Four Daughters (1938)

Director:

Michael Curtiz

Writers:

Fannie Hurst (novel) and
Lenore J. Coffee (writer)

Release Date:

9 August 1938 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Music | Romance

Plot:

Musician Adam Lemp and his four equally musical daughters, Emma, Ann, Kay, and Thea, live happily together...

Plot Keywords:

Daughter | Composer | Widower | Blizzard | Melodrama

Awards:

Nominated for 5 Oscars.

Cast

Priscilla Lane	...	Ann Lemp
Rosemary Lane	...	Kay Lemp
Lola Lane	...	Thea Lemp
Gale Page	...	Emma Lemp
Claude Rains	...	Adam Lemp
Jeffrey Lynn	...	Felix Deitz
John Garfield	...	Mickey Borden
Dick Foran	...	Ernest Talbot
Frank McHugh	...	Ben Crowley
May Robson	...	Aunt Etta
Vera Lewis	...	Mrs. Ridgefield
Donald Kerr	...	Earl
Tom Dugan	...	Jake
Eddie Acuff	...	Sam
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Joe Cunningham	...	Waiter
Wilfred Lucas	...	Doctor

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG (TV rating) | Australia:G | Finland:S

Company:

First National Pictures

Trivia:

Remade as a musical, Young at Heart (1954) with Frank Sinatra and Doris Day.

Quotes:

Mickey Borden: I wouldn't win first prize if I were the only entry in the contest.
Ann Lemp: Mathematically speaking, I think you'd stand a fine chance.
Mickey Borden: You think they'd let me win?
Ann Lemp: Who?
Mickey Borden: They.
Ann Lemp: Who?
Mickey Borden: The fates, the destinies, whoever they are that decide what we do or don't get.
Ann Lemp: What do you mean?
Mickey Borden: They've been at me now nearly a quarter of a century. No let-up. First they said, "Let him do without parents. He'll get along." Then they decided, "He doesn't need any education. That's for sissies." Then right at the beginning, they tossed a coin. "Heads he's poor, tails he's rich." So they tossed a coin...

Movie Connections:

Version of Young at Heart (1954)

Soundtrack:

Bridal Chorus

A great John Garfield and an underrated Jeffrey Lynn

What starts as a homespun comedy-drama and then halfway turns into a melodrama made a major star of John Garfield - and justly so. But Jeffrey Lynn is not to be dismissed as the object of affection of the four daughters. Lynn is very handsome and is so charming it's easy to believe that all four daughters could fall for him. Although Garfield received most of the kudos, Lynn became a major leading man at Warner Bros. as a result of this film.

Michael Curtiz insisted on location shooting for the picnic scene, making it the highlight of the film. Throughout, the craftsmanship is enough to inspire awe. A soap opera by Fanny Hurst has been turned into a cinema masterpiece.