My Sister Eileen
Directed by Alexander Hall
Written by Joseph Fields and Jerome Chodorov from their play based on stories by Ruth McKenny
1942/USA
Columbia Pictures Corporation
First viewing/Netflix rental
[box] [last lines] Subway Builder: Hey Moe, I think we made da wrong toin![/box]
This is a madcap “laugh a minute” comedy filled with kooky characters that chronicles the adventures of two poverty stricken would-be career girls in New York. It is based on autobiographical pieces published in the New Yorker magazine.
Ruth (Rosalind Russell) and Eileen (Janet Blair) Sherwood are sisters from Columbus, Ohio who arrive in New York City with $100 between them. Ruth hopes to find work as a writer and Eileen has her sights set on the stage. They move into the basement apartment from hell as they set out to find their fortune. Their window puts them in ear and eye range of the sidewalk, blasting for a new subway line rocks the apartment from early morning until midnight, and a faulty door lock has a series of odd balls dropping in day and night.
Both of the women are getting nowhere in their chosen professions but Eileen, a man magnet, at least does not have to subsist on pasta and bread like older sister Ruth. Ruth starts having success first, however, when she meets a man (Brian Ahern) who is trying to bring the “Manhattaner” magazine up-to-date with some human interest stories. With George Tobias as the sisters’ Greek painter-landlord, Allyn Joslyn as a womanizing reporter, and June Havoc as the former tenant.
This is funny, if hectic, and Rosalind Russell handles the comedy expertly. It is all a little too much but does get the flavor of small town girls starting out in the big city with dreams and some talent.
My Sister Eileen was remade in 1955 with Betty Garrett and Janet Leigh. Rosalind Russell reprised her role as Ruth in 1953 in the Leonard Bernstein Broadway musical Wonderful Town; Edie Adams played Eileen.
Rosalind Russell was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in My Sister Eileen.
Clip – Three Stooges Cameo (the best I could do)
