The Gay Sisters (Warner Bros.) (1942)

THE CAST yeaa BARBARA STANWYCK sane eee GEORGE BRENT Evelyn Gaylord ............ Geraldine Fitzgerald Ralph Pedloch 0, Donald Crisp Deh Cen ie, Sc tee Ee Gig Young Fiona Gaylord Charles Barclay Gig Young Susanna Gaylord ............... Nancy Coleman Herschell Gibbon .................. Gene Lockhart PUSS Phe a, es Larry Simms Penn Sutherland Gaylord. ....... Donald Woods Gilbert Wheeler Dick Tene oe ee William T. Orr Daversa ee ee Anne Revere Sagi ees sa ee Helene Thimig Judge Barrows (060 ea George Lessey Mr. Van Rennsaeler Charles D. Waldron Dr. bivelow 0 ee Frank Reicher Sa en hae ante, Sr ont ee a David Clyde Benson SYNOPSIS (Not for Publication): When the Lusitania went down, in May 1915, it took with it, beautiful Mrs. Penn Gaylord. That’s why, in November, 1917, there is a family assemblage in the library of the Gaylord mansion in New York. Gathered are: Penn Gaylord (Donald Woods), Mr. Van Rennsaeler (Charles Waldron), his attorney, his servants, and his three daughters; Fiona (Mary Thomas), 8; Evelyn (Carol Joyce Combs), 5; and Susanna (Sharlene Salerno), 3. Also present is Herschell Gibbon (Gene Lockhart), the lawyer’s assistant. Gaylord is signing his will. Then, in his uniform of an army major, he sails for France. He never returns. The picture jumps to 1941 and now the sisters are Fiona (Barbara Stanwyck), Evelyn (Geraldine Fitzgerald), and Susanna (Nancy Coleman). Fiona and Susanna await the return of Evelyn from England — she’s Lady Burton, now — a quick montage shows that the Gaylord estate has been in. the law courts for the past 23 years. Together, the three. sisters go into the court-room, where Gibbon is explaining to the judge the reason for the 23 years of litigation. After Penn Gaylord was killed in France, a new will — called the French will — popped up. In it, there was a clause leaving ten percent of the estate in trust for a boy’s club in New York. This and various occurrences, have combined to keep the battle going. | Their only servant Saskia (Helene Thimig), has brought with her from the country a youngster of about 6, Austin (Larry Simms). Susanna is in love with a young artist named Gig Young (Gig Young). Evelyn sees Gig, and goes after him. Fiona fires Gibbon from the case and hires a new lawyer, Ralph Pedloch (Donald Crisp). Susanna goes to Barclay and pleads with him to see Fiona and settle the case. That night Pedloch shows Fiona a letter which reveals that Charles Barclay is her husband. Seven years previously, when the three sisters were badly in need of money, she got an inheritance from an aunt — $100,000, providing she was married. She went to the country, met an attractive road engineer, and married him. She left the following morning — leaving $25,000 to buy his silence. He used the money to build up the huge fortune he now has. Barclay decides to ask Fiona for custody of the child, and she refuses, claiming he can’t prove the child is hers. Barclay, through witnesses, proves the maternity, and wins custody of the child. Papers are signed and Barclay departs with Austin. Gig comes in with a newspaper, and informs Evelyn that her husband has been killed in England. She decides to return, leaving Gig for Susanna. As Susanna and Fiona pack, to leave the house, they find some wine in the cellar and become slightly drunk. Barclay finds Fiona that way. He picks her up, takes her to his apartment, and the three of them — Austin being there already — are united. (Running Time: 110 minutes) PRODUCTION Screen Play by Lenore Coffee; Based Upon the Novel by Stephen Longstreet; Director of Photography Sol Polito, A.S.C.; Film Editor Warren Low; Art Director Robert Haas; Sound by Charles Lang; Miss Stanwyck’s Gowns by Edith Head; Makeup Artist Perc Westmore; Orchestral Arrangements by Hugo Friedhofer; Musical Director Leo F. Forbstein; Music by Max Steiner. (Lead Story) ‘The Gay Sisters’ Starring Barbara Stanwyck Another great novel, “The Gay Sisters’, has been brought to the screen by Warner Bros., who are noted for their fine treatment of important novels. The picture, which will be shown locally starting Friday at the Strand Theatre, has an exceptionally fine cast. In