Four Men and a Prayer (1938) - directed by John Ford
Posted: March 22nd, 2008, 10:50 am
I had the pleasure of watching a rollicking "studio" film by Pappy/Zanuck: FOUR MEN AND PRAYER. It feels in its setting some kinship to other Anglo/Exotic adventures of the period, like Gunga Din and The Four Feathers, but is far less known (I only heard of it through books on Pappy that only mention it in passing).
It was very entertaining and I enjoyed myself with this amusing and exciting diversion. If you know where to look and you enjoy a good 'treasure hunt' as I do, you can find "Fordian" moments in even the most seemingly studio-manufactured production.
The premise of the movie is that the gallant miliatry man C.Aubrey Smith has been framed and kicked out of the service nefariously and it's up to his four sons (Richard Green, William Henry, David Niven and Georgie Porgie Sanders) to find out what's behind it and clear their father's name. The adventure takes them all over the globe and along for the ride is radiant Loretta Young, who quite honestly never seemed so spunky and energetic as she is here. I also noticed a few suspiciously ravishing close-ups, which makes me think a director had a crush. David is given plenty of opportunities to be charming, flirtatious and amusing (his three chief talents) and the business with the "Donald Mouse" voice is one of the wackiest things I've ever seen, especially in the context of an adventure! (I also think it's bemusing that Ford chooses not to explain what the heck they are doing it for. Sanders' expression when he witnesses this absurdity is worth "the price of admission").
It's fun, beautifully photographed---in fact, the cinematography is gorgeous and the production values quite high so I don't quite understand why it's so little known. I think it's also quite startling in its violence---I wasn't prepared for one particularly brutal massacre and Loretta deserves credit for her realistically horrified reactions. It's perplexing though, how quickly she got over it. I guess she was her father's daughter alright.
The topic of (illegal) international arms smuggling is still with us and it's interesting to see it developing in this context and time. It's intelligently handled, though of course "carefully" so.
Richard Greene is very handsome but I think he is the one cast member who holds things back a bit; no emotional expressiveness at all. But here's a delight! I actually saw George Sanders get emotional in a movie! And I also got to see him stripped to the waist and what a great physique he had at this time---yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuummmmmmy!
It's a good Saturday Matinee movie, made a little better than it would have been by a great director and an enthusiastic cast.
It was very entertaining and I enjoyed myself with this amusing and exciting diversion. If you know where to look and you enjoy a good 'treasure hunt' as I do, you can find "Fordian" moments in even the most seemingly studio-manufactured production.
The premise of the movie is that the gallant miliatry man C.Aubrey Smith has been framed and kicked out of the service nefariously and it's up to his four sons (Richard Green, William Henry, David Niven and Georgie Porgie Sanders) to find out what's behind it and clear their father's name. The adventure takes them all over the globe and along for the ride is radiant Loretta Young, who quite honestly never seemed so spunky and energetic as she is here. I also noticed a few suspiciously ravishing close-ups, which makes me think a director had a crush. David is given plenty of opportunities to be charming, flirtatious and amusing (his three chief talents) and the business with the "Donald Mouse" voice is one of the wackiest things I've ever seen, especially in the context of an adventure! (I also think it's bemusing that Ford chooses not to explain what the heck they are doing it for. Sanders' expression when he witnesses this absurdity is worth "the price of admission").
It's fun, beautifully photographed---in fact, the cinematography is gorgeous and the production values quite high so I don't quite understand why it's so little known. I think it's also quite startling in its violence---I wasn't prepared for one particularly brutal massacre and Loretta deserves credit for her realistically horrified reactions. It's perplexing though, how quickly she got over it. I guess she was her father's daughter alright.
The topic of (illegal) international arms smuggling is still with us and it's interesting to see it developing in this context and time. It's intelligently handled, though of course "carefully" so.
Richard Greene is very handsome but I think he is the one cast member who holds things back a bit; no emotional expressiveness at all. But here's a delight! I actually saw George Sanders get emotional in a movie! And I also got to see him stripped to the waist and what a great physique he had at this time---yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuummmmmmy!
It's a good Saturday Matinee movie, made a little better than it would have been by a great director and an enthusiastic cast.