Three Little Sisters
Cast & Crew
Joseph Santley
Mary Lee
Ruth Terry
Cheryl Walker
William Terry
Jackie Moran
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
The three Scott sisters, Susie, Hallie and Lily, live in the small town of Riverdale with their father Tom, a handyman whose laziness is legendary. The high-spirited sisters relieve the tedium of taking in laundry and sewing by collaborating on Lily's correspondence with Pvt. Robert Mason, who is stationed in Arizona. At Susie and Hallie's prompting, Lily has written Robert that the Scotts are the wealthy owners of the fabulous Manor House mansion. The wheelchair-bound Lily has also used the perky, athletic Susie as her model when describing herself. Enchanted by Lily's letters, Robert sets off for Riverdale with his pal, Pvt. Roland "Rosey" Grady, during his furlough. The girls are aghast to learn that Robert is coming, for the Manor House is really owned by stingy banker Ezra Larkin, who has been trying to sell it since foreclosing on it several years earlier. Determined to show Robert a good time and keep up their charade, Susie and Hallie ask Ezra's young assistant, Chadwick Jones, to let them use the house for the night that Robert is in town. Chad reluctantly agrees, for he is in love with Susie, and that night, Susie pretends to be Lily so that Robert will not know that his dream girl is disabled. Despite their deception, Robert is immediately attracted to the more soft-spoken Lily, and Rosey becomes enamoured of Hallie. Hoping to impress Rosey, Hallie tells him that the girls are trying to open a canteen for soldiers in the mansion, and Rosey and Robert, who have been transferred to a nearby post, applaud the idea. The young people's evening is ruined when Larkin, alerted that there are lights on in the mansion, rushes over. The girls manage to get the men out in time, but the next day, Rosey tells the camp commander, Col. Jonathan Flemming, about the plan to open a canteen. Flemming consents to the idea and sends a message to the Scott sisters that they may open that evening and welcome all of the soldiers to the gala event. Desperate to keep Robert from discovering the truth, the girls send Larkin off on a wild goose chase involving a farmer and his overdue mortgage, then open up the Manor House for a grand party. When Constable Ambrose Pepperdine finds out about the event, he decides to arrest everyone involved, but telephone operator Bella misunderstands his demand for warrants and instead invites all the townsfolk to the party. Everyone is having a lovely time until the infuriated Larkin and Pepperdine arrive and try to arrest the partygoers. Susie preempts their actions, however, by announcing that Larkin has permanently donated the mansion as a soldiers' canteen. The formerly despised Larkin revels in his new position as town hero, while Lily confesses to Robert the truth about the family's lack of funds and that Susie has been posing as her. Later, when the soldiers are due to ship out, Robert and Lily are a confirmed couple, as are Hallie and Rosey. As the couples are saying farewell, Larkin promises that he will pay for Lily's medical treatments, and that when Robert returns home, he will be able to dance with his sweetheart.
Director
Joseph Santley
Cast
Mary Lee
Ruth Terry
Cheryl Walker
William Terry
Jackie Moran
Charles Arnt
Frank Jenks
Tom Fadden
Tom London
Milt Kibbee
Addison Richards
Lillian Randolph
Sam "deacon" Mcdaniel
Forrest Taylor
William Shirley
Lelah Tyler
Keefe Brasselle
Sam Conrad
Almeda Fowler
Sarah Edwards
Dick Alexander
Michael Owen
Mary Field
Charles Hayes
Larry Williams
Pierre Watkin
Edmund Cobb
Ethel May Halls
Crew
Adele
Fred Allen
Tom Carman
Gano Chittenden
Maurice Clark
Olive Cooper
Olive Cooper
Kim Gannon
Harry Grey
Edmund L. Gruber
Walter Kent
Reggie Lanning
Vic Mizzy
Armand Schaefer
Morton Scott
Arthur Siteman
Irving Taylor
Charles Thompson
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
According to a November 17, 1942 Hollywood Reporter news item, production on this picture was delayed due to actress Ruth Terry's pregnancy. A July 6, 1943 Hollywood Reporter news item announced that Anthony Mann would be directing the film, which was to feature Jane Withers and Dale Evans as Terry's co-stars.
