jfarms1956 This movie will appeal to baby boomers and those who like to smile at good acting with a slightly funny plot. For those of us who watch a lot of movies, you will see that this flick has a lot of famous people in the cast. You may not recognize the names, but you will the voices. Actors and actresses of this caliper fully embrace their role. It is a good movie to watch late at night or on a rainy afternoon. Errol Flynn is not in his typical swashbuckling role, but plays the here nonetheless. Both Olivia de Haviland and Rosalind Russell are both leading ladies in this film (unusual). Get your popcorn ready and share around. Smile, and enjoy the movie. It will keep you in a good mood for the day or provide good thoughts to go to sleep to.

blckb5364 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.

Merizzlefoshizle I am a little bias to anything in the classic era of film and by classic era I mean anything from 1930 to 1948. But this movie is a real treasure. Not only do you have the irreplaceable team of Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland in Four's a Crowd, there is a bonus of Rosalind Russell.Mr. Flynn plays a different role than we usually see him in. He is still ever so charming but this time he has traded his sword for a desk. Miss De Havilland refreshes us with a comedic role. Anyone who says this limits her acting ability is completely wrong. Comedy requires a certain amount of skill and she nails her role. Roz Russell fulfills in her character everything her followers like to see her as, a witty newspaper woman. Of course she is capable of playing other parts well but she plays these woman the best. Walter Connolly plays the high-strung,stubborn patriarch like always. In the End the all get married to each other (there's another guy) but you'll have to watch it to see whom to who.

theowinthrop There seem to be certain rules about "madcap comedy" in the 1930s. It had to center around the idle rich and newspapers frequently played an important part in the story lines...oh yes, and Walter Connolly had to be the rich millionaire father who is bedeviled by the antics of the people around him, be they his daughters (Claudette Colbert in IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT, Myrna Loy in Broadway BILL and LIBELED LADY, or Olivia de Haviland in the current film, FOUR'S A CROWD. Somehow when Frank Capra used him Connolly was treated with more respect than in the other films. In IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT he was the wise man who saw through the fortune hunting airplane pilot and pushed his daughter into the hands of Clark Gable. But in LIBELED LADY he is a man who is easily impressed by a conniver's claims at being a trout fisherman. In FOUR'S A CROWD he's the nation's richest man, who has a secret passion that is sillier in it's way than trout fishing (which, after all, is exercise).Connolly is John Dillingwell, who is a very private millionaire who does not care about public relations. His daughter is Olivia de Haviland, who is currently being romanced by newspaper owner Patrick Knowles. Knowles' ace reporter is Rosalind Russell, whose boyfriend is Errol Flynn. Flynn runs a public relations firm, and would love a chance to have Connolly as a client. The film follows how Flynn tries to land this account, and uses Knowles' newspaper to ensnare Connolly.In the background of this comedy was an actual transformation. In the 1900s the most hated figure in American business was our richest man, John D. Rockefeller. The business savvy tied to tricks and chicanery used by Rockefeller to build up Standard Oil to controlling 90% of the oil refining in the U.S. was done at the expense of countless rivals driven to bankruptcy. Ida Tarbell's HISTORY OF THE STANDARD OIL COMPANY was one of the great (if not fully trustworthy) muckraking books of the Progressive Era. John D. Rockefeller was fully hated. Then, about 1910, Rockefeller hired publicist Ivy Lee to figure out how to get rid of this bad image. Lee was a genius about advertising. He convinced Rockefeller to get involved with turning a huge portion of his fortune into charity. This eventually led to Rockefeller University, the Rockefeller Foundation, medical charities, work at restoring the colonial town of Williamsburg (and the Cloisters in upper Manhattan). It also led to Lee's interesting suggestion to turn the elderly Rockefeller into a "lovable old codger" by giving dimes away as gifts or tips to strangers. And it worked. By the time Rockefeller died in 1937 (at the age of 97) he had become a well-liked figure to the American public.Flynn uses bad publicity stories to make Connolly so disliked that street children thrown stones at him. He also uses Knowles' newspaper to print anti-Connolly articles (which threatens Knowels' romance with de Haviland. Then at one point he calls Connolly to offer his services. Connolly responds, "I'd be glad to accept your offer...WHEN BANANAS GROW AT THE NORTH POLE!!" Since global warming is not happening in 1938, this portends no business contract. Instead, Flynn uses Knowles to get Flynn an introduction to Da Haviland. And in visiting her, Flynn finds the key to Connolly's heart: he and his servant Melville Cooper have one of the most elaborate toy train sets in America. Flynn challenges Connolly to a contest between his train and Connolly's favorite one. And surreptitiously sabotages Connolly's train's traction ability.As the relationship between Loy, Powell, Tracy, and Harlow in LIBELED LADY got "twisty" (to say the least), in this film a similar growth of jealousy and confusion renders relations between Flynn, Russell, de Haviland, and Knowles equally confusing at the end - especially when all four end up at Justice of the Peace Hugh Herbert's to get married. The result is four voices in disharmony speaking at once, joined by Herbert (for once not saying "WOO - WOO" as he claps his hands) trying to read through the marriage service once. It is not a great comedy, but it is amusing, and most people will like it.