''The Gay Sisters'' is a 1942 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

directed by

Irving Rapper Irving Rapper (16 January 1898 – 20 December 1999) was a British-born American film director. Biography Born to a Jewish family

, and starring

Barbara Stanwyck Barbara Stanwyck (; born Ruby Catherine Stevens; July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was an American actress, model and dancer. A stage, film, and television star, during her 60-year professional career she was known for her strong, realistic sc ...

, George Brent,

Geraldine Fitzgerald Geraldine Mary Fitzgerald (November 24, 1913 – July 17, 2005) was an Irish actress and a member of the American Theater Hall of Fame. In 2020, she was listed at number 30 on ''The Irish Times'' list of Ireland's greatest film actors. Early li ...

Donald Crisp Donald William Crisp (27 July 188225 May 1974) was an English film actor as well as an early producer, director and screenwriter. His career lasted from the early silent film era into the 1960s. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor ...

Gig Young Gig Young (born Byron Elsworth Barr; November 4, 1913 – October 19, 1978) was an American actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in ''Come Fill the Cup'' (1952) and '' Teacher's Pet'' ...

(who adopted his character's name as his screen name) and Nancy Coleman. The Warner Bros. motion picture was based on a novel by

Stephen Longstreet Stephen Longstreet (April 18, 1907 – February 20, 2002) was an American writer and artist. Biography Born Chauncey (later Henri) Weiner (sometimes Wiener), he was known as Stephen Longstreet from 1939. He wrote as Paul Haggard, David Ormsbee and ...

Plot

Sisters Fiona, Evelyn, and Susie Gaylord, are orphaned when first their mother goes down with the ''

Lusitania Lusitania (; ) was an ancient Iberian Roman province located where modern Portugal (south of the Douro river) and a portion of western Spain (the present Extremadura and the province of Salamanca) lie. It was named after the Lusitani or Lu ...

'' and then their wealthy father,

Major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

Penn Gaylord, is killed in France in World War I. Before Penn left for France, he told Fiona, the eldest, that the Gaylords have never sold the land they have acquired. However, their half billion dollar inheritance is held up in

probate Probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased, or whereby the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy in the st ...

for decades; Fiona complains that they have practically grown up in court. Though they have a

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 ...

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping ...

mansion, the sisters have had to borrow money to live. A French charity claims that Penn made a later will before he died, leaving 10% of the Gaylord estate to it. Though the Gaylords are now willing to give up the 10%, their real antagonist, Charles Barclay, who wants their mansion, and the choice land on which it sits too, so that he can tear it down as part of his real estate development, Barclay Square. Fiona is determined not to give in to this. Meanwhile, Evelyn has married an English nobleman, now fighting in the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

, while Susie is in love with painter Gig Young, despite being married herself. Susanna only stayed with her husband for a few hours, but he refuses to grant her an

annulment Annulment is a legal procedure within secular and religious legal systems for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning al ...

unless she pays him a great deal of money, to which of course she does not have access. When Evelyn returns home from England, she becomes attracted to Gig herself and tries to steal him away. In 1941, Fiona fires the longtime Gaylord lawyer, Hershell Gibbon, when he appears to be too sympathetic to Charles. She hires Ralph Pedloch as his replacement. It is revealed that Fiona and Charles have a prior history together. Six years before, a relative died and left the sisters $100,000 on condition that Fiona be married. Fiona decided to go through with a sham marriage to a cousin, but ran into Charles, then a construction crew foreman, and found him much more attractive. Within a few days, she manipulated the lovestruck man into proposing. On their wedding night, she pretended to faint. While he went to purchase some medicine, she packed up, leaving a letter with $25,000, her wedding ring and an explanation. However, he returned before she left and forced her to have sex before letting her go. Fiona gave birth to a boy, Austin, and had him raised by a trusted friend. When that friend died, Fiona brought the now six-year-old to live with her. Unexpectedly, she finds herself becoming very fond of the child. When Susie tries to commit suicide after it appears that she has lost Gig, Fiona finally realizes that the toll her stubborn determination has exacted on her family. She gives up the mansion and grants Charles sole custody of Austin. In the end, Gig chooses the now-single Susie, and Charles tells Fiona that he still loves her. Fiona embraces and kisses him.

Cast

as Fiona Gaylord * George Brent as Charles Barclay *

as Lady Evelyn Gaylord Burton *

as Ralph Pedloch *

Byron Barr Byron Barr (August 18, 1917 – November 3, 1966), sometimes billed as Byron S. Barr, was an American actor. He appeared in 19 films from 1944 to 1951. Barr perhaps is best known for his role as Nino Zachetti in ''Double Indemnity'', his first ...

as Gig Young * Nancy Coleman as Susanna "Susie" Gaylord Allen *

Gene Lockhart Edwin Eugene Lockhart (July 18, 1891 – March 31, 1957)"Gene Lockhart"
''The ...

as Mr. Herschell Gibbon *

Larry Simms Larry Lee Simms (October 1, 1934 – June 17, 2009) was an American child actor who appeared in 36 films between 1937 and 1951. Life and career Larry Simms was born October 1, 1934. He worked as a child model from the age of two and was disc ...

as Austin, aka "Butch" *

Donald Woods Donald James Woods (15 December 1933 – 19 August 2001) was a South African journalist and anti-apartheid activist. As editor of the ''Daily Dispatch'', he was known for befriending fellow activist Steve Biko, who was killed by police after ...

as Penn Sutherland Gaylord * Grant Mitchell as Gilbert Wheeler * William T. Orr as Dick Tone *

Anne Revere Anne Revere (June 25, 1903 – December 18, 1990) was an American actress and a progressive member of the board of the Screen Actors' Guild. She was best known for her work on Broadway and her film portrayals of mothers in a series of critical ...

as Miss Ida Orner *

Helene Thimig Helene Ottilie Thimig (5 June 1889 – 7 November 1974) was an Austrian stage and film actress. Personal life Helene Thimig was the daughter of actor Hugo Thimig and the sister of actors Hermann and Hans Thimig. Thimig was married to the ...

as Saskia, the Gaylord maid * George Lessey as Judge Barrows *

Charles Waldron Charles Waldron (December 24, 1874 – March 4, 1946) was an American stage and film actor, sometimes credited as Charles Waldron Sr., Chas. Waldron Sr., Charles D. Waldron or Mr. Waldron. Early life He was born and grew up in Waterford, New Y ...

as Mr. Van Rennseler (as Charles D. Waldron) *

Frank Reicher Frank Reicher (born Franz Reicher; December 2, 1875 – January 19, 1965) was a German-born American actor, director and producer. He is best known for playing Captain Englehorn in the 1933 film ''King Kong''. Early life Reicher was born in Mu ...

as Dr. Thomas Bigelow * David Clyde as Benson, Penn's servant * Mary Thomas as Fiona Gaylord as a girl of eight

Box Office

According to Warner Bros records the film earned $1,728,000 domestically and $857,000 foreign.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gay Sisters 1942 films 1942 romantic drama films American romantic drama films Films based on American novels Films directed by Irving Rapper Films set in 1941 Films set in New York City Warner Bros. films American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films