Adam Had Four Sons

3/27/19411h 21m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ It takes all kinds of women to love all kinds of men! ~

Overview:

Emilie has been hired to care for the four sons of wealthy Adam Stoddard and his wife, Molly. After Molly dies, Adam and the boys grow to depend on Emilie even more. At the same time, Emilie falls in love with Adam. The boys grow up, but Adam insists that Emilie stay on as part of the family. Her relationships with both the boys and Adam become strained after one son marries a gold-digging viper named Hester. Written by Daniel Bubbeo

Director:

Gregory Ratoff

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Key words:

aunt
love
governess

Cast

Ingrid Bergman

~ as ~

Emilie Gallatin

Warner Baxter

~ as ~

Adam Stoddard

Susan Hayward

~ as ~

Hester Stoddard

Fay Wray

~ as ~

Molly Stoddard

Richard Denning

~ as ~

Jack Stoddard

Johnny Downs

~ as ~

David Stoddard

Robert Shaw

~ as ~

Chris Stoddard

Charles Lind

~ as ~

Phillip Stoddard (older)

Billy Ray

~ as ~

Jack Stoddard (younger)

Steven Muller

~ as ~

David Stoddard (younger)

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

t
talisencrw
Written 9 year(s) ago
8
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.