Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Unlike the comedy-driven 1942 version, this one is a musical. Trouble is the songs are forgettable, while director Quine has difficulty blending zaniness with the musical score. The result is a patchwork that fades into a few memorable scenes. Then too, none of the characters have time to really register as the scenes constantly shift focus, and without needed close-ups that would emphasize personality. Nonetheless, two dance numbers remain real eye-catchers. Rall and Fosse face-off in an acrobatic duel that still has me dizzy, while the cute bandstand number shows that Leigh can shake a leg with the best of them. But these are the highlights, and I'm sorry to say Lemmon's comedic talents are almost totally wasted in a rather routine role. Then too, I agree with the reviewer who finds a rather dour Garrett unconvincing as Leigh's sister, maybe because she was just coming off the Hollywood blacklist. However, this movie does something few dare do-- grammarian Ruth reminds us not to end a sentence with a preposition. Now I know why I flunked English.Anyway, director Quine would soon prove a real strength with pure comedy. Among others, catch his neglected Operation Madball (1957), where Lemmon and Dick York carry the laughs superbly, (along with a mockingly villainous Ernie Kovacs). My Sister Eileen, however, remains a harmless time-passer, nicely photographed with expert rug-cutting and candy-box colors that keep the eye entertained, even when the narrative falters.

"My Sister Eileen" was a play, (taken from some short stories), and then a film with Rosalind Russell that became the Broadway musical "Wonderful Town" with a score by Leonard Bernstein together with Betty Comden and Adolph Green, which also starred Russell. The musical film of "My Sister Eileen", however, is not a screen version of "Wonderful Town" but an original screen musical with an entirely new score by Jule Styne and Leo Robin. Personally I could never see what was wrong with "Wonderful Town" and no film directed by Richard Quine had me rushing off to see it which may be another reason this film has passed me by until now. Surprisingly, it's really rather pleasant. The stars are Janet Leigh, Betty Garrett, Jack Lemmon and Bob Fosse. Garrett was, of course, a welcome addition to any musical while both Leigh and Lemmon were always welcome additions to any film. As for Fosse, it's great to see him in a proper role and in front of the camera for a change while his choreography is, as ever, a treat, (watching him dance is one of the pleasures of musical cinema particularly when his partner is the wonderful Tommy Rall). The script was co-written by Quine and Blake Edwards and it's good enough to make you wish that maybe Edwards should have directed, too. It's certainly not the greatest musical to have come out of the fifties, (or anywhere close), but it's entertaining in its own innocuous way.

