Adam Had Four Sons (1941)

To me, this movie is perfection.

best movie i've ever seen.

Absolutely Brilliant!

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Producer: Robert Sherwood. Copyright 18 February 1941 by Columbia Pictures Corp. New York release at the Radio City Music Hall: 27 March 1941 (ran one week). U.S. release: 18 February 1941. U.K. release: 4 August 1941. Sydney release at the State: 3 October 1941. Australian release: 9 October 1941. 9 reels. 7,215 feet. 80 minutes.SYNOPSIS: Couple hire French governess to look after their four sons. Wife dies…COMMENT: A boring and screamingly dull women's picture, enlivened only by the get-up-and-go of Susan Hayward's incredible impersonation of a mindlessly evil vamp. Her tenth film appearance and her first characteristic role — she begged Ratoff for the part. Mind you, her performance does not carry with it the smallest atom of conviction — and its realism is further vitiated by her ludicrous hair style and general gawkiness of figure. It's obvious that photographer Peverell Marley has taken no great pains with her. (Marley's particular forte was making plain girls look glamorous). Instead he has lavished all his attention on Miss Bergman, who is made to shine like a statue of modest and radiant womanhood.Adam Had Four Sons, the second of Bergman's U.S. films, re-enforced the screen image established by her first, Intermezzo, also directed by Ratoff. She followed with Rage in Heaven, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Casablanca, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Gaslight, Spellbound, Saratoga Trunk, The Bells of St Mary's and Notorious — a remarkable succession of hit films — not a single box office dud among the lot of them — until her luck changed completely with Arch of Triumph (1948), the even more disastrous Joan of Arc, the equally unpopular Under Capricorn (Hitchcock's only box office failure), and finally Stromboli and the affair Rossellini put paid to the first decade of her Hollywood career.For Ingrid Bergman, Adam Had Four Sons was the stepping-stone to glory. For co-star Warner Baxter, it was almost the end. He made but one more "A" feature, Lady in the Dark. After playing Adam he suffered a complete nervous breakdown. Thereafter he was signed by Columbia for the low-budget Crime Doctor series which he continued until his death in 1951. His performance as Adam is colorless, to say the least.The other players are rather overshadowed by the three principals. Fay "King Kong" Wray has a particularly small and unimportant role, but Helen Westley is effective in her brief scenes as the matriarchal Philippa. Of the sons, Richard Denning and Johnny Downs come off the best. The others make little impression.As in Intermezzo, Ratoff's direction is slow, heavy-handed and ruthlessly routine. Ratoff is undoubtedly the most uneven director who ever handled a megaphone, his work varying from the heights of Rose of Washington Square, the style and flair of Irish Eyes Are Smiling, the inventively quirky Where Do We Go Form Here?, the suspenseful Moss Rose and the virtuoso brilliance of Black Magic, to the mediocre The Corsican Brothers; to the wasted opportunities of The Heat's On and The Men in Her Life; to the downright crass and embarrassing Song of Russia. The remarkable thing is that Ratoff's dizzying ups and downs follow no discernible pattern. All we can say with confidence is that Adam Had Four Sons is not one of his livelier efforts. In fact, he does nothing. He just plonks the camera down and lets the players give us full-blast all the patriotic platitudes ("It's a great privilege to be living in America") and sentimental clichés ("I am afraid I will have to let you go") of a trite and familiar script.Aside from Marley's soft photography and some attractive sets, the other behind-the-camera credits are equally unimpressive. The film editor could certainly have trimmed a lot of the footage; the music score is pedestrian; the montages strictly routine.The film was produced by Robert C. Sherwood (not the playwright Robert E. Sherwood) on a very modest budget.

A rich family hires a governess to look after its four sons, and she stays with the family even after the sons are grown. The plot is simple but silly; it would have played better as a comedy. It's not clear why the sons need a governess after becoming young adults. This was Bergman's first American film, and she is fine as the French (not Swedish!) governess. Baxter as the father and Denning as one of the sons are also OK. Hayword, on the other hand, is a riot in an over-the-top performance as the wife of one of the sons who's not only a gold digger, but also a nymphomaniac. She greets her in-laws by kissing them on the mouth, as Ingrid looks on in horror.

Apparently (so I have read) Susan Hayward's early career was stalled because more established actresses didn't like working with her - as she often stole the picture. And this movie is no exception, may be this is the one that started the rumour. "Susan Hayward gives it the works", "Hayward is excellent", "Susan Hayward is almost too emphatic for comfort" were some of the reviews praising her for her role as a faithless wife who almost destroys an entire family.Adam and Molly Stoddart (Warner Baxter and Fay Wray (looking beautiful)) hire a French governess (Ingrid Bergman) to take care of their sons. They all take to her instantly and she comes to care deeply for the family and also (as the movie progresses) to have feelings for the father. When Molly dies, Emilie goes back to France due to the family's dire financial situation but promises to return and does so, to help the four, now young men, through the stress of World War One. David (Johnny Downs) is the only brother not on hand to welcome Emilie back, but when he arrives he brings his new wife Hester (Susan Hayward) with him. Talk about throwing a cat among the pigeons!!! While charming all the men, she wastes no time in putting Emilie in her place - "I am Mistress of the House - I'm glad we understand each other". Emilie obviously can see through her as can Cousin Phillipa (Helen Westley)(but unfortunately she dies). With all the boys away at war Hester has time on her hands - until Jack (Richard Denning) gets leave!!! Jack is repulsed by Hester's amorous advances .. but not for long!!!This is Susan's movie all the way - without her it would be a pretty boring family saga with every player noble and self sacrificing - thank goodness for Susan!!! She has so many memorable moments - her first brawl - with Ingrid Bergman no less and when she fakes tears as a distraught Adam tries to comfort her, a scheming smile comes over her face. Wait, there's more!!! - when a disgruntled Jack tells her "I've never known a woman like you" she gets a vixenish look and says something like "Not in this family, but we're around" and of course her showdown with David when she laughs in his face and tells him she only married him for status and he'll never get rid of her etc, causing him to rush out into the rain and crash his plane!!!Susan almost didn't get the part. She had to beg for it but director Ratoff laughed at the idea -she had a firmly entrenched (in 1941) movie image as a sweet young thing. However his wife knew she could pull off the part and persuaded her husband to give Susan a chance. I'm very, very glad she did!!!Highly, Highly Recommended.

Ingrid Bergman is hired as a governess for the Stoddard's. Warner Baxter plays the father of this family. The film journey's through the death of the mother, stock market crash and the marriage of one of the sons to a free spirited wife. Susan Hayward is very entertaining as bad girl Hester. Enjoyable face off between Bergman and Hayward.