Four Men and a Prayer (1938)

hyped garbage

Admirable film.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

I don't usually like Loretta Young, so when I say she's the best part of this movie, that should give you a clue of what I really think about it. In Four Men and a Prayer, Loretta is clad in some beautiful clothes, and she seems to be the only one among the cast who put any energy behind her performance. I actually fell asleep twice while trying to watch it.A respected soldier is court martialed and disgraced, but when his four sons find him dead by a gunshot wound to the head, they don't believe he committed suicide. It's murder! And they already know the suspects, so the four brothers-as well as Loretta Young who has a hopeless crush on one of them-set off to find the truth. George Sanders, William Henry, David Niven, and Richard Greene are the brothers, but they all seem pretty tired. It's easy to imagine every scene was filmed thirty times and that the audience was been treated to the last take. Unless you love Loretta Young, you probably won't want to sit through this pseudo suspense film. And if you do like her, try renting Three Blind Mice or And Now Tomorrow instead.

A lot of players whom you do not associate with John Ford participated in Four Men And A Prayer. The four men are brothers named Leigh who are in all kinds of occupations, but come together to clear the name of dear old dad C. Aubrey Smith. The brothers are George Sanders, David Niven, Richard Greene, and William Henry. Only Henry has any other Ford films listed in his career credits.Smith has been cashiered out of the army after a lifetime of service in British India and the sons want to clear his name. Smith has been gathering evidence to that affect, but he's been shot and killed and that only makes the sons more determined.It's to the four corners of the earth that the brothers go. Niven and Greene are in Argentina where there's a revolution fomenting and both get in heat over Loretta Young. Greene and Young knew each other before and both are players. And both get quite a reality jolt during this attempted revolution.The villains here are arms manufacturers, very popular villains up to the point that Mr. Hitler decided to rearm and then people decided that this crowd did have its uses. The plot is not terribly coherent other than arms dealers will sell to all no matter the political point of view. That they actually encourage both sides in a given situation to start shooting is a point not well made in Four Men And A Prayer or in the Halls of Congress where there were hearings on this subject around the time Four Men And A Prayer came out.This film is one of John Ford's lesser efforts, but fans of the director will approve.

Director John Ford often falls down when his story needs humor, and there was one scene that was just too broad, a bar-room fight that Ford ought to know well, even as early as 1938.Generally, though, Ford's work was quite good in "Four Men and a Prayer," but he did have one of his best casts to direct.Loretta Young does much more than just look pretty: She has a somewhat whimsical part and handles it beautifully.Most of her fellow major characters were part of Hollywood's "English Colony," appropriate for the roles.Also present is Berton Churchill, in one of his best roles, getting to be downright sympathetic for a change.There is a wide geographical setting, India, Argentina, Washington, D.C., as well as England, Egypt, and a ship at sea.The script by Richard Sherman, Sonya Levien, and Walter Ferris, based on a novel by David Garth, is often clever, with frequently entertaining dialogue very well delivered.This was on On Demand with the Time Warner Cable company and I saw it on 5 July 2015. I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in a good story, which has an important message about arms merchants and military adventurers, and with an interest in superior actors and acting.

Interesting film for the actors playing three of the brothers and the father and Loretta Young in a more whimsical part than usual for her. We've seen this type character portrayed before - a charmed harum scarum type - but not particularly by her. It features Richard Greene, an actor whose star rose quickly but had a short run. Don't try to follow the action, and see it more than once if you intend to attempt to follow the path leading toward the perpetrator. The arms seller father is a rewarding figure as he turns out a good guy who helps to simplify things, much needed in a complicated and twisted trail. Alan Hale is also in an atypical role as the evil genius. I can see why this one would be diverting at the time of release, but not one with a lasting shelf life, except for completists of a particular actor or stalwart fan.