Truly Dreadful Film

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Once again, I dissent from the majority. I thought this was a very good film, and it didn't really go where I was expecting it to go at the beginning of the film.Warner Baxter portrays the wealthy businessman whose loving family finds hard times after his wife dies and the stock market crashes (not the 1929 crash). Their governess, who had recently come from Europe, strives to keep the family together, but the hard times results in the father and the boys moving into an apartment, and the governess (Ingrid Bergman) returning to Europe. Over time, the business climate improves and the father buys back his house, but now the boys are off to war...but not before one of the boys marries Susan Hayward. The problem is that Hayward is a conniving slut. Bergman attempts to cover up the indiscretion of one son with the other son's wife in order to keep the family together. In the end, Hayward is found out by all, is forced to leave the family, and all (except Hayward) live happily ever after -- particularly Bergman and Baxter. Some viewers will be bothered by the extreme age difference between Warner Baxter and Ingrid Bergman. I'll be honest, this is the first film in which I really noticed Warner Baxter. He did a very fine job in this role, but I was startled at how closely he resembled an older Ronald Colman (without the accent, of course). Bergman is also very fine here, and it was a very positive role for her. It was impossible to like Susan Hayward in this role, not only because her character was the villain of the film, but frankly, I felt her acting was almost childish. Fay Wray was fine as the dying wife. Richard Denning turns is a good performance as one of the sons. The other actors did their parts well, though not exceptionally.If there's a criticism here it's about Warner Baxter's character (not Baxter's acting). The father figure seems terribly naive at times, although perhaps he needs to be for the script.Recommended as a very good film. In fact, I think I'll buy a copy for my DVD shelf.

You'd think that with Ingrid Bergman and Warner Baxter that this film would have been a lot better. Sadly, the film suffers from difficult to believe characters as well as a major plot problem that makes some of the characters seem brain-addled.The film begins with Ingrid Bergman coming to work for the Stoddard family. Everything is so very peachy and swell--the family adores Bergman and things couldn't be more perfect. Well, that is until the mother (Fay Wray) dies, the stock market crashes in 1907 (wiping out the family's fortune) and Bergman is forced to go back home to France. This portion of the film is a bit sticky sweet, but not bad.Later, after the family's fortunes have improved, Bergman returns. The four boys are now all grown and there isn't really a conceivable reason why they'd hire her once again as a governess. But, briefly, everything is swell once again. But, when WWI occurs, the four all go to war--gosh! In the midst of this, one of the sons (David) brings home his new wife (Susan Hayward). Miss Hayward's character is as black and white as the others, though while they are all good and swell, she's obviously a horny she-devil. To make things worse, she comes to live in the family home while David is at war.Now here is where the movie gets really, really dumb--brain-achingly dumb. Hayward begins an affair with one of David's brothers but when the father sees a silhouette of the lovers, Bergman enters the room from another entrance and pretends that it was her, not Hayward with Jack! WHY?! Why would any sane person do this to save the butt of an obviously evil and conniving woman? This was exactly the sort of excuse Bergman needed to get rid of the gutter-snipe once and for all! This is just a case of lousy writing and made me mad...and most likely did the same to the audiences back in 1941.The rest of the movie consists of failed opportunity after failed opportunity for Hayward's evilness to be exposed. This just flies against common sense and made the film a silly melodramatic mess. As expected, however, the truth eventually comes out and everyone is swell once again---happy to be one big loving wonderful family minus the slut, Hayward.The film suffers because of poor writing. Hayward's affair made no sense--at least in how it was handled. And, having characters who are so gosh-darn good or evil (with nothing in between) sinks this movie to the level of a second-rate soap. The only thing that saves it at all is the acting---they tried as best they could with a turgid script. Suffice to say that the Columbia Pictures writers who did this film should have been slapped with a dead chicken!

INGRID BERGMAN plays a sensible, warm-hearted governess who has feelings for the head of the household, WARNER BAXTER. His four sons are shown first as boys, and then with the passage of time, as adults facing service in WWI.SUSAN HAYWARD is the bored and flirtatious wife of the youngest son, who can't resist throwing herself at the others when the mood hits her. She does her standard Hayward bit as an amoral and feisty creature who drinks hard and plays around. By contrast, Bergman is sweet and refined, and not above saving a bad situation if it will spare any embarrassment for Baxter. Her nobility is a bit unbelievable in one key sequence where she keeps Hayward's behavior a secret from Baxter.Of the sons, only RICHARD DENNING really stands out in his scenes with Hayward. Likewise, Bergman has her best moments in confrontational scenes with Hayward.But despite some good ingredients for domestic drama, the film seems to have been hurt by some bad editing and comes across as bland rather than compelling.Worth watching to catch Hayward in one of her first showy roles.

"Adam Had Four Sons" (1941) is a perfect movie for folks who enjoy watching stars performing early in their careers. In this film, there are four such performances to draw the viewer's attention. The story here concerns the quaint Connecticut household headed by Warner Baxter and Fay Wray in 1907, and the French governess (Ingrid Bergman, in her second American film) who is brought in to care for their four young boys. Years later, trouble brews when one of the boys brings home a new wife, Susan Hayward, "the Brooklyn Bombshell," in one of her earliest screen roles. Hayward wastes no time in becoming drunken, bitchy and flirtatious, especially with the hunky eldest brother, Richard Denning, in one of HIS earlier roles. Need I even mention that a Grade A confrontation looms between the protective governess and the interloping bad girl? This is actually a very warm little movie, with nice performances by all; an involving, over-the-years type of story; and handsome production values. The three lead actresses look as beautiful as one could wish for, especially Hayward. Honestly...has there EVER been an actress with such a combination of drop-dead good looks and sheer acting ability? Not for me, anyway. But in this picture, our sympathies are completely with Bergman, and she is just radiant and lovely in her sweet role. The contrast between the two is quite striking here; what a shame that these wonderful actresses never worked together again. Anyway, I really did enjoy this movie and do recommend it to all IMDb viewers. Oh, I almost forgot. A 16-year-old June Lockhart also appears in this film; yet another early performance to relish!