Four Wives (1939)
Engaging Family
10 November 2011
I like this family overall. It's a rich blend of some vital elements. In this particular series, as with others, the savor seems to diminish a little as it goes along. But, with that, the core group is always there and I find it a winner. The first is the best, this one weakens with script, and the last one has a real problem script-wise. While some are impressed with the portrayal of Ann as the disturbed widow and reluctant fiancé, I find that a rewrite of history from the initial film. I wanted Ann to throw that junk off and get with it. Jeffrey Lynn's character should have gotten a purple heart for long suffering in this one. It's a reversal of what they had going. In the first film, Ann was realistic as the overly sympathetic young woman who went so far as to marry a guy who needed her, when the one she really loved was seemingly not available to her. Okay, all that got fixed and fixed well. This film seems to moot the turnaround, and we find her more focused on her unsatisfactory dead husband and pushing away the true love who is readily available to her now. Yes, she does find she is carrying the first husband's child, and becomes emotionally vulnerable in her memory of him. That can happen, but it just wore on me. However, I still valued the film because of the winning ensemble and overall premise.
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