Four Men and a Prayer is a 1938 adventure film
starring Loretta Young, Richard Greene, George Sanders,
David Niven and C. Aubrey Smith
The film has a wildly uneven tone, light and funny one minute, shockingly violent the next, and at times downright silly. There's an extended revolution sequence that left me slack-jawed due to its brutality...which was all the more jarring as some of it was handled with humor, and all while lovely Loretta manages to dodge bullets without so much as a scratch. The sons, meanwhile, are quite amateurish in their efforts at times; perhaps that should be expected, as none of them are professional detectives, but the quick capitulation of a villain at the end was a bit hard to buy, given what was at stake.
The story had great potential and there are some lovely moments, but one can't help wishing that the movie had been taken to the next level of quality and that the story had been handled with greater seriousness and believability. The only hint that this is a John Ford movie is the presence of Barry Fitzgerald and John Carradine in the cast, and perhaps there's a glimpse in the touching camaraderie when the sons welcome their father home.
I thought David Niven came off the best of the four brothers, offering welcome comic relief -- I loved his double takes, although I confess I'm still mystified by his exchanges with a ship's steward in the voices of Disney characters; that bit comes out of absolutely nowhere.
Sanders doesn't have his fair share of screen time, more's the pity, but he does have a couple of touching moments near the beginning and end of the movie.
Greene is all right as the romantic leading man, but not a standout; I thought he was much better in YELLOW CANARY (1943). The same year FOUR MEN AND A PRAYER was released, Greene also appeared in Ford's SUBMARINE PATROL and costarred with Loretta Young in KENTUCKY.
William Henry, who plays the hotheaded youngest son, had a very long but not particularly memorable career; however, he will certainly be recognized by devoted fans of THE THIN MAN (1934).
Loretta Young is fun in a series of dazzling (if sometimes strange) wardrobe changes, mainly serving as comic relief.
The supporting cast includes Reginald Denny, Alan Hale, J. Edward Bromberg, Berton Churchill, and John Sutton. The film was shot in black and white and runs 85 minutes.
This movie is on DVD in a beautiful print as part of the mammoth Ford at Fox Collection. The DVD is available at Netflix.
Four Men and a Prayer is a fast-paced and entertaining film
which should be seen by those who enjoy the film's creative talents,
but given those said talents, it must be said that the movie falls
short of the mark it should have reached.
posted by Laura
User Review
QuoteEnjoyable but juvenile adventure
27 November 1999 | by Robert Keser ([email protected]) (Chicago, IL)
A lavish production, fast-paced direction, and some exciting action sequences tip the balance in favor of this basically juvenile derring-do in the spirit of GUNGA DIN. On the other hand, there is some offensive stereotyping, lots of flat dialogue, and cartoon-like conceptions of character. The four men are brothers, but act so naively that they seem like twelve-year olds: David Niven gets the brightest moments. While tracking down the enemies of their dear old Dad [the always magisterial C. Aubrey Smith], they are joined by spunky [verging on downright pushy] Loretta Young. She has one costume that can be described as the Grizzly Bear Dress, but she sports some nifty outfits too. They all rush around the globe chasing villains until Loretta's father, a kindly munitions tycoon, helps to resolve the mystery. A more accurate title might be FOUR FEATHERS MEET NANCY DREW.