Four Men and a Prayer (1938)

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

Richard Sherman (screenplay) and
Sonya Levien (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

29 April 1938 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Mystery

Plot:

The sons of a disgraced British officer try to clear his name.

Plot Keywords:

Alexandria Egypt | Brother | Forger | Gunshot Wound | Honor

Cast

Loretta Young	...	Miss Lynn Cherrington
Richard Greene	...	Geoffrey Leigh
George Sanders	...	Wyatt Leigh
David Niven	...	Christopher Leigh
C. Aubrey Smith	...	Col. Loring Leigh
J. Edward Bromberg	...	Gen. Torres
William Henry	...	Rodney Leigh
John Carradine	...	Gen. Adolfo Arturo Sebastian
Alan Hale	...	Mr. Furnoy
Reginald Denny	...	Capt. Douglas Loveland
Berton Churchill	...	Mr. Martin Cherrington
Barry Fitzgerald	...	Trooper Mulcahay
Claude King	...	Gen. Bryce
Cecil Cunningham	...	Piper
Frank Dawson	...	Manders

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #4097)

Filming Locations:

Franklin Canyon Reservoir, Santa Monica Mountains, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The line "I knew a man named Trubshawe..." refers to a lifelong friend of Niven's, a source of references or character names in several of his films.

Movie Connections:

Remade as Fury at Furnace Creek (1948)

Soundtrack:

Irish Washerwoman

An excellent story idea indifferently executed--thanks mostly to a poor script

The basic story idea of FOUR MEN AND A PRAYER is excellent--that there is an international arms syndicate that instigates wars for profit. And, when a man (C. Aubrey Smith) gets in their way, they set him up and it's up to his four sons to clear their father's name. This first 15 minutes of the film really hooked me--what an exciting idea!!

Unfortunately, I continued watching the film. What bothered me most were the rather annoying and insipid character played by Loretta Young as well as the often silly and unconvincing writing (especially the dialog). Instead of a serious drama, lots of bad and inappropriate humor was injected into the film (such as the god-awful voice that David Niven did twice in the film). Think about it...these four brave lads are out to prove dad was NOT a coward as well as discover who is a murderer and yet they take time to make jokes, engage in insipid "gay banter" and even chase a skirt (Miss Young)--all while they are on a desperate world-wide chase to uncover the conspiracy AND ensure world peace!! The bottom line is that the first portion of the film was excellent and it appeared as if the writer died and was replaced by a couple of 8 year-olds who love comedy AND movie serials!! A very poor mix indeed and a film that is only just watchable and everyone involved should have been ashamed of the final product--especially since the film features many excellent actors. Think about it--George Sanders, C. Aubrey Smith, David Niven and Alan Hale AND the film still is bad--that is TOUGH to do! Frankly, I think my 4 might just be a might generous. Watch only if you are a huge fan of John Ford and want to see one of his few misfires.

While so far my review is the most negative about this film, I was shocked by one reviewer that gave it a 10! Even if I am off base, there is no way this film should be ranked up there with THE GODFATHER, GONE WITH THE WIND or MARTY. Even one reviewer, who liked it, described the film as "preposterous". 10?! A perfect film?! Certainly not!