Four Sons

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Movie
Original title Four Sons
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1928
length 100 minutes
Rod
Director John Ford
script Philip Klein
production John Ford ,
William Fox for
Fox Film Corporation
music Carli Elinor ,
Ernö Rapée
camera Charles G. Clarke ,
George Schneiderman
cut Margaret Clancey
occupation

Four Sons is an American silent film drama directed by John Ford from 1928. It is based on the story Grandmother Bernle Learns Her Letters by IAR Wylie , which she first published in 1926 in the Saturday Evening Post .

action

Bavaria before the First World War : Widow Bernle lives in the small town of Burgendorf and has four young sons: the soldier Franz, the blacksmith Johann, the shepherd Andreas and Joseph, who lives earlier in the day. Village life with many friends is peaceful and cheerful, only one day Joseph gets into an argument with the elitist, arrogant Major von Stomm, whereupon he decides to move to a country where everyone is equal before the law - the United States is his goal. The widow pooled her savings to make this possible for him. Joseph opens a delicatessen shop in New York , marries the American Annabelle and has a son with her.

Then the First World War breaks out. Franz and Johann go to war as soldiers. Soon the postman has to deliver the sad news to the widow that both died on the Eastern Front. Meanwhile, in the USA, Joseph joins the army in his new country, something that the widow Bernle's small village learns about. Major von Stomm insults the family as traitors and also forces the last son, Andreas, who remained with his mother, to join the army. Andreas is seriously wounded on the western front in France and calls for his mother. Joseph, who is only a few meters away in the enemy camp, hears his voice and rushes to him. Andreas dies in his brother's arms. A little later the war ends, in Burgendorf the hated Major von Stomm is forced by his deserted soldiers to take his own life.

Widow Bernle expects Andreas to return soon because of the peace agreement, but the postman has to hand her another sad letter. Now widow Bernle is completely alone in her Bavarian homeland. But Joseph survived, returns to New York (where his wife has since turned the small shop into a successful restaurant) and writes his mother to move in with them. During the inspection on Ellis Island , the illiterate forgets the alphabet she has learned by heart in the excitement and can therefore not be let through at first. Suddenly she is reported missing on Ellis Island and Joseph is seriously concerned, but she has already left Ellis Island and is fighting her way through the hustle and bustle of New York City. In the apartment she can finally see her son again and get to know her grandson and daughter-in-law.

subjects

Four Sons shows the First World War not from the victorious American perspective, but rather as a cruel event. The contemplative and friendly world of the 19th century, represented by Mother Bernle, is led through the world war into the brutal world of the 20th century.

Production background

Four Sons was published in early 1928 and was created in the transition between sound and silent films. Although the film is actually silent, it was underlaid with music and sound effects. For his film, director John Ford was significantly influenced by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau , the German star director who, like Ford, was under contract with the Fox Film Corporation in the late 1920s and made films there. Ford had visited Murnau in Berlin for several weeks and was influenced by him, among other things, in his expressionist style and the moving cameras. In addition, despite the dramatic story , the actors in Four Sons act less exaggerated than often in US silent films. Here, too, one can see an influence of Murnau, who relied on subtle acting. In addition, many sets from Murnau's Sunrise - A Song of Two People (1927) were reused for Ford's Four Sons . The fact that even an established and well-known director like Ford let himself be influenced by Murnau shows the great influence of German cinema in the 1920s on Hollywood.

A captain in the film is played by Leopold Maria Alphons of Austria-Tuscany (1897-1958), the son of Archduke Leopold Salvator of Austria-Tuscany . The Austrian nobleman moved to the United States after his family lost power. In 1927 and 1928 Leopold made three films in Hollywood, including this one. Other German veterans of the First World War were also present during the shooting and took on minor roles. In addition, a young and still completely unknown John Wayne can be seen in the small supporting role of a patrolman who helps Mrs. Bernle in New York. At that time, John Wayne still had his maiden name Marion Morrison and was a student. A lifelong friendship developed between him and Ford after Four Sons . In 1939, Ford and Wayne made the film Ringo together , which made Wayne a star. As a result, Ford and Wayne made numerous successful westerns.

reception

Four Sons was a huge hit with $ 1.5 million. It also received good reviews. The film magazine Variety called the drama "deeply moving", it was a "celebration of beauty and significant accuracy". Producer William Fox called it his greatest film in ten years and John Ford also called Four Sons the "first really really good story" he ever made. The film was later thought to be lost until the 1960s .

In 1940, Archie Mayo directed a sound film remake with Don Ameche , Mary Beth Hughes and Alan Curtis in the leading roles. However, this does not play in Bavaria, but in Czechoslovakia during the Second World War.

Awards

Four Sons won the Photoplay Award for Best Film of 1928.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Scott McGee: Four Sons (1928) - Articles. In: Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved November 24, 2019 .
  2. ^ Four Sons • Senses of Cinema. Retrieved November 3, 2018 (American English).
  3. ^ Four Sons (1928) - John Ford | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie. Retrieved November 3, 2018 .
  4. ^ Four Sons (1940) at the Internet Movie Database. Retrieved November 3, 2018 .