User reviews

OK! This is not the great hidden screwball masterpiece. The screwy cleverness is pretty obvious, but it's still funny. The story is adequate enough to keep the laughs coming with the right cast. I won't bother too much with the details because you'll get the idea pretty quickly. This is the right cast however and they keep the laughs coming.

For me the highlights are the scenes with Errol Flynn and Rosalind Russell. Russell has always been great as a comedienne and she delivers here as well, but Flynn is a revelation. Like Frank Morgan and Walter Pidgeon before him, he is the guy who not only can, but will, sell refrigerators to the Eskimos. When he turns the charm on Russell it's like being with that cousin who got you into network marketing.

The final act gets the ensemble (de Havilland,Flynn, Knowles and Russell) colliding together like bumper cars with Justice of the Peace, Hugh Herbert misdirecting traffic. He may have delivered the ultimate screwball line ever with "Children, please don't fight! There'll be time for that after you're married."

Realistically, it's obvious why the suits would not let Flynn take this direction, he was the king of swashbucklers and this would have weakened the brand. However, this movie shows what he could have been. As a screwball lead he had charm, athleticism, comic timing, sexy looks and a great voice, but so did Grant, Barrymore and Cooper and others and they were kind enough to leave the pirate market to him. A loss but I'll console myself with another hundred views of Captain Blood.

Rosalind Russell, ace reporter, is peeved that her newspaper is being shut down by cub publisher Patric Knowles, inexperienced son of the original publisher. Knowles has recently fired crack editor Errol Flynn, who has in turn set himself up as a publicity agent for rich curmudgeons who need good press. Olivia de Havilland, lovely and playful granddaughter of one such grumpy millionaire, is romantically attached to the handsome Knowles—at least for the moment.

The plot of this rapid fire comedy follows our four stars round and round: Russell wants Knowles to save the paper, wants Flynn back on the job. Flynn and Knowles have an old rivalry and delight in scoring off of each other. De Havilland seems happy letting everybody love her for her grandfather's eight million dollars. How will it all shake out?

Walter Connolly pretty much steals the show as the grandfather, a wealthy eccentric whose great passion is the model railroad that dominates his back yard. Melville Cooper is also excellent as Connolly's butler and stationmaster; the two of them in their engineer caps, running the train controls from their crow's nest, are just hilarious.

Out of a great cast, Russell and Connolly are most familiar in this kind of a screwball comedy and probably come across best. Flynn and de Havilland, though, are fun to watch, too—Flynn shows a flair for comic antics like stealing sticks of butter from a dark kitchen, and Olivia looks like she's having a ball as her fun-loving character laughs and whoops it up in a way that the Maid Marian (or Melanie Wilkes!) never would have dreamed of.

Overall, the movie is never dull but never quite takes off—is it the complicated plot that prevents this picture from really hitting full speed? In any case, it's certainly entertaining, thanks to the great cast and solid Warner Bros. production.

Screwball comedy was popular in the late '30s and Warner Bros. made several contributions to this genre. Despite the stellar cast--Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Patric Knowles and Rosalind Russell--this one isn't considered one of the best but it's amusingly played by the four leads.

Errol Flynn is a surprise in a good comic performance--a highlight of which is the scenes where he is pursued by hound dogs snapping at his heels every time de Havilland's father (Walter Connolly) tries driving him off his property. Flynn and Rosalind Russell play a pair of scheming reporters who, along with newspaper boss Patric Knowles, exploit Connolly as "the meanest man in America". Love complications abound when the four snarling couples get into cabs for the finale, with a surprising switcheroo happening before a justice of the peace about to perform the marriage ceremony.

Olivia de Havilland looks gorgeous as the giddy daughter of millionaire Connolly and shows a decided flair for comedy. Likewise, Flynn, Russell and even Patric Knowles (less wooden than usual) appear to be having a great time in their roles.

Amusing frothy comedy with too many complicated schemes going on for almost all of its running time--but worth a peek if you enjoy watching these stars.

Errol Flynn, Rosalind Russell, Olivia de Havilland and Patric Knowles prove that "Four's a Crowd" in this 1938 comedy directed by Michael Curtiz.

With such a great cast, one would think this is a classic gem. Alas, no. In fact, due to a confusing script, it's in shambles. Fun shambles, but shambles.

