Baby Sister

Baby Sister

Year: 1983

Runtime: 100 mins

Language: English

Director: Steven Hilliard Stern

DramaRomance

Sultry college dropout Annie Burroughs moves in with her older sister Marsha and deliberately sabotages Marsha's otherwise stable relationship with her live‑in boyfriend David Mitchell, aiming to begin a sensuous, all‑consuming affair and claim David for herself.

Warning: spoilers below!

Haven’t seen Baby Sister yet? This summary contains major spoilers. Bookmark the page, watch the movie, and come back for the full breakdown. If you're ready, scroll on and relive the story!

Timeline & Setting – Baby Sister (1983)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Baby Sister (1983). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

Location

Los Angeles, California

Set in Los Angeles, the film follows Annie’s move from college life to a bustling urban existence. The city’s gallery culture and medical clinic atmosphere frame the core relationships and betrayals. Its sprawling neighborhoods provide a backdrop for family tensions, romance, and personal growth.

🌆 City vibe 🎨 Art scene 🏙️ Urban landscape

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 13:02

Main Characters – Baby Sister (1983)

Meet the key characters of Baby Sister (1983), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Annie Burroughs (Phoebe Cates)

A wild 19-year-old who leaves college to live with her sister and starts a romantic entanglement with a doctor. Her impulsiveness masks underlying grief over her mother’s death and a complex relationship with her father. She is impulsive yet capable of genuine feeling, seeking independence and belonging.

💫 Protagonist ❤️ Complex love 🖼️ Artist at heart

Marsha Burroughs (Pamela Bellwood)

An established gallery owner who balances career and family. She cares deeply for Annie but faces trouble when romance enters the family circle. Her resilience is tested as she navigates trust, betrayal, and the demands of the art world.

🏢 Gallery matriarch 💔 Family loyalty 📈 Ambition

David Mitchell (Ted Wass)

A 31-year-old doctor who becomes involved with Annie while maintaining a complicated relationship with Marsha. He wrestles with guilt and responsibility as secrets threaten to upend the lives around him. He is conflicted, trying to balance affection with honesty.

💖 Romantic lead ⚖️ Moral conflict 🏥 Doctor

Tom Burroughs (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.)

Annie’s father, shaped by the loss of his wife and the strain of their relationship. He alternates between distance and concern, striving to protect his family while grappling with his own grief. His approach to forgiveness and guidance anchors the family’s emotional core.

👨 Father figure 🕊️ Grief and forgiveness 🧭 Authority

Jessie (Jill Jacobson)

A supporting figure connected to the family, contributing to the web of relationships surrounding Annie. Her presence helps illustrate the wider impact of the central romance on siblings and relatives.

👧 Sidelined but insightful 🌟 Support 🛡️ Family

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 13:02

Major Themes – Baby Sister (1983)

Explore the central themes of Baby Sister (1983), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

💘 Forbidden Love

Annie and David’s affair disrupts the stability of two families and tests the boundaries of loyalty and trust. The relationship brings guilt, secret longing, and the fear of hurting loved ones. When the truth emerges, it forces characters to choose between honesty and protection of those they care about. The theme explores how desire can both illuminate and damage personal bonds.

👪 Family & Responsibility

The narrative centers on fragile family dynamics, including a strained father-daughter relationship and a sisterly bond under pressure. Past trauma from Annie’s mother’s death informs present tensions and blame. The story weighs the cost of keeping secrets against the chance for forgiveness. Ultimately, it examines how family members navigate duty, trust, and reconciliation.

🎨 Art & Identity

Art serves as a link to Annie’s late mother and a barometer for her own sense of self. The gallery world and the act of painting become expressions of grief, independence, and personal ambition. The characters use creative choices to communicate feelings they cannot voice aloud. The theme questions whether art can heal or simply reflect inner turmoil.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 13:02

Mobile App Preview

Coming soon on iOS and Android

The Plot Explained Mobile App

From blockbusters to hidden gems — dive into movie stories anytime, anywhere. Save your favorites, discover plots faster, and never miss a twist again.

Sign up to be the first to know when we launch. Your email stays private — always.

Explore Movie Threads

Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.

Movies about family secrets and forbidden desires like Baby Sister

Dramas where intimate secrets threaten to tear a family apart.If you enjoyed the tense, secretive affair in Baby Sister, explore more movies like it. These dramas focus on forbidden romances and devastating secrets within families, creating a powerful mix of emotional betrayal and psychological tension.

tensesecretiveguiltypassionatefamilialmelancholicbetrayaldramatic

Narrative Summary

Stories in this thread typically involve a character pursuing a forbidden relationship with someone closely tied to their family, such as a sibling's partner. The narrative builds methodically as the secret affair creates a web of lies, leading to an inevitable, emotionally charged confrontation that forces characters to confront their actions and the resulting familial damage.

Why These Movies?

These films are grouped together because they share a core focus on the destructive power of secrets within a family dynamic. They create a specific, tense mood through themes of betrayal, guilt, and the collision of personal desire with familial duty, often paced steadily to maximize psychological suspense.

Movies with bittersweet reckonings like Baby Sister

Character-driven stories of flawed people finding painful growth.Fans of Baby Sister's ending will appreciate these similar stories. Discover movies about characters whose destructive actions lead to a painful reckoning, culminating in a bittersweet resolution that offers a mix of consequences and cautious hope for the future.

melancholicreflectivebittersweetguiltydramaticcharacter studyemotionalreckoning

Narrative Summary

The narrative pattern follows a protagonist who actively sabotages their own or others' happiness, driven by personal trauma or desire. The story arc leads to a climax where their actions are exposed and consequences must be faced. The ending is not purely tragic; it often involves a degree of reconciliation or self-awareness, but the emotional cost of their journey remains deeply felt.

Why These Movies?

These movies are united by a specific emotional journey: the arc of a flawed character facing the results of their own sabotage. They share a melancholic, reflective tone and a bittersweet emotional payoff, balancing the pain of consequence with a glimmer of hard-won maturity or closure.

Unlock the Full Story of Baby Sister

Don't stop at just watching — explore Baby Sister in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what Baby Sister is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.

Baby Sister Summary

Read a complete plot summary of Baby Sister, including all key story points, character arcs, and turning points. This in-depth recap is ideal for understanding the narrative structure or reviewing what happened in the movie.

Baby Sister Summary

Baby Sister Timeline

Track the full timeline of Baby Sister with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.

Baby Sister Timeline

Baby Sister Spoiler-Free Summary

Get a quick, spoiler-free overview of Baby Sister that covers the main plot points and key details without revealing any major twists or spoilers. Perfect for those who want to know what to expect before diving in.

Baby Sister Spoiler-Free Summary

More About Baby Sister

Visit What's After the Movie to explore more about Baby Sister: box office results, cast and crew info, production details, post-credit scenes, and external links — all in one place for movie fans and researchers.

More About Baby Sister

Similar Movies to Baby Sister

Discover movies like Baby Sister that share similar genres, themes, and storytelling elements. Whether you’re drawn to the atmosphere, character arcs, or plot structure, these curated recommendations will help you explore more films you’ll love.