Last night, after I finished watching My Sweet Audrina, I decided to watch one more film off of the DVR.  Seeing as how I had already watched a coming-of-age drama, a classic war film, and a Lifetime melodrama, I decided that my final film of the night would be 1938’s Four Daughters.  According to the plot description, it was the story of four musically talented sisters and their father.  It sounded nice and undemanding.

I recorded Four Daughters off of TCM, where it was shown as a part of the 31 Days of Oscar.  When it originally aired, I was warned about it by some of my fellow Oscar fanatics.  They all told me that it was an okay movie but it was nothing special.  “Don’t let the best picture nomination fool you!” they all said.  And, it’s true that the Four Daughters is one of the more forgotten best picture nominees.  Go check out the list of external reviews on the imdb and you’ll see that only a handful of reviews have been posted for Four Daughters.

But you know what?  I liked Four Daughters.  Yes, when compared to some of the other films that have been nominated for best picture, Four Daughters may seem rather slight.  Just compare it to some of the other films that were nominated for best picture of 1938: Grand Illusion, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Jezebel, and the winner, You Can’t Take It With You.  Interestingly enough, Michael Curtiz directed both The Adventures of Robin Hood and Four Daughters.  Curtiz was nominated for directing Four Daughters, though Robin Hood is certainly the better regarded film.

And yet, with all that in mind, Four Daughters is still a perfectly charming and rather sweet movie.  Adam Lemp (Claude Rains) is a musician who loves classic music.  He has four daughters, all of whom are musically talented.  The oldest, Emma, is played by Gale Page while the other three daughters are played the Lane Sisters, who were apparently a very popular singing act in the 30s.  Lola Lane plays Thea Lemp, Rosemary Lane plays Kay Lemp, and the youngest daughter, Ann, is played by Priscilla Lane.

While the film was obviously designed to capitalize on the popularity of the Lane Sisters, it’s not all just music and performing.  The Lemps also own a boarding house, which is frequently visited by potential suitors.  While Kay Lemp struggles with whether or not to accept a music scholarship and leave home, Emma is pursued by Ernest (Dick Foran) and Thea is courted by Ben (Frank McHugh), a wealthy older man.

And then there’s Ann, the youngest daughter and the one to whom I most related.  Despite saying that she never wants to marry, Ann finds herself being pursued by two men.  One of them is a composer named Felix Deitz (Jeffrey Lynn).  The other is Felix’s best friend, Mickey (John Garfield).

John  Garfield was one of the first Method actors to make the transition from stage to screen.  (It’s generally argued that, in the beginning, Paul Muni begat John Garfield who begat Montgomery Clift who begat Marlon Brando who begat Robert De Niro who begat Leonardo DiCaprio.)  Four Daughters was one of his first major roles and it also provided him with his first Oscar nomination.  It’s interesting to contrast Garfield’s brooding and internalized performance with the somewhat more bland actors who play the other suitors.  He grounds Four Daughters, giving the film a necessary jolt of reality.

However, I have to admit that my main reason for liking Four Daughters is a personal one.  I am the youngest of four sisters and there was so much about Four Daughters that I related to.  (I saw a lot of myself in Ann Lemp.)  From the opening scenes of the sisters fighting and laughing at the same time to the countless scenes of the sisters supporting each other, Four Daughters gets it right.  The film may have been made in 1938 but sisterhood is eternal.

In the end, I glad that I took the time to record and watch Four Daughters.  It’s a sweet movie, one that will be enjoyed by sisters everywhere.