Walter Connolly plays millionaire John Dillingwell, Olivia de Havilland is his beautiful albeit dizzy daughter, Rosalind Russell is a reporter, and Patric Knowles, who is dating de Havilland, is Russell's boss. Dillingwell is a private person with no interest in public relations. Russell's boyfriend (Flynn) runs a PR firm and wants to land the Dillingwell account. With some help from the paper, Flynn manages to make Dillingwell the most hated man in America - a man desperately in need of having his image cleaned up. Not that he agrees to it right away.

The inspiration for this story is John D. Rockefeller, the most hated man in America at one time, known for his ruthless business tactics. He hired a publicist and, with the publicist's urging, began to give away his vast fortune consisting of property and money to various charities.

For screwball comedy, "Four's a Crowd" had a lot of competition, which is probably why the powers that be threw everything at it but the kitchen sink. Heiresses - "It Happened One Night," "Love is News," "Libeled Lady," etc. abounded. So did the movies - and they were all better than this one.

There certainly are some fun scenes and some good performances. Flynn had a good flair for comedy, as did de Havilland, though they weren't often cast that way. de Havilland's early career was in fact doing airhead ingénues, such as in "It's Love I'm After" and this one. Russell is terrific as usual, and Knowles acquits himself well.

If only the script had been stronger...it's still fun, though.

Someone posted that this film was 'a silly screwball comedy'. Of course it is: if a comedy isn't silly, it's not screwball. This one may not be a classic, but all the elements are there: pompous rich people, scheming reporters and a love triangle, er...square. It also has the comic supporting actors to make sure it all works. The rich weren't very popular in the depression so they were easy targets. The public's obsession with celebrities was already in full force and another easy target. And love mix-ups have been the basis for comedy since that original screwball - Willie Shakespeare.

Errol Flynn and Olivia De Havilland may not be Cary Grant and Carole Lombard but they do perfectly well and Ros Russell is a screwball icon. Patrick Knowles does a fine job and Flynn's foil. Walter Connolly, as the grumpy oligarch repeats his performance from "It Happened One Night". Melville Cooper, (the fourth member of the cast from 'The Adventures of Robin Hood': he was the comically villainous Sheriff of Nottingham) is his butler. Franklin Pangborn shows up as Knowles' manservant. Hugh Herbert is a justice of the peace and Margaret Hamilton is Connolly's housekeeper.

This one is way in the background of Flynn's career and not the kind of movie he's famous for but it's a solid piece of entertainment anyway. The great stars of the Golden Age made many such films and it's fun to look back and discover them and get a complete picture of their careers.

What a fun cast ! Bob Lansford (Errol Flynn) and reporter Jean Christy (Rosalind Russell) are scheming writers, about to lose their jobs. They decide to write stories about rich man Mr. Dillingwill (Walter Connelly -- played the father of the bride in It Happened One Night) that will affect his standing, as well as theirs. Errol Flynn, about 30 at this time, is known mostly as swashbuckling pirate and Robin Hood, and has a most interesting family history in real life; check it out on the Bio page of IMDb. And of course, they do manage to take Flynn's shirt off in Four's a Crowd. Olivia DeHavilland (Gone With the Wind) plays Lorri, the daughter of Dillingwell. Also look for Margaret Hamilton (wicked witch from Wizard of Oz) as Amy, the housekeeper with long pigtails no less, and Frank Pangborn plays the butler. He always had perfect timing as the prim & proper butler, the hotel clerk, or the bank examiner in Bank Dick. The sale of the newspaper was a common theme in the 30s and 40s, (think Citizen Kane) but here it's a fun caper as everyone tries to decide which side they are on. Check out the giant train set Mr. Connelly and his butler play with. This story kind of goes around the mulberry bush, but it's fun to be along for the ride. As others have noted, this WOULD be a good DVD, but doesn't seem to have been released yet. Directed by Michael Curtiz.

Errol Flynn showed he was very capable of making light comedies and "Four's a Crowd" is his best one by quite some way. Once again, Michael Curtiz is the director and Olivia De Havilland is Flynn's leading lady. The script is a bit corny in all honesty but at least "Four's a Crowd" isn't depressing or melancholic. It takes a bit of getting used to, seeing Errol Flynn in a contemporary setting. An undemanding film but quite amusing.

'Four's a Crowd' could have been a great film, and should have been a great film. With a cast like Errol Flynn, Olivia De Havilland and Rosalind Russell and a director like Michael Curtiz, 'Four's a Crowd' promised much.

