''My Sister Eileen'' is a 1942 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Alexander Hall Alexander Hall (January 11, 1894 – July 30, 1968) was an American film director, film editor and theatre actor. Biography Hall acted in the theatre from the age of four through 1914, when he began to work in silent movies. Following his milit ...

and starring

Rosalind Russell Catherine Rosalind Russell (June 4, 1907November 28, 1976) was an American actress, comedienne, screenwriter, and singer,Obituary '' Variety'', December 1, 1976, p. 79. known for her role as fast-talking newspaper reporter Hildy Johnson in the H ...

Brian Aherne William Brian de Lacy Aherne (2 May 190210 February 1986) was an English actor of stage, screen, radio and television, who enjoyed a long and varied career in Britain and the United States. His first Broadway appearance in '' The Barretts of ...

and Janet Blair. The screenplay by

Joseph A. Fields Joseph Albert Fields (February 21, 1895 – March 4, 1966)According to the State of California. ''California Death Index, 1940–1997''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, Californiaancestry.com/ ...

and

Jerome Chodorov Jerome Chodorov (August 10, 1911 – September 12, 2004) was an American playwright, librettist, and screenwriter. He co-wrote the book with Joseph A. Fields for the original Broadway musical ''Wonderful Town'' starring Rosalind Russell. The musi ...

is based on their 1940 play of the same title, which was inspired by a series of

autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

short stories by

Ruth McKenney Ruth Marguerite McKenney (November 18, 1911 – July 25, 1972) was an American author and journalist, best remembered for '' My Sister Eileen'', a memoir of her experiences growing up in Ohio and moving to Greenwich Village with her sister Eilee ...

originally published in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

''. The supporting cast features

George Tobias George Tobias (July 14, 1901 – February 27, 1980) was an American theater, film and television actor. He had character parts and supporting roles in several major films of Hollywood's Golden Age. He is also known for his role as Abner K ...

Allyn Joslyn Allyn Joslyn (July 21, 1901 – January 21, 1981) was an American stage, radio, television and film actor, known for his roles playing aristocratic wealthy snobs. Biography Allyn Joslyn was born in Milford, Pennsylvania, the son of a mining e ...

, Grant Mitchell, Gordon Jones and, in a cameo appearance at the end,

The Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared ...

(

Moe Howard Moses Harry Horwitz (June 19, 1897 – May 4, 1975), known professionally as Moe Howard, was an American actor and comedian. He is best known as the leader of The Three Stooges, the farce comedy team who starred in motion pictures and television ...

Larry Fine Louis Feinberg (October 5, 1902 – January 24, 1975), known professionally as Larry Fine, was an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is best known as a member of the comedy act the Three Stooges. Early life Fine was born to a Russian Je ...

and

Curly Howard Jerome Lester Horwitz (; October 22, 1903 – January 18, 1952), known professionally as Curly Howard, was an American actor and comedian. He was best known as a member of the American comedy team the Three Stooges, which also featured his elder ...

Plot

Anxious to help boost the career of her aspiring actress sister Eileen, reporter Ruth Sherwood of the ''Columbus Courier'' writes a rave review about her performance in a local play before it opens. When Eileen is replaced on opening night and the newspaper mistakenly runs the inaccurate review, Ruth is fired. Grandma Sherwood urges Ruth to move to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and Eileen decides to go with her. Relying solely on $100 given to them by their father Walter for financial support, the girls are forced to rent a dingy basement studio apartment in a

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

building owned by Mr. Appopolous. Their first day there is disturbed by workmen blasting to build a subway tunnel, passing drunkards harassing them through their windows, and Officer Lonigan, who warns them to stop causing disturbances. The following day, Eileen meets reporter Chic Clark at the Wallace Theatrical Production office, while Ruth seeks employment at ''Manhatter'', where she has an argument with magazine owner Ralph Craven and leaves in a huff. Editor Robert Baker finds the manuscript she accidentally left behind in an envelope bearing her home address, and he decides to deliver it to her. Meanwhile, Ruth arrives home to discover Eileen has invited drugstore clerk Frank Lippincott to dinner. When an inebriated man searching for previous tenant Effie Shelton starts creating trouble, Eileen asks their neighbor, football player Wreck Loomis, to throw him out. Wreck asks if he can stay with the girls while his mother-in-law Mrs. Wade visits because she still does not know her daughter Helen is married. Frank arrives for dinner, followed in quick succession by Chic, Wreck, a man carrying the unconscious Effie, and Robert, who tells Ruth he wants to discuss her manuscript. They go to a nearby restaurant, where he encourages her to write about her eccentric life. He is delighted with the story she submits, but Ralph rejects it, prompting Robert to announce he is quitting. Back at the Sherwood apartment, Effie inadvertently reveals Helen and Wreck are married to Mrs. Wade, who is upset by the news. Ruth receives a call from Chic's editor asking her to go to Brooklyn to cover the arrival of the Portuguese Merchant Marine fleet and, delighted with the assignment, she rushes off. Unbeknownst to her, it actually was Chic who called, hoping his ruse would allow him to spend time with Eileen alone. Robert arrives, rescues Eileen from Chic's unwanted advances, and invites her and Ruth to dinner to celebrate his quitting his job. Robert leaves, and Ruth arrives with the Portuguese Merchant Marines in hot pursuit. The sisters form a Conga line to lure the sailors outside, resulting in a wild party in the street, and Eileen is arrested for disturbing the peace. The following morning, Grandma and Walter Sherwood unexpectedly arrive at the apartment. While Ruth tries to conceal Eileen's predicament from them, Wreck and Helen announce they have remarried to appease Mrs. Wade, Helen casually mentions Wreck has been living with the girls, Eileen and the Merchant Marines arrive, and their commander presents her with a medal for spending the night in jail. Horrified by this seemingly endless parade of odd characters, Mr. Sherwood insists the sisters return home immediately. While Ruth is packing, Robert arrives with a check for $250 as payment for her story, which has been published in the latest issue of ''Manhatter''. Overjoyed, Ruth signs a six-month lease and tells her father she wants to stay in New York. Ralph offers Ruth a contract for her stories, and she agrees on the condition he will introduce Eileen to a few

