Four's a Crowd

92 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglish

Four's a Crowd is a 1938 American romantic comedy film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Rosalind Russell and Patric Knowles. The picture was written by Casey Robinson and Sig Herzig from a story by Wallace Sullivan. This was the fourth of nine films in which Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland appeared.^[1]

Plot

Reporter Jean Christy works for a newspaper in danger of being thrown away by its young owner, Pat Buckley, after Buckley has a falling-out with the editor-in-chief, Robert Lansford. Meanwhile, Lansford hopes to gain tycoon John Dillingwell's business for his public relations firm, and uses his position at Buckley's paper to drum up good press for Dillingwell. In the process, he discovers that Dillingwell's granddaughter Lorri is Buckley's fiancée. Lansford decides to try to charm Lorri, while Christy makes a play for Buckley.

Cast

• Errol Flynn as Robert Kensington "Bob" Lansford
• Olivia de Havilland as Lorri Dillingwell
• Rosalind Russell as Jean Christy
• Patric Knowles as Patterson "Pat" Buckley
• Walter Connolly as John P. Dillingwell
• Hugh Herbert as Silas Jenkins, Justice of the Peace
• Melville Cooper as Bingham, Dillingwell's butler
• Franklin Pangborn as Preston
• Herman Bing as Herman, a barber
• Margaret Hamilton as Amy, Dillingwell's housekeeper
• Joseph Crehan as Butler Pierce
• Joe Cunningham as Ed Young
• Gloria Blondell as Gertrude, Lansford's 1st secretary
• Carole Landis as Myrtle, Lansford's 2nd Secretary

Production

The film began with the working title of "All Rights Reserved",^[2] and was supposedly based on the career of noted public relations man Ivy Ledbetter Lee, who worked for the Rockefeller family.^[3] The film's title was changed to Four's a Crowd in February.^[4]

Warner Bros. borrowed Rosalind Russell from MGM for the film.^[3] William Dieterle was originally slated to direct the film,^[2] and Edmund Goulding turned it down, before the studio assigned it to Michael Curtiz.^[3] Although principal photography went 12 days over the allotted time, Curtiz still managed to bring it in $12,000 under budget.^[3]

At the very end of the film, Flynn and De Havilland, normally the happy couple at the end of any film they're in together, start to kiss passionately, only to hear protests from Russell and Knowles, with whose characters they are now involved. The couples switch places, with De Havilland ruefully saying "Bye, Errol."

If DeHaviland said this ("Bye, Errol") would be cool and understandable, but she actually says "My Error" not "Bye, Errol"

Release

With the success of The Adventures of Robin Hood, Errol Flynn was concerned about being typecast as a swashbuckler, and convinced Warner Bros. to cast him in other types of films, specifically screwball comedies.^[3] However, Four's a Crowd was not a success at the box office, and encouraged Warner Bros. to keep Flynn in action roles.^[5]

References

External links

• Four's a Crowd at IMDb
• Four's a Crowd at the TCM Movie Database
• Four's a Crowd at AllMovie
• Four's a Crowd at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
• Four's a Crowd at Virtual History