While not a terrible film, far from it, the promise wasn't completely lived up to due to try-too-hard execution. There are strengths in 'Four's a Crowd'. It looks good, very nicely shot in black and white and attractively mounted. The music suits well and pleasant to hear in its own right. The script does have its funny moments, especially in the first fifteen minutes and the ending's a good surprise.

Most of the cast do a good job. Flynn does show a charismatic, witty and easy-going flair for comedy, while Russell blisters in her best moments. Walter Connolly is amusingly eccentric, and Patric Knowles looks more comfortable than usual.

Less good is De Havilland, who is cast against type as a ditz and is all childish annoyance and no charm. Curtiz's direction is uneven, good in some of his direction of the actors and in the first fifteen minutes but tends to lose control when the film gets busier.

The script's humour doesn't come consistently and lacks bite, due to being over-stuffed and over-cooked, a few parts a little repetitive. The story is too busy and has too many complicated schemes, hindered even further by the hurriedly frenetic pacing which makes the busiest moments borderline confused.

Overall, watchable and most of the cast do well but too over-stuffed and over-complicated, hence what was meant by try-too-hard execution. 6/10 Bethany Cox

In this film, Errol Flynn plays a publicity man and ex-newspaper editor, Patric Knowles plays the owner of a newspaper, Rosalind Russell a star reporter and Olivia DeHavilland plays...well,...an idiot. While I could try to explain the plot as well as how all these characters come together in the film, I'd rather not--as the film is a super-frenetic mess. I am a huge fan of Errol Flynn as well as Olivia DeHavilland, so it came as quite a surprise that I enjoyed this film as little as I did. The biggest problem was that despite all the star power and the direction of the great Michael Curtiz, the overall effort is pretty awful and is only saved by a few moments here and there (provided mostly by Flynn and Walter Connelly). The stars and script try too hard--making the film very shrill and pushy. This is because the film is too high-paced and the script too busy--often resulting in all the main actors talking loudly over each other (not a fun experience at all). Now SOME films with these qualities work (such as MY GIRL Friday or BRINGING UP BABY), but this one does not because the script is poor plus Miss DeHavilland is cast in one of her worst roles ever. While Miss DeHavilland was wonderful in roles in such notable films as CAPTAIN BLOOD and GONE WITH THE WIND, here she plays against type. Instead of the usual sweet character, here she plays a ditsy dame and it just never works and seems, like the rest of the film, very forced. Katherine Hepburn could pull this off, DeHavilland could not.

The bottom line is that the stars of this film made much better films and you should see them instead. In particular, Flynn, Knowles and DeHavilland all appeared in one of the greatest films of the era, THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD. So it's obvious with better direction (sorry, Curtiz just doesn't have it here, though he was usually a wonderful director--particularly in romances and adventure films) and writing this SHOULD have been a lot better considering the money Warner Brothers spent to bring all these stars together.

Reporter Jean Christy (Rosalind Russell) is angry with new young newspaper owner Pat Buckley (Patric Knowles) who had a fight with managing editor Robert Lansford (Errol Flynn). Lansford is looking to do publicity business with tycoon John Dillingwell (Walter Connolly) and he's willing to make up any lies to do it. He discovers Dillingwell's granddaughter Lorri (Olivia de Havilland) is Buckley's fiancée.

This is minor failure for Errol Flynn in his otherwise epic swashbuckling career. He's trying to expand into screwball comedy. He does have the fast speaking part but this movie seems content on letting speed be the comedy. The issue is that I don't like Lansford. It's a quartet puzzle with an unknowable solution. It starts with the cold opening and a cutesy switcharoo. I don't really like any of the combinations or characters. There is still an appealing energy to this screwball and Errol Flynn's charms are undeniable. He's able to pull this off although it's nothing great.

This movie was very much a disappointment to me.

I very much like Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, and Rosalind Russell. And Michael Curtiz has directed some of my favorite movies, such as Robin Hood and The Sea Hawk. But despite all that talent, this movie just doesn't work for me.

I place the blame on the script, which is really weak. Flynn's character is often incomprehensible - whom does he love, and why? - and not particularly likable, though Flynn exerts all of his very considerable charm. As a result, we're not really rooting for him, or even sure which way he wants to go. Russell is great - shades of her performance as a newspaper woman in His Girl Friday - but she doesn't get the great lines that movie provided her. Things move along briskly, but we don't always care.

