Quatre jeunes femmes

All of the characters from FOUR DAUGHTERS return in this sequel. Even John Garfield, whose character has departed this mortal vale, and Garfield himself; he shot some ghostly scenes to haunt widowed Priscilla Lane. She's bearing his child, even as good-guy Jeffrey Lynn tries to help her move forward. Eddie Albert is also on hand to play a doctor making mild-mannered moves on Rosemary Lane.

1939 was a year in which the Hollywood majors couldn't seem to do anything wrong. The Depression was easing up, the lessons from conversion to sound were learned, and this Fanny Hurst tear jerker with symphonic music is well directed by Michael Curtiz. If some of the characters, like Dick Foran, seem to be there to fill up the space, well, there are new subplots to explore. It's not to my taste, but there's no denying its competence.

Not having seen the first part of the series, this film came as a surprise on a cable channel. Michael Curtiz directs with his usual flair and the Epsteins, Julius and Philip, wrote the screen play, which is based on a novel by Fanny Hurst.

We are taken to the Lemp household. It's a happy home of some extraordinary musicians and educators, led by the patriarch Adam Lemp, who has the good fortune of having Aunt Etta overseeing everything. At the beginning, we see the four Lemp sisters as they go to accompany Emma to the doctor. It's expected she is pregnant, but no, the big surprise is that Ann is, but the problem is that Mickey Borden, the father, has died recently. Ann has been seeing Felix, a kind man who, as a conductor, was associated to Burden. What to do?

Well, the comedy is a delight. We see all the four Lemp sisters supporting one another in their difficult times. Emma can't conceive and they all rally to her side. Thea and Ben decide to adopt. Kay falls in love with the young Dr. Forrest and finally Ann has the baby prematurely. By the magic of the movies, we get to see the little angel who, surprise, surprise, appears to have conquered the problems she had at birth thanks to the transfusion of Felix's blood and in a matter of days looks as though she was carried full term!

But, never mind, this comedy will charm anyone because the amazing performances Mr. Curtiz got out of the cast. Best of all, Priscilla Lane, who is absolutely marvelous in the film. Rosemary Lane is perfect as Kay, the girl in love with the doctor. Lola Lane, as Thea is good and Gale Page is the fourth Lemp sister, Emma. Claude Rains doesn't have much to do. Eddie Albert as the young doctor is fine, but best of all is Jeffrey Lynn, who as Felix makes it clear he is the man for Ann. May Robson also is fun as Aunt Etta. Frank McHugh and Dick Foran complete the quartet of husbands. John Garfield is seen briefly in a dream-like sequence.

"Four Wives" will warm anyone's heart.

Four Wives is the first sequel in the saga of the musical Lemp family that Warner Brothers brought to us in Four Daughters. This family film about widower Claude Rains and his four musical and unmarried daughters struck a nice note with the movie going public in 1938 and John Garfield in his screen debut earned himself a Best Supporting Actor nomination. Garfield is back here, but only in flashback to the original film.

The main plot line involves Priscilla Lane who ran off with Garfield leaving Jeffrey Lynn at the altar and in a lurch. Garfield still comes between them and he's left a permanent reminder of his brief marraige to Lane.

The others also having their early marital adjustments, Lola Lane to banker Frank McHugh, Gale Page to Dick Foran and Rosemary Lane still unattached to Priscilla's pediatrician Eddie Albert. Albert seems to fit right in with the general harmony of the group.

One thing with the Lemps they seem to do everything together from playing classical music with their music teacher dad to having babies. The only question left unanswered is will Claude Rains ever have a grandson in this girl's town he's started.

Four Wives is a worthy film, a fine sequel to Four Daughters and Warner Brothers wasn't through with the Lemp family yet as soon enough out came Four Mothers.

... with more domestic drama and romance in this follow-up to Four Daughters (1938).

This film takes up where the first film left off, with two of the Lemp sisters married, and Kay in a romance with a research doctor (Eddie Albert) trying to figure out what is killing the loggers on the other side of town.

Ann Lemp (Priscilla Lane) is still the main character here, as her short consolation marriage to Mickey (John Garfield) ended in his suicide, figuring his wife would be better off without him. How could WB have known that Garfield would be one of their great charismatic finds of the late 30s and thus not have written the script to make dust be his destiny?

So, unbelievably as in the first film, Ann is back with Felix (Jeffrey Lynn), planning to marry. Even without Garfield in the competition I'm just not buying it. But then Ann finds out that her consolation marriage with Mickey has left behind a consolation prize - she is pregnant. The pregnancy, along with Mickey's ghost - it is not hard to believe that a woman preferring Jeffrey Lynn romantically would raise the dead - and Ann's melancholy over her dead husband's tragic life, make it difficult for her to move on.

The one big annoyance here is Aunt Etta (May Robson) is in overdrive here, constantly babbling on about Ann and Mickey's baby. Breathe, Aunt Etta, Breathe! I guess I should just be in wonder that Robson, 81 at the time, added such energy to the part. Mildly recommended, in particular if you want to see how the melodrama in the first film in the series plays out in the second.

I like this family overall. It's a rich blend of some vital elements. In this particular series, as with others, the savor seems to diminish a little as it goes along. But, with that, the core group is always there and I find it a winner. The first is the best, this one weakens with script, and the last one has a real problem script-wise. While some are impressed with the portrayal of Ann as the disturbed widow and reluctant fiancé, I find that a rewrite of history from the initial film. I wanted Ann to throw that junk off and get with it. Jeffrey Lynn's character should have gotten a purple heart for long suffering in this one. It's a reversal of what they had going. In the first film, Ann was realistic as the overly sympathetic young woman who went so far as to marry a guy who needed her, when the one she really loved was seemingly not available to her. Okay, all that got fixed and fixed well. This film seems to moot the turnaround, and we find her more focused on her unsatisfactory dead husband and pushing away the true love who is readily available to her now. Yes, she does find she is carrying the first husband's child, and becomes emotionally vulnerable in her memory of him. That can happen, but it just wore on me. However, I still valued the film because of the winning ensemble and overall premise.