theatre producer A theatrical producer is a person who oversees all aspects of mounting a theatre production. The producer is responsible for the overall financial and managerial functions of a production or venue, raises or provides financial backing, and hire ...

s. As they leave the apartment to celebrate, a trio of construction workers (

in a

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

) drill through the floor from the new subway tunnel below. The film ends with Curly saying, "Hey, Moe. I think you made a wrong turn!"

Cast

as Ruth Sherwood *

as Robert Baker * Janet Blair as Eileen Sherwood *

as Appopolous *

as Chic Clark * Grant Mitchell as Walter Sherwood * Gordon Jones as Wreck Loomis * Elizabeth Patterson as Grandma Sherwood *

Richard Quine Richard Quine (November 12, 1920June 10, 1989) was an American director, actor, and singer. He began acting as a child in radio, vaudeville, and stage productions before being signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in his early twenties. When his acting ...

as Frank Lippincott *

June Havoc June Havoc (born Ellen Evangeline Hovick; November 8, 1912 – March 28, 2010) was a Canadian American actress, dancer, stage director and memoirist. Havoc was a child vaudeville performer under the tutelage of her mother Rose Thompson Hovick, ...

as Effie Shelton * Donald MacBride as Officer Lonigan *

Clyde Fillmore Clyde Fillmore (October 25, 1874''Who Was Who on Screen''Silent Film Necrology'' p.170 2nd Edition by Eugene M. Vazzana c.2001 – December 19, 1946), born Clyde Fogle, was an American actor of stage and screen. He is best remembered for a 1 ...

as Ralph Craven * iss

Jeff Donnell Jean Marie "Jeff" Donnell (July 10, 1921 – April 11, 1988) was an American film and television actress. Early years Donnell was born in South Windham, Maine, to Harold and Mildred Donnell, when her father was superintendent at a boys' reform ...

as Helen Loomis *

: **

as Moe (uncredited) **

as Larry (uncredited) **

as Curly (uncredited)

Critical reception

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' called the film "largely a farcical juggling act in which the authors . . . keep their characters spinning more through speed than grace. Some of it is forced almost to snapping; some of it drags heavily on the screen. And Alexander Hall, the director, did little with his camera in that small room. But Rosalind Russell plays the smart sister with a delightfully dour and cynical air, and Janet Blair is disarmingly naive as the pretty, desirable one . . . ''My Sister Eileen'' is gay and bouncing." In his review of the DVD release of the film, Steve Daly of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...

'' graded it B+, calling it "a

screwball A screwball is a baseball and fastpitch softball pitch that is thrown so as to break in the opposite direction of a slider or curveball. Depending on the pitcher's arm angle, the ball may also have a sinking action. The pitch is sometimes known ...

spleenfest, pitching gag after fastball gag." He added, "While the tone is farcical, there's an edge to the movie's depiction of single-gal city life."''Entertainment Weekly'' review
/ref>

Awards and nominations

Rosalind Russell was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Actress The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year ...

''My Sister Eileen'' (1942)
at Oscar.org but lost to

Greer Garson Eileen Evelyn Greer Garson (29 September 1904 – 6 April 1996) was an English-American actress and singer. She was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer who became popular during the Second World War for her portrayal of strong women on the hom ...

in '' Mrs. Miniver''.

Adaptations in other media

Aherne, Russell, and Blair reprised their parts on the '' Lux Radio Theater'' adaptation of ''My Sister Eileen'' on July 5, 1943, and again on '' The Screen Guild Theater'' adaptation on October 18, 1943. On May 18, 1946, ''My Sister Eileen'' was again adapted as a radio play on ''

Academy Award Theater ''Academy Award'' (also listed as ''Academy Award Theater)''Terrace, Vincent. (1999). ''Radio Programs, 1924–1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . p. 8. is a CBS radio anthology series, which presented 30-minut ...

'', in recognition of Russell's Oscar nomination. Russell and Blair reprised their parts.

References

External links

* {{My Sister Eileen 1942 films American comedy films American films based on plays American black-and-white films Films set in New York City Columbia Pictures films The Three Stooges films 1942 comedy films Films about writers Films directed by Alexander Hall 1940s American films