My Sister Eileen (1942)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Alexander Hall

Writers:

Ruth McKenney (stories)
Joseph Fields (play) ...

Release Date:

24 September 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Sisters Ruth and Eileen Sherwood move from Ohio to New York in the hopes of building their careers. Ruth wants to get a job as a writer...

Plot Keywords:

Ohio | Sister Sister Relationship | Greenwich Village New York City | Beautiful Woman | New York City

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Rosalind Russell	...	Ruth Sherwood
Brian Aherne	...	Robert Baker
Janet Blair	...	Eileen Sherwood
George Tobias	...	Appopolous
Allyn Joslyn	...	Chic Clark
Grant Mitchell	...	Walter Sherwood
Gordon Jones	...	'The Wreck' Loomis
Elizabeth Patterson	...	Grandma Sherwood
Richard Quine	...	Frank Lippincott
June Havoc	...	Effie Shelton
Donald MacBride	...	Officer Lonigan
Frank Sully	...	Jenson
Clyde Fillmore	...	Ralph Craven
Jeff Donnell	...	Helen Loomis (as Miss Jeff Donnell)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Almira Sessions	...	Prospective Tenant (scenes deleted)
Forrest Tucker	...	Sandhog (scenes deleted)

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Rosalind Russell won the 1953 Tony Award (New York City) for Supporting or Features Actress in a Musical for "Wonderful Town" for the same role she played in this film in a Broadway musical based on the same novel as this movie.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: When Bob puts Ruth in the taxicab outside of the police station, the shadow of the boom mic can be seen moving across the hood of the cab.

Quotes:

Ruth Sherwood: i hope some fresh air gropes its way in here - it's stifling!

Movie Connections:

Version of "My Sister Eileen" (1960)

Soundtrack:

Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech

A decent film, but often it seemed to try a bit too hard.

The film begins in Columbus, Ohio and young Eileen has visions of stardom on the stage--though she only has worked in community theater. Her older sister, Rosalind Russell, is an aspiring writer and they agree to both go to New York to seek fame and fortune. Along the way, they meet a bazillion crazy characters who wander into their basement apartment faster than is humanly possible. And, yes, I truly do mean wander into the apartment. It's like Grand Central Station in there and after a while the gimmick just doesn't make sense. Subtle it ain't!

MY SISTER EILEEN is a screwball comedy that is very, very aware that that is exactly what it should be. While often cute and enjoyable, all too often the film seems to think that by being too loud, too chaotic and too goofy, it will be a successful film. Personally, I enjoyed it but wish they'd perhaps slowed the whole thing down and tried for at least some subtlety and style. It made the pacing of ARSENIC AND OLD LACE and BRINGING UP BABY seem absolutely slow by comparison!! Throughout this film, whenever the action seems to slow, the film makers seem to just randomly toss characters into the mix with the instructions "act kooky"--sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. As a result, it's a very hit or miss production. However, fortunately, the film ends on a very high note with a surprise (and funny) cameo appearance. I won't say more--it might spoil the fun.

Overall, it's a good time-passer and a decent film, but don't expect magic.