My Sister Eileen (1955)

Columbia, 1955
Starring Betty Garrett, Janet Leigh, Jack Lemmon, and Bob Fosse
Directed by Richard Quine
Music by Jules Styne; Lyrics by Leo Robin

First of all, quick reminder that Musical Dreams Reviews will be on vacation hiatus from the 13th through the 20th. To make up for it, you'll be getting not one, but two extra reviews this week.

Wonderful Town was a major hit on Broadway in 1953. Columbia owned the rights to the original 1942 play the show was based on, but couldn't afford the rights for the musical and opted to create their own version. Is it as much fun as the Broadway show? Let's head to Grenwich Village in New York City with the Sherwood sisters as they search for an apartment and find out...

The Story: Ruth (Garrett) and Eileen (Leigh) Sherwood have come to New York to make their fortunes as a writer and an actress, respectively. They're sold on a Village apartment by the crafty Papa Appopolous (Kurt Kaznar), but the basement room is falling apart, has a window that opens onto the street, and a construction company is blasting to build a new subway route.

The girls don't have much luck with getting jobs at first, either. Editor Bob Baker (Lemmon) thinks Ruth's romance stories are too melodramatic, and all producers want is to ogle Eileen's body without even giving her an audition. Eileen finally meets a handsome soda jerk, Frank (Fosse), at a local drug store. He's smitten and offers to help her find decent auditions...but so's reporter Chick Clark (Tommy Rall).

While Eileen is falling for both men, Ruth has finally written a story that Baker likes, about her sister and her suitors. When he's interested, Ruth quickly claims that she's the one who it all happened to and her sister was fictitious. That makes him think she's a loose woman. Now the two women have to figure out how they can find real jobs and figure out their love lives, before their money runs out and they end up on the next train back to Ohio.

The Song and Dance: What I like about this one is it's endearingly low-key for a musical of the 1950's. It's just the story of two young women, their suitors, and a few wacky locals who discover just how hard it can be to make it in the Big Apple. It has an almost domestic feel that, like How to Succeed, brings it closer to the sitcoms of the time than your typical musical.

I'm glad they gave Garrett a chance. She's very funny as Ruth, who is shocked that there's a man out there who might like her and not her sister. Leigh is very sweet as Eileen, and Rall and Fosse are hilarious as her two suitors. And who knew Dick York would work out so well as Ted "The Wreck" Loomis, an out-of-work athlete who lives with his fiancee over the girls and visits them frequently.

Favorite Number: The girls and Papa get the jaunty "We're Great but No One Knows It" in the beginning when the girls are ready to conquer New York. The girls also get "There's Nothin' Like Love" when Ruth explains to her sister why she has trouble with men. Rall and Fosse join the ladies for the rousing brass band spoof "Give Me a Band and My Baby" when they're all on the town.

Fosse's choreography shines in two extended instrumental dance numbers. His show-off routine with Rall is more typical of his style, with the men competing to see who can do Fosse's stylized moves better. A duet with Leigh towards the end is more romantic than usual for Fosse, with sweeping spins and longing glances.

What I Don't Like: Some aspects of this story haven't dated well. Bob may have been right that Ruth needed to "write what she knows," but he was a major jerk after she claimed she was the one with the many suitors. And Frank wasn't much better; nowadays, "Bohemian" would hardly be the worst thing you could accuse someone of, and I suspect Wreck sleeping in their apartment would cause far less of a stir.

The Big Finale: If you're a fan of the cast or want to try a smaller musical, you'll want to get to know the Sherwood sisters and their eccentric Grenwich Village neighbors, too.

Home Media: Once again, the limited-edition Twilight Time Blu-Ray is expensive, making DVD and streaming your best option. It's also on that Musicals 20 Movies Mill Creek set.

DVD
DVD - Musicals 20 Movies Collection
Blu-Ray
Amazon Prime