Four Mothers
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''Four Mothers'' is a 1941 American
drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...
and
sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
to '' Four Daughters'' (1938) and '' Four Wives'' (1939). The film stars
Claude Rains William Claude Rains (10 November 188930 May 1967) was a British and American actor whose career spanned almost seven decades. He was the recipient of numerous accolades, including four Academy Award nominations for Academy Award for Best Supp ...
, Jeffrey Lynn, May Robson and featuring the Lane Sisters: Priscilla Lane, Rosemary Lane and Lola Lane. It was directed by
William Keighley William Jackson Keighley (August 4, 1889 – June 24, 1984) was an American stage actor and Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood film director. Career After graduating from the Ludlum School of Dramatic Art, Keighley began acting at the age of ...
and is based on the story "Sister Act" by Fannie Hurst. The film was released by
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
on January 4, 1941. The Lane sisters appeared in all three films and also appeared together in the 1939 film '' Daughters Courageous''.


Plot

In this final installment of Warner Brothers' ''Four Daughters'' series, the entire Lemp family loses its investment in son-in-law Ben Crowley's (Frank McHugh) out-of-state realty project when a hurricane destroys the development site. So Ben suggests they localize and develop their own property to sell, but no one in town will help finance the venture after the hurricane debacle. So in order to get their hands on some much-needed cash, the Lemp family patriarch, Adam (Claude Rains), sells the house in which he raised his daughters. To his shock, however, he learns the person who bought it is planning to raze the old structure to make way for an apartment building. To do his part in bringing in more dollars for the family, son-in-law Felix (Jeffery Lynn) travels to Chicago for a job conducting an orchestra. Meanwhile, Kay (Rosemary Lane), the only Lemp daughter who is childless, is upset that husband Clint (Eddie Albert) spends more time at work than with her at home. Things get worse after his lab research leads him closer to the cause of Pneumoconiosis at the town's smelting plant. Eventually, Kay has had it. She too leaves for Chicago—to seek a job in radio. But for both Felix and Kay, the big city proves to hold no suitable alternative to either their financial or family woes. So they both return home. After moving into an apartment with his sister Etta (May Robson), Adam is invited to conduct for the Beethoven Music Festival at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. The whole family travels there to proudly watch him. They then return home for the opening of Lemp Acres, the new property Ben has started and developed for the family. Upon Adam's arrival, he finds he has regained the respect of the town—so much so that the townspeople financed the moving of his old house to Lemp Acres, and all is the same as it once was. In the end, as the four daughters hold one of their musical practice sessions, Kay realizes she is finally pregnant.


Cast


References


External links

* 1941 films 1941 drama films American black-and-white films American drama films American sequel films 1940s English-language films Films about families Films directed by William Keighley Warner Bros. films Films scored by Heinz Roemheld Films based on works by Fannie Hurst 1940s American films {{1940s-US-drama-film-stub