Four's a Crowd (1938)

Robert will do anything to get the big account that has eluded him. His public relations business makes public angels of rich scoundrels. Jean needs someone to save the paper and she wants ... See full summary »

Director:

Michael Curtiz

Writers:

Casey Robinson (screenplay), Sig Herzig (screenplay)

Stars:

Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Rosalind Russell

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Errol Flynn	...	Bob Lansford
Olivia de Havilland	...	Lorri Dillingwell
Rosalind Russell	...	Jean Christy
Patric Knowles	...	Patterson Buckley
Walter Connolly	...	John P. Dillingwell
Hugh Herbert	...	Jenkins
Melville Cooper	...	Bingham
Franklin Pangborn	...	Preston
Herman Bing	...	Barber
Margaret Hamilton	...	Amy
Joseph Crehan	...	Butler Pierce
Joe Cunningham	...	Young
Dennie Moore	...	Buckley's Secretary (scenes deleted)
Gloria Blondell	...	Lansford's 1st Secretary
Carole Landis	...	Lansford's 2nd Secretary

Storyline

Robert will do anything to get the big account that has eluded him. His public relations business makes public angels of rich scoundrels. Jean needs someone to save the paper and she wants Robert. When he finds out that Pat is dating Lorri, John Dillingwell's granddaughter, he gets involved. Robert begins to make John the most hated man and Lorri blames Pat, the publisher. He then goes to John for a job to erase all the bad publicity that he has gotten from the paper. This works until Pat tells John that Robert was behind the smear campaign. But John decides that he does need some good publicity and hires Robert to provide it...

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Plot Keywords:

screwball comedy | female reporter | female journalist | newspaper | secret identity | 

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Taglines:

Two's company, three's a triangle but "Four's a Crowd!"

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Charles Judels was signed to a role in the film, but was not seen. Dennie Moore, credited onscreen as Buckley's Secretary, was also not seen.

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Goofs

When Bob stumbles into Lorri's bedroom to evade the guards, he knocks over a table and breaks a vase. When Amy (Margaret Hamilton) comes in to check on Lorri, the broken vase and flowers on the floor have evidently disappeared or she makes no notice of them. Bob had righted the table, but had no time and was not shown cleaning up the broken vase or flowers.

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Quotes

Silas Jenkins, Justice of the Peace: Sarah? Sarah?
Mrs. Sarah Jenkins: What?
Silas Jenkins, Justice of the Peace: Couple'a chumps on the way, wanna get hitched.
Mrs. Sarah Jenkins: At this hour?
Silas Jenkins, Justice of the Peace: Why not? you caught me at half-past two in the morning in a weak moment.

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Alternate Versions

This is the only one of the Eroll Flynn-Olivia de Havilland that was never released to the home entertainment market in the USA. It was released in Argentina using a well preserved 16mm print with the original English credits and audio track and Spanish language subtitles.

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Connections

Referenced in Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2008)

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Soundtracks

Daydreaming (All Night Long)
(1938) (uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Played at the Jamaica Room

User Reviews

Newspaper caper

What a fun cast ! Bob Lansford (Errol Flynn) and reporter Jean Christy (Rosalind Russell) are scheming writers, about to lose their jobs. They decide to write stories about rich man Mr. Dillingwill (Walter Connelly -- played the father of the bride in It Happened One Night) that will affect his standing, as well as theirs. Errol Flynn, about 30 at this time, is known mostly as swashbuckling pirate and Robin Hood, and has a most interesting family history in real life; check it out on the Bio page of IMDb. And of course, they do manage to take Flynn's shirt off in Four's a Crowd. Olivia DeHavilland (Gone With the Wind) plays Lorri, the daughter of Dillingwell. Also look for Margaret Hamilton (wicked witch from Wizard of Oz) as Amy, the housekeeper with long pigtails no less, and Frank Pangborn plays the butler. He always had perfect timing as the prim & proper butler, the hotel clerk, or the bank examiner in Bank Dick. The sale of the newspaper was a common theme in the 30s and 40s, (think Citizen Kane) but here it's a fun caper as everyone tries to decide which side they are on. Check out the giant train set Mr. Connelly and his butler play with. This story kind of goes around the mulberry bush, but it's fun to be along for the ride. As others have noted, this WOULD be a good DVD, but doesn't seem to have been released yet. Directed by Michael Curtiz.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 September 1938 (USA)

Also Known As:

All Rights Reserved

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1