Michael Curtiz has made many appearances on Oscar ballots over the course of his long and illustrious career, most famously for his masterful work on the Best Picture winner Casablanca. Perhaps his most proficient year, quantity-wise at least, was in 1938 when he was nominated for two directing Oscars and had a third film up for Best Picture. He ultimately lost out to Frank Capra that year, but you cannot deny he was celebrated for his brilliance and expertise nevertheless. 1938 was the year he had The Adventures of Robin Hood, Angels with Dirty Faces, and Four Daughters; all of these films with Oscar nominations, with Robin Hood being the only one winning anything, all in technical categories. With all the honor from the nominations, it still had to be frustrating coming away virtually empty-handed.
Four Daughters is perhaps the lesser of these three films, even though it is the only one to spawn sequels. It was based on the 1937 Fannie Hurst story, Sister Act, with the script adapted by Lenore J. Coffee and Julius J. Epstein; the latter most famously co-wrote, alongside his twin brother, the script for Casablanca. Both Epstein and Coffee enjoyed long and varied careers that extended many decades in Hollywood. While Four Daughters is hardly their best work, it did secure them an Oscar nomination for the script, which is well-written, even if it doesn’t have a strong narrative.
The film follows the four Lemp sisters, three of whom are played by real-life sisters Lola, Rosemary, and Priscilla Lane. They are part of a musical family headed up by their widowed father, Adam (Claude Rains), a man who only enjoys classical music and has raised his four daughters to play different instruments accompanying the third eldest, Kay (Rosemary Lane), who has a talented voice. Emma (Gale Page), the eldest, plays the harp; Thea (Lola Lane) is a pianist; and Ann (Priscilla Lane) plays the violin. Adam conducts and plays the flute.
Their neighbor, Ernest (Dick Foran), has his eyes on Emma, but while she enjoys his affections, she mostly rebuffs them. Thea, on the other hand, is being courted by another neighbor, the wealthy Ben Crowley (Frank McHugh), and while she likes the idea of getting married, she isn’t certain that she loves the man. Into their lives enters Felix Deitz (Jeffrey Lynn), a young musician who has come to work at the foundation where Adam is the Dean. All four of the girls become infatuated with him almost immediately, whereas Felix’s friend, and fellow composer, Mickey (John Garfield), comes across as sullen and cynical. Mickey has good reason to be cynical, though. He has had a hard life, barely scraping by on the goodwill of his friends, and it has given him a harsh view on life. He falls for Ann but is crushed when it is announced that she and Felix have gotten engaged.
There are some interesting twists to the plot in the second half of this film, but it takes quite some time to get to them. This is a short film, but there is not enough plot to justify even that short length. Adding to the script problems is the lack of justification for having four sisters. This film feels like it needed one less sister to avoid feeling overly stuffed. Indeed, when a remake was commissioned in the 50s, it was whittled down to just three. While Gale Page here is a good casting choice, and she does an excellent job, there was a missed opportunity to have focused just on the Lane sisters and leave out one of the suitors, simplifying the story.
I am always impressed with the range Claude Rains has. This is a full four years before his appearance in Casablanca, yet he comes across so much older and more seasoned here than he does in the latter film. In Four Daughters, he is not only disappearing behind some really well-applied makeup, but his physicality sells a man who is a little worn down by the world. Michael Curtiz always knew how to utilize Claude and get unique performances out of him; in this same year, he also appeared as Prince John in The Adventures of Robin Hood. The two would collaborate in eleven total feature films together over the decades.
Unfortunately, this film just doesn’t hold up after all these years. The many romances playing out on screen are not that compelling, with the sole exception being Mickey and Ann. The direction this relationship goes is the only real surprise this film has, and it ends on such a tragic, yet pointless, note that just returns Ann back to where she was before she fell for him in the first place. It’s sad, but it doesn’t really say anything meaningful the way the best films do. Instead, things happen, and then the plot goes on. Were it not for the strength of the cast, this would be an utterly forgettable little romance.
When it was released in 1938, it struck a chord with audiences, though. In fact, the characters were so beloved that it wasn’t long before two sequels materialized, taking the four girls from maidens to wives and then to mothers. In each of these films, all of the principal cast members reprised their roles, giving this trilogy a nice level of continuity, like a family reunion where you occasionally check in on how the extended family is progressing. These films have their charm, but neither had the same level of success, critically or financially, as the original. Had that success been replicated, we may have seen Four Grandmothers at some point.
Four Daughters is innocent enough entertainment and will do for a rainy afternoon with nothing better to watch. It’s charming and pleasant enough, but it’s not amongst the annals of the best movies of all time, despite it being numbered amongst the nominations for 1938. It just doesn’t have a good, solid through-line to the plot, and the ending is abrupt and a bit unsatisfying. It’s a true delight, though, to watch the Lane sisters and Gale Page interact with each other. Each of them has a distinct personality that never blends into each other, making it easy to keep track of which one is which. It’s by far the best thing about this film and keeps it from falling into the pit of forgettability.
Academy Award Nominations:
Outstanding Production: Warner Bros. - First National
Best Director: Michael Curtiz
Best Supporting Actor: John Garfield
Best Screenplay: Julius J. Epstein and Lenore Coffee
Best Sound Recording: Nathan Levinson
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Release Date: August 9, 1938
Running Time: 90 Minutes
Not Rated
Starring: Priscilla Lane, Rosemary Lane, Lola Lane, Gale Page, and Claude Rains
Directed By: Michael Curtiz
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