This movie leaves no lasting impression, which is a shame, because it shows that Flynn could have made some great comedies, had he but been given the right script.

Four's a Crowd (Michael Curtiz, 1938) is a really fun screwball comedy that pits a newspaper reporter against millionaire Walter Connolly and his daughter, a la It Happened One Night and Libeled Lady. The first 15 minutes are blisteringly funny. Journo Rosalind Russell schemes to get editor-turned-PR-man Errol Flynn to return to his ailing paper, which the managing director (Patric Knowles) is trying to close down. Flynn agrees, and wages war against Connolly, hoping to turn him into the most-hated man in America, so he can repair his reputation via a publicity campaign. After that, the plotting goes a bit awry, spending quite a bit of time in Connolly's country mansion, where Flynn ends up trying to steal butter whilst mollifying heiress De Havilland and being chased by dogs. Well, I said it went a bit awry. Still, while the screenplay hops from one situation to the next without stopping to consider its internal logic, it moves so fast and so funnily you'll probably be swept along. Flynn and Russell are both near peak form, and they make a delightful team.

Four's a Crowd is a silly, goofy, and at times hard to follow comedy with the all-star duo of Errol Flynn and Olivia deHavilland. The film at times is funny and boring. There is a lot of telephone conversations featured in the film and it gets kind of tiring after awhile. Errol Flynn is at his goofiest in this role. This role is unlike his others in past roles. Roles such as Robin Hood, Captain Blood, and The Charge of the Light Brigade, where in those roles he plays jolly, kind, respected people. In Four's a Crowd he's a crude, annoying, and pushy person. Even Olivia deHavilland's role is different from her past ones. In this movie she's downright annoying and childish. She was 22 at the time and she acts like a 15 year old. The script of this movie is rather poor and includes segments in the film that have "been there, done that" written all over. This could of been a great and funny movie if there was a stronger script and director. Michael Curtiz doesn't have to direct every film Errol Flynn was in. There more actors to work with, then just Errol. I perfer Roual Walsh and William Kieghley's work with Errol Flynn than Kurtiz's. *1/2 out of ****

If you are a fan of either Errol Flynn or Olivia de Havilland this is a must-see screwball from director Michael Curtiz and Warner Brothers. All 3 stars shine. The early scenes at the mansion are smashing including one sequence with an amazing toy train track.

I would have given this a higher rating but the slapstick just grows too unbelievable as it goes on. Enjoy it for what it is - true fun from an innocent time - I personally feel de Havilland makes the movie with her amazing energy.

Because I found watching 'Four's a Crowd' great entertainment (there were quite a number of scenes where I was laughing out loud) I was wondering why the film never reached the status of a classic screwball comedy - something if not as brilliant as 'My Man Godfrey' (1936) then at least like 'You Can't Take it With You' (1938) or 'Hands Across the Table' (1935). After all, 'Four's a Crowd' has some big stars, with Errrol Flynn demonstrating considerable talent as a comic actor and Olivia de Havilland and Rosalind Russell playing along with verve. Also, there are stalwarts such as Franklin Pangborn and Walter Connolly who normally as good as guarantee success. I have come up with one potential explanation for why the film is more or less forgotten today (30 user reviews as of late April 2022 is not a lot): The greatest screwball comedies all start out from fairly simple situations that lead to logical consequences, and they all focus on relatively few main characters. By contrast, the plot of 'Four's a Crowd' is overly convoluted. There is simply too much going on, with all those intrigues and attempts at double crossing. Also, it is almost an ensemble cast film, with Flynn, Havilland and Russell having practically equal screen time and Patric Knowles not much less. For all that, this is by no means a bad film. If you can spare one and a half hours, there are much worse ways to spend them than watching 'Four's a Crowd'.

What Louis B. Mayer could do Jack Warner could do better at his studio. Two years before in 1936 MGM came out with one of the best screwball comedies of the decade in Libeled Lady, so essentially using the same formula of four stars with different pairings throughout the film, Warner produced Four's A Crowd and his four stars here are Errol Flynn, Olivia DeHavilland, Rosalind Russell, and Patric Knowles. Jack even got Walter Connolly to play the same kind of millionaire father in his film and the setting is once again a newspaper.

