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Four Daughters Movie Review

Four Daughters is a 1938 drama film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring the Lane Sisters, Claude Rains and John Garfield. It’s such an odd, but fun flick.

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“I wouldn’t win first prize

if I were the only entry in the contest“

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It follows a happy musical family whose lives and loves are disrupted by the arrival of a cynical young composer who interjects himself into the daughters’ romantic lives. I wouldn’t call this movie a musical because it’s really not that. It has some songs, but those only service the basic premise of the film and are in no way incorporated into the storyline or character development.

With that being said, this one doesn’t really succeed as a drama either. It’s just too odd, somewhat quaint for today’s audiences and mostly quite forgettable. What bothered me was its high number of characters, thus resulting in many of them being underutilized and quite weak.

The Lane Sisters were these sisters and actresses who were basically known for this franchise alone. Yes, I said a franchise because apparently they continued to make sequels for this movie for years, which is surprising, but apparently audiences of its day loved it that much. These sisters are far from memorable. Though endearing, I found all four underdeveloped as characters individually, but their dynamic together is fun.

The supporting characters are the ones who shine here. Claude Rains plays the girls’ father and he’s excellent per usual. It’s also weird seeing him in such a lightweight role and story. John Garfield, though, is a revelation here. His Mickey Borden is just so endearing and an instantly memorable presence. All of his scenes are the highlights in the movie while the performance itself is fantastic.

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That’s why I find his nomination truly deserving. One could argue that he deserved to win as well. As for the other nominations that Four Daughters received, they were all entirely undeserved. The writing nod was ludicrous and the same goes for Best Picture. The directing nod was also undeserved. Yes, Michael Curtiz got a great year in 1938, but this was not his shining cinematic achievement then for sure. The movie is simply standard technically speaking.

John Garfield is so memorable and terrific in Four Daughters that he entirely deserved his Oscar nomination. Others are less memorable, though. The flick is charming and fun, but oddly plotted, populated with way too many characters and technically unimpressive. It’s a strangely lightweight and fluffy Best Picture nominee.

My Rating – 3

You can get the entire Four Daughters series on Amazon.