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Adam Had Four Sons

1941 1h 21m Drama List
Tomatometer 3 Reviews 60% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
Emilie Gallatin (Ingrid Bergman) works as governess for the wealthy Stoddard clan, but she also serves as a maternal figure when mother Molly (Fay Wray) dies. After the head of the family, Adam (Warner Baxter), loses much of his fortune, he has to send his boys off to boarding school and part with Emilie, the object of his affections. Years later, Emilie reunites with Adam and his sons, but their contentment may be short-lived when the scheming Hester (Susan Hayward) marries into the family.
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Adam Had Four Sons

Critics Reviews

View All (3) Critics Reviews
Elena de la Torre Cine-Mundial Of those movies that leave an unforgettable memory of perfection and charm. [Full review in Spanish] Sep 17, 2019 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 3/5 Jul 14, 2005 Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews ...the high sleaze quotient ensures that Adam Had Four Sons remains engrossing enough to warrant a recommendation. Rated: 3/4 Jan 11, 2004 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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harwee h Passable romantic drama. Ingrid Bergman at her charming best. She's always fun to watch. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 12/25/23 Full Review little girl l The older movies are so much better than what we have now. I really enjoyed the acting and the historical back drop. Even with over the top emotional females, it was still a very good movie with an excellent plot. Thank God the movie script didn't kill one of the brothers off in the war, in modern times, they would think nothing to offing one of the brothers. They think it adds drama to the mix, when all it does is just add sadness. In today's world, with all the sadness, it's good to see happy endings. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/15/23 Full Review beverlyn72 Played on the tv while i slept on the couch, so interesting i watched it-watched it the next morning. I loved it. If you're looking for heavy-handed, happy ending, family melodrama with a great depression and war thrown in...this is it. just so very sweet. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 07/24/23 Full Review Blobbo X Wait - I was thinking of The Little Foxes. Fairly absorbing drama set in the early 1900's involving the pre-Mary Poppins Ingrid Bergman as governess of four boys. Or was that somebody else? Oh, and there's Fay Wray (sans King Kong.) Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/11/23 Full Review Victor T Fun to watch Susan Hayward being bitchy to Ingrid Bergman. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 11/29/22 Full Review Audience Member This was a good early melodrama--the first of Ratoff's films I have seen (at least to my knowledge) and American films starring Ingrid Bergman, one of my favourite actresses (three earlier Swedish films she's in, that I found in an inexpensive boxed set by Kino Lorber, is delightful). This boasted a strong supporting cast too, as Bergman's Emilie does everything she can to provide support for the family she loves working for so dearly. It was short and sweet, and is good value for the cinephile if you like the 30's-and-40's style of filmmaking, and enjoy melodramas. Other fine directors who are great at this style are John Stahl, Douglas Sirk, and, more recently, Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Todd Haynes. At this stage of her career, Bergman isn't as fun to watch, at least for me, as similar actresses of her era, such as Bette Davis, Greta Garbo or Joan Crawford. I prefer Bergman's work after she risked everything to marry Roberto Rossellini. I believe the great difficulties she had to endure gave her a much deeper palette of possible behaviours for her to choose from. I significantly feel that if a thespian can survive trauma, it's the best thing in the world for their craft. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger--and I would definitely posit it makes one a much better actor as well. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis Emilie Gallatin (Ingrid Bergman) works as governess for the wealthy Stoddard clan, but she also serves as a maternal figure when mother Molly (Fay Wray) dies. After the head of the family, Adam (Warner Baxter), loses much of his fortune, he has to send his boys off to boarding school and part with Emilie, the object of his affections. Years later, Emilie reunites with Adam and his sons, but their contentment may be short-lived when the scheming Hester (Susan Hayward) marries into the family.
Director
Gregory Ratoff
Producer
Robert E. Sherwood
Screenwriter
William Hurlbut, Michael Blankfort
Production Co
Columbia Pictures Corporation
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 15, 2010
Runtime
1h 21m
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