My Sister Eileen (1942)

83% of critics liked it
(6 reviews)
70% of users liked it
(199 ratings)

Rosalind Russell plays aspiring Ohio journalist Ruth Sherwood, who heads for New York to seek her fortune, accompanied by her sister, Eileen (Janet Blair), an aspiring actress. The girls take a basement apartment in Greenwich Village, which becomes a gathering place for several oddball characters,… More Rosalind Russell plays aspiring Ohio journalist Ruth Sherwood, who heads for New York to seek her fortune, accompanied by her sister, Eileen (Janet Blair), an aspiring actress. The girls take a basement apartment in Greenwich Village, which becomes a gathering place for several oddball characters, including a football jock (Gordon Jones), his silly wife (Miss Jeff Donnell) and an eternally drunken fortuneteller (June Havoc). Ruth tries to sell her writing, but is advised by a friendly magazine editor (Brian Aherne) that she'll never succeed unless she writes from her own experiences. Meanwhile, Eileen is continually getting in trouble due to her ingenuous attractiveness. Ruth secures an assignment to interview several visiting Portuguese sailors, who follow her to her apartment, are immediately entranced by Eileen, and break up the joint with an impromptu conga line. Everyone ends up in jail, and it looks as though Ruth is going to have to leave New York without achieving success. But when Ruth begins writing about her life with her sister Eileen, she becomes a success -- and wins the love of the magazine editor in the bargain. My Sister Eileen was based on a series of autobiographical articles by real-life writer Ruth McKenney, who with Joseph Fields and Jerome Chodhorov adapted these stories into a Broadway play. The play was later musicalized for the stage as Wonderful Town (again with Rosalind Russell), while the film version was itself adapted into a separate movie musical in 1955. There was also a brief 1960 TV series, starring Elaine Stritch and Shirley Bonne. As an added fillip, the 1942 My Sister Eileen includes a fleeting guest appearance by the Three Stooges! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 36 min.
Directed By: Alexander Hall
Genres: Classics, Comedy

In Theaters: Sep 24, 1942 Wide

Critic Reviews

Bosley Crowther, New York Times
My Sister Eileen is gay and bouncing. It is a farce which depends entirely upon two doors. And we hate to think what would have happened to it if some one had thought to nail one of those doors shut.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Rosalind Russell, who earned the first of four Oscar nominations for the lead, is the best element and only reason to see this verbose movie, which is still a play.
Michael W. Phillips, Jr., Goatdog's Movies
One of those comedies one damns by calling it "unsuccessful," even though parts of it work just fine.
Sam Jordison, Daily Mirror [UK]
Fascinating for anyone with an interest in colonial history, with the added bonus of being extremely good looking, A Throw Of Dice can be enjoyed as straight entertainment as well as an intriguing historical document.
Sam Jordison, Film4
Fascinating for anyone with an interest in colonial history, with the added bonus of being extremely good looking, A Throw Of Dice can be enjoyed as straight entertainment as well as an intriguing historical document.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Stagy urban comedy.

Read all 6 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

jay n

Roz makes this rollicking good fun. Cute situations and good supporting performances add to the overall quality of this. Make sure you see this and not the very average musical remake from the 50's.
Mason W

A classis film starring Rosalind Russell. The film centers are on two sisters from Ohio moving to NYC in 1942. One sister named Eileen the beauty is an aspiring actress and the other Ruth a writer both find a place and have many crazy adventures....check this out!

Cast

            Rosalind Russell as Ruth Sherwood

            Brian Aherne as Robert Baker

            Janet Blair as Eileen Sherwood

            George Tobias as Appopolous Landlord

            Richard Quine as Frank Lippincott

            Allyn Joslyn as Chick Clark

            June Havoc as Effie Shelton

            Elizabeth Patterson as Grandma Sherwood

            Jeff Donnell as Helen Loomis

            Grant Mitchell as Walter Sherwood

            Donald MacBride as Officer Lonigan

            Gordon Jones as "The Wreck"

            Clyde Fillmore as Ralph Craven

            Minna Phillips as Mrs. Wade

            Frank Sully as Jenson

            Charles La Torre as Capt. Anadato

            Kirk Alyn
            
            Ann Doran as Receptionist

            Ralph Dunn as Policeman

            Larry Fine as Subway builder

            Moe Howard as Subway Builder

            Robert Kellard as Bus Driver

            Pat Lane
            
            Danny Mummert as Boy

            Walter Sande
            
            Almira Sessions as Prospective Tenant

            Arnold Stang as Jimmy

            Forrest Tucker as Sand Hog

            Richard Bartell
            
            George Adrian
            
See full cast