Adam Had Four Sons (1941)
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- Passed
- 1h 21min
- Drama
- 18 Feb 1941 (USA)
- Movie
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Cast
Ingrid Bergman | ... |
Emilie Gallatin
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Warner Baxter | ... |
Adam Stoddard
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Susan Hayward | ... |
Hester Stoddard
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Fay Wray | ... |
Molly Stoddard
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Richard Denning | ... |
Jack Stoddard (older)
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Johnny Downs | ... |
David Stoddard (older)
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Robert Shaw | ... |
Chris Stoddard (older)
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Charles Lind | ... |
Phillip Stoddard (older)
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Billy Ray | ... |
Jack Stoddard (younger)
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Steven Muller | ... |
David Stoddard (younger)
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Wallace Chadwell | ... |
Chris Stoddard (younger)
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Bobby Walberg | ... |
Phillip Stoddard (younger)
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Helen Westley | ... |
Cousin Philippa
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June Lockhart | ... |
Vance
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Pietro Sosso | ... |
Otto
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Gilbert Emery | ... |
Dr. Lane
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Renie Riano | ... |
Photographer
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Clarence Muse | ... |
Sam
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Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
Frank Darien | ... |
Horace (uncredited)
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Charles Hibbs | ... |
Young Boy (uncredited)
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Dickie Mason | ... |
Young Boy (uncredited)
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Guy Usher | ... |
Constable C.E. Clark (uncredited)
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Directed by
Gregory Ratoff |
Written by
William Hurlbut | ... | (screenplay) & |
Michael Blankfort | ... | (screenplay) |
Charles Bonner | ... | (novel "Legacy") |
Produced by
Gordon Griffith | ... | associate producer (as Gordon S. Griffith) |
Robert Sherwood | ... | producer |
Music by
W. Franke Harling |
Cinematography by
J. Peverell Marley | ... | director of photography (as Peverell Marley) |
Editing by
Francis D. Lyon |
Production Design by
David S. Hall | ... | (as David Hall) |
Art Direction by
Rudolph Sternad |
Set Decoration by
Howard Bristol |
Costume Design by
David Kidd | ... | (gowns) |
Makeup Department
Robert J. Schiffer | ... | makeup artist (uncredited) |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Norman Deming | ... | assistant director (as Norman W. Deming) |
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Coyla Davis | ... | gowns executor (as Coyla) |
Eugene Joseff | ... | costume jeweller (uncredited) |
Music Department
C. Bakaleinikoff | ... | musical director |
Rudy Schrager | ... | composer: stock music (uncredited) |
Production Companies
Distributors
- Columbia Pictures (1941) (United States) (theatrical) (as Columbia Pictures Corporation)
- Columbia Pictures of Canada (1941) (Canada) (theatrical)
- Columbia Pictures Corporation (1941) (United Kingdom) (theatrical)
- Columbia Pictures Proprietary (1941) (Australia) (theatrical)
- Columbia Films S. A. (1941) (Mexico) (theatrical)
- Columbia Pictures (1948) (United States) (theatrical) (re-release)
- Columbia Pictures of Canada (1948) (Canada) (theatrical) (re-release)
- Screen Gems (1956) (United States) (tv)
- RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (1997) (United States) (VHS)
- Columbia TriStar Home Video (2004) (United States) (DVD)
- LK-TEL (2006) (Argentina) (DVD)
- Columbia TriStar Home Video (2006) (United States) (VHS)
- LK-TEL (2006) (Argentina) (VHS) (re-release)
- Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2006) (Brazil) (DVD)
Special Effects
Other Companies
Storyline
Plot Summary |
In early 1905, French governess Emilie Gallatin (Ingrid Bergman) is hired to care of a luxurious family mansion and the four sons of wealthy Adam Stoddard (Warner Baxter) and his wife, Molly Stoddard (Fay Wray). Things couldn't be more perfect, until 1907, when first Molly dies, then the stock market crashes, wiping out the Stoddards' fortune, and Emilie is forced to return to France. The parting is difficult, for the teenage boys--Jack Stoddard (Billy Ray), David Stoddard (Steven Muller), Chris Stoddard (Wallace Chadwell), and Phillip Stoddard (Bobby Walberg)--had grown to depend on Emilie more after the loss of their mother, and Emilie had fallen in love with Adam. Seven years later, just before the beginning of World War I, the family's fortunes have improved, and Adam insists that Emilie return and stay on as part of the family--preserving her from the foreseeable fates of war. The four boys, all adults by now--Jack (Richard Denning), David ('Johnny Downs (I)'), Chris Stoddard (Robert Shaw), and Phillip Stoddard ('Charles Lind')--all serve in the military. Meanwhile, second son David brings home his carefree, gold-digging wife Hester (Susan Hayward), who moves into the family home while David is away at war. She degrades Emilies, cons Adam into believing that she is a sweet young thing, and attempts to seduce her brother-in-law Jack, who will have nothing to do with her. One night, the father sees a silhouette of the supposed lovers, but before he can identify them, Emilie enters the room from another door and pretends that she was the one with Jack. This cover-up strains Emilie's relationships with the boys and Adam and makes her an easy target for that guttersnipe Hester. The internecine war between the governess and Hester culminates in an out-and-out brawl. Adam unwittingly sides with Hester, who showers crocodile tears on his shoulder (a telling close-up reveals her wicked smile over his shoulder) while he comforts her. Hester's malicious personality is revealed to Adam's visiting cousin Phillippa (Helen Westley), and Hester is exposed as an uncontrollable vixen. Written by Artemis-9 |
Plot Keywords | |
Taglines | It Takes All Kinds of Women to Love All Kinds of Men! See more » |
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Parents Guide | View content advisory » |
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Box Office
Budget | $488,000 (estimated) |
Did You Know?
Trivia | Ingrid Bergman, making only her second American film, was borrowed from David O. Selznick Productions to appear in the film. Director Gregory Ratoff also directed Bergman's first American film, a Selznick picture entitled Intermezzo (1939). Writing about Adam Had Four Sons in her autobiography, Bergman said, "At last something my teeth could bite into, but it was not such a good apple. We had a script to work with but the dialogue was made up minute by minute as we went along, and they had no idea how to end the picture. Ruth Roberts [her dialogue coach] was an enormous help, and great affection for the crazy Gregory Ratoff, so it all left a very pleasant souvenir." See more » |
Goofs | Emilie returns to the U.S.A from France on a British cruise ship during WWI. Due to the danger posed by German U-boats, especially after the sinking of the Lusitania, cruise ships passages in the Atlantic were ceased until the war's end. See more » |
Movie Connections | Featured in The Break-Up Artist (2009). See more » |
Crazy Credits | The movie begins when a photograph in the opening credits comes to life. See more » |
Quotes |
Hester Stoddard:
What are we drinking for - to stay sober? See more » |