1942 – Rosalind Russell
My Sister Eileen
I liked this movie, and I liked Russell’s performance. Yes, she was the lead, but more than that, she was a better actress that her costars. She stood out. There were a lot of supporting characters, and the rest of the cast was just fine, but Russell was clearly more polished, more believable, and more charismatic. She was just better. Whenever she was on the screen, my eyes were more drawn to her, whether she was the focus of a scene or not. Strangely enough, I can’t put my finger on exactly why that might be, but it’s true.
Russell played Ruth Sherwood, one of two sisters who leave the small town to pursue their dreams of becoming an actress and a writer. But being a screwball comedy, something I was not aware of before watching the movie, of course, the sisters fall into a mildly bad situation, and silly hijinks ensues.
Now, of the two siblings, Russell played the sensible one, the writer, the one who relies on her brains rather than her beauty. She was the dark-haired one, while her sister was a bubble-headed blond, and for some reason this was supposed to imply that she was less attractive than the aspiring actress. But in that one aspect, Rosalind may have actually been miscast. In the film, multiple references are made to Russell’s unattractiveness, especially when compared to her sister. But I think she was more attractive than her costar, Janet Blair. So I didn’t really buy into the idea that Ruth was unattractive.
And there were times when Russell had to do the bulk of the comedy. She not only had to use the quick-witted comments, the sarcastic jabs, and the quirky comedy, but she also had to do some highly physical comedy. And she was great at both. I loved the chaotic scene where the Portuguese sailors invaded their home and started a conga line, then a riot. Russell was thrown about and forced to dance with the sailors. And she handled it like a pro. She was funny and she was silly, and she was, in fact, perfectly cast. I’m glad she was given the Best Actress nomination. It’s nice to know that comedic roles can be just as appreciated as the dramatic ones, Because Russell proved that they can be just as good.