the leading role is fiery Barbara Stanwyck as the eldest of the three Gaylord sisters, a sometimes fierce, brusque and levelheaded person who thinks that sentiment is a silly emotion. Her two sisters, the other members of the Gaylord family (the trio was dubbed by newspapermen, ‘The Gay Sisters’) are played by Geraldine Fitzgerald and Nancy Coleman. Gig Young, a dynamic, breezy newcomer to the screen makes his debut in the film as a young artist, and advance reports have it that he is a sensation. George Brent, in his usual casual, but at the same time forceful manner, plays the role of a civil engineer who becomes a millionaire, and also is the reason why the Gay sisters are held practically penniless. Brent, through a series of complicated legal litigations has managed to tie up the will left by Penn Gaylord when he was killed in World War I. His motive is quite obvious. He wants to get hold of the Gaylord property and build a vast project of his own on it. But it has always been the law of the Gaylords never to sell the land and for Barbara there is more than just an obvious creed behind the words; for Breni’s relationship to Barbara goes further than that of two legal antagonists. It is the thing that makes. the gloomy Gaylord house a place of whispers — a place that encourages rumors and speculation from all quarters until the time when the Coming to Strand Theatre This Friday Mat 207—30c The Gay Sisters in one of their jubilant moods as seen through the eyes of an artist. The roles are played by Barbara Stanwyck, Nancy Coleman and Geraldine Fitzgerald. Warner Bros.’ picture of the same name will make its debut next Friday at the Strand Theatre. terrible scandal can no longer be kept under cover and the true, exciting story breaks on the front page of every newspaper in the country. The brilliant supporting cast is made up of such popular Lockhart, Larry Simms and Donald Woods. The excellent Stephen Longstreet novel was adapted to the screen by Lenore Coffee. The directorial reins of the thrilling film were handled by Irving Rapper. players as Donald Crisp, Gene (Opening Day Story) Highly Dramatic Story of Three Women In “The Gay Sisters’ at Strand Today Three wealthy sisters who live in a spacious home that is daily seeping into a greater stage of decay, and who are obviously trying to keep dark some closely guarded secret of the past, is the intriguing story of Warner Bros.’ newest film, “The Gay Sisters”, which opens today at the Strand Theatre. The picture features a brilliant cast made up of Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Nancy Cole Still GS 26; Mat 202—30c Barbara Stanwyck and George Brent are starred in Warner Bros.’ newest dramatic hit, ‘The Gay Sisters”, which will be shown locally at the Strand Theatre starting next Friday. man and a fine newcomer for whom film critics and preview audiences alike predict a bright future, Gig Young. The story is adapted from the best-selling novel by Stephen Longstreet, whose powerful writing was transplanted in all its strength from print to film. The three Gaylord sisters (nicknamed the ‘Gay sisters’ by the press) Fiona, Lady Burton and Susanna, played respectively by Barbara Stanwyck, Geraldine Fitzgerald and Nancy Coleman, are theoretically worth a fortune but are actually up to their necks in debt. This situation is due to the fact that one Charles Barclay, played by George Brent, has contested their father’s will and has managed to keep the case in various courts for over twenty years in the hope that the Gaylords would be forced to sell him their property. But Fiona, who had it instilled in her from childhood that a Gaylord never sells the land, has another, more personal reason for refusing to give in to Charles Barclay. It is her secret relationship to Barclay that surrounds the Gaylord family with an aura of mysticism until the day the entire, thrilling story is exploded in one mighty blast. Irving Rapper directed the film which was written by Lenore Coffee. The excellent supporting cast is made up of such Hollywood favorites as Donald Crisp, Gene Lockhart, Larry Simms and Donald Woods. The fine musical background was written by the incomparable Max Steiner.