and their lives, played out by an all-star British cast, They Were Sisters was voted fourth in the National Film Awards of 1946 behind The Way to the Stars. Lucy (Phyllis Calvert), Charlotte (Dulcie Gray) and Vera (Anne rawford) are three sisters who are pursued by three very different kinds of men asking for their hand in marriage. Geoffrey (James Mason) is an ambitious, carousing businessman who pursues Charlotte because he believes a demure, stay-at-home wife will make his career progress more rapidly and his extra-marital social activities more pleasant. William (Peter Murray-Hill) is a dependable, kindly man who recognises in Lucy a kindred spirit. Vera is a social butterfly with no interest in anyone but herself, so when Brian (Barry Livesey) offers to marry her, she accepts as a marriage of convenience and takes lovers when she desires. As time passes the three sisters suffer joy and heartache, but as the cruel, sadistic behaviour of Geoffrey threatens to send Charlotte insane, the sisters decide to unite together with momentous consequences...