It's new publisher is the rich and proper Patric Knowles and he's got Rosalind Russell on his staff as a reporter in what was a harbinger of her role in His Girl Friday. In comes an old friend to Knowles office played by Errol Flynn who has the reputation of being the best publicity agent in the world. Flynn's on a crusade to land Walter Connolly as a client, one of the richest men in the world who shuns publicity. Hey, every millionaire isn't Donald Trump. As it happens Knowles is going out with Connolly's granddaughter Olivia DeHavilland. If you are familiar with Libeled Lady you can take it from there.

Just because Four's A Crowd is an imitation doesn't mean it's not a good imitation. The four stars are all in their salad years and give a good account of themselves. Errol Flynn showed a gift for light comedy that was not too often used by Warner Brothers as his public preferred him with sword in hand. Of all the eight films he did with Olivia DeHavilland this is the only one they did modern dress and it's probably unfortunately the least known. And at time when all Jack Warner wanted from DeHavilland was to look pretty and be supportive of the hero, she got her innings here giving such folks as Myrna Loy and Carole Lombard and Claudette Colbert her version of the screwball heiress which saturated films of the Thirties.

I also have no doubt that Columbia got Rosalind Russell to play Hildy Johnson in His Girl Friday on the strength of her performance in Four's A Crowd. Doing Craig's Wife at Columbia also on a loan out from MGM, Roz made her bones in dramatic parts, in this one she first reveals her gift for comedy. The following year Louis B. Mayer cast her in the third lead in The Women and Rosalind Russell was a certified movie star.

Walter Connolly's millionaire role is virtually identical to the one from Libeled Lady. In that film his hobby is fishing, here it's electric trains and he's got a train set spread that any kid would envy. The single most hilarious scene in Libeled Lady is William Powell trying to fish for the first time. Here it's Errol Flynn feigning an interest in electric trains and having Connolly's dogs set upon him.

One really ought to view Libeled Lady and Four's A Crowd back to back and see which you think is the funnier. We'll have different schools of thought emerging.

I think this movie was intended to be a screwball comedy, but it just never got that funny. The movie had no memorable scenes. It was just a running show of ridiculousness. This became hard to take. Also, while Errol Flynn usually plays a dashing hero, in this movie he plays a con-man and a phony the whole movie. Seeing him playing a role like this diminished the quality of the movie.

I just saw this movie last night for the first time, and I thought this was a very funny movie. I thought the story line was very good, and Walter Connolly was excellent as the wealthy Grandfather (as always)! I have to admit one thing though. As far as who shined best in this comedy, I thought it was Flynn and De Havilland. I really expected that Rosalind Russell would steal the show. I was truly surprised she didn't. Even Patric Knowles was funnier in my opinion. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is a fan of Errol Flynn or Olivia De Havilland. If this came out on DVD tomorrow, it would be a part of my collection tomorrow.

Four's A Crowd is one of the films you love to see as a child and then again when you get older. The fast-talking and fast-moving tempo of the movie grabs the viewer and forces movie watchers of all ages to keep their eyes on the screen for fear of missing a laugh or a star's expression. The leads in this film were climbing stars at the time and accepting this script was one way they could show all of Hollywood they had versatility. History tells us that Flynn especially loved playing comedy, something he had little chance to do since he was destined to becoming better known as a swashbuckler. But he manages to pull it off quite well as he seems to enjoy each and every scene playing the comedic antagonist and maneuvering himself and the rest of the cast through a fast-changing plot. Yes, this film challenges movie goers to pay attention to the entire film - from Grandpa's (Walter Connelly) expensive model railroad playground and the offices of a working newspaper to the luxurious rooms (sets) in the supposed house where Grandpa and his granddaughter (DeHavilland) live. Here is a comedy made in the black-and-white era that deserves your attention if you love film comedies of the time. And don't forget to watch closely as the four primary characters thrash out an ending that satisfies the sensibilities of audiences of all ages.

This is certainly a film that has not stood the test of time so when they say "Why don't they make movies like they used to?", I am sure they were not referring to this film. The plot is silly and very hard to really get interested in, and the 90 minutes it runs for is certainly long enough. I know believability should not come into it, but this one really stretches the imagination too far. If we saw the dogs chase Errol Flynn once more, I would have had to turn it off! The role they gave Olivia de Havilland was an insult to her ability, and the same could be said For Rosiland Russell, but there was more meat in her character so it was not as much a travesty. Patric Knowles had about his biggest role, and unfortunately for him, it did not work too well. Some of the character actors in supporting roles were adequate. It proved to me that when partnered with Flynn, Miss de Havilland should have insisted on Adventure or Western scripts.