I can't imagine a movie that has been more slandered on this website than "My Sister Eileen"! First of all, invidious comparisons to MGM productions should be flushed down the nearest public facility. Why would Leonard Bernstein/Comden and Green ever want to come near MGM again after what it did to "On The Town"? Wouldn't it be wonderful if they made a movie of "Wonderful Town"? Let's take a look: first of all, MGM casts Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra (or more likely, somebody like Troy Donahue or some other '50's crooner) in the roles of Bob and Frank, respectively. Then the obvious choices for the female roles would be Ann Miller as Ruth and Debbie Reynolds as Eileen, which would mean that most of the songs would be thrown out and replaced with half-arsed imitations by Roger Edens: the great "Conga" number would be replaced with--well, something like the "conga" number in "My Sister Eileen," which, BTW, is a terrific waste of Betty Garrett's talents, but this time, it would feature a lot of high-speed tapping! Gene Kelly wouldn't be right for the "What a Waste" number, so that would be scrapped, and replaced with something more pretentious, with Gene being muscular about magazine editing, and Eileen substituted for Ruth, because there were never two dancers more mismatched than Ann Miller and Gene Kelly. THEN, the Village Vortex numbers (including the "Wrong Note Rag") would have to be scrapped because while Debbie would be great in that number, Ann wouldn't, and neither would Gene; it would be replaced with a "beatnik" specialty starring Gene and Debbie dressed in berets and sweatshirts. Since Gene was to be the male lead, there would have to be a ballet number here, which would have made necessary more additions; perhaps a paste-in of a lesser Gershwin number like the "Second Rhapsody," which would require a giant Gershwin billing at the beginning of the movie--perhaps above the Bernstein/Comden/Green credit. Perhaps this would be the time to stick in a specialty number by some minor French singing star (not Aznavour nor Trenet).By this time, there would be three original numbers left: "Christopher Street," sung by Jules Munshin (or even by Kurt Kasznar!) as Appopolous, "O-hi-o," sung by Debbie and Ann, and "It's Love," sung by Debbie while Gene looks muscular, dancing on various pieces of office furniture. The rest of the score is by Roger Edens. Does this sound far-fetched? Count the Bernstein/Comden/Green numbers in MGM's "On The Town," one of the trashiest renderings of a great musical ever perpetrated on American moviegoers! Compare "on the Town" with the MGM travesty, and ask yourself, "If I were Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden,or Adolf Green, would I want to do this twice?" There is a certain resemblance to the urban courtyard of "Rear Window" to be found in "My Sister Eileen," but this is hardly theft. You might as easily have found it in "The Goldbergs". Yoo-hoo! While "My Sister Eileen" is not Bernstein/Comden/Green, it is also not Styne/Sondheim or Styne/Harnick. Leo Robin, the lyricist, was simply not in the same rank--although he certainly had a workmanlike Hollywood career. Betty Garrett suffered from a hairdo that made her look like a graying Rosemary DeCamp, which detracted from her natural sauciness. Jack Lemmon demonstrates that he could've had a great musical career (try his duets with Judy Holliday, elsewhere); Janet Leigh does what she did so well--being a perky dancer--and Bob Fosse is just what we'd expect him to be--in fact, I like him better as an ingenu. His work is fresh and vibrant.Please don't impose your expectations on this film: it is not an MGM musical (thank God!) and it's not a Hitchcock thriller. It is an ingenuous, unpretentious, delightful Hollywood musical, in the same Columbia tradition that gave us, almost by accident, "You Were Never Lovelier" and "You'll Never Get Rich", and it's a good rendering of the original stories.

Betty Garrett and Janet Leigh star in "My Sister Eileen," a 1955 musical also starring Jack Lemmon, Bob Fosse, Tommy Rall and Kurt Kasznar. This is not the musical "Wonderful Town" but it has delightful music by Jule Style. It's the story of the Sherwood Girls, Ruth and Eileen, who come to Greenwich Village from Ohio to "make it" -Eileen as a performer and Ruth as a writer. The two are conned by a landlord (Kasznar) into renting (for a whopping $65 a month) a basement apartment that shakes like crazy during subway construction. Not to mention, with their window placed the way it is, they may as well be living in the street.The Ruth character is based on the writer of the original story, Ruth McKenney. Eileen is the freshly beautiful blonde who always has men swarming around her; in comparison, the pretty, funny and stylish Ruth feels like a plain Jane. She sublimates by being dedicated to her career until she meets a publisher (Jack Lemmon) and falls for him. He's interested in her story, "My Sister Eileen," and she's so insecure, she tells him that she is the sought after Eileen - it's another aspect of her personality, she says.The Greenwich Village aspect makes the film as the movie captures its atmosphere perfectly and gives a real feel for the New York of the 1950s. Betty Garrett is great as Ruth. Her singing and acting are both wonderful. Surprisingly, though it's the title role, the part of Eileen really isn't much. (Sadly, the real Eileen died very young. She married writer Nathanael West and died with him 8 months later in a 1940 car accident.) Janet Leigh is pretty and sweet, putting over the necessary naiveté as Eileen, plus she gets to show off her singing and dancing. Fosse, who also choreographed, and Tommy Rall are suitors of Eileen and do some fabulous dancing. Dick York has a small but showy role as a young man in Ruth's and Eileen's building. Jack Lemmon, in an early role, is slightly miscast as the sophisticated publisher but is very likable.Well-directed by Richard Quine, it's a shame that "My Sister Eileen" hasn't gotten more attention. It's pretty to look at and to listen to with wonderful, vibrant performances. Check it out.