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The Four Poster
The institution of marriage is examined in 1952's The Four Poster an enchanting and effervescent look at a fifty-year marriage starting at the turn of the century that charmed this reviewer thanks to some stylish direction and the splendid performances from the leads, who are the only actors who appear on the screen.
The film opens at the turn of the century on the wedding night of John Edwards and his nervous young bride, Abby and provides selected scenes from this marriage in the form of vignettes that are linked through animated segments that sometimes fill in what we need to know that happens between the scenes and sometimes just sets the mood for us.
This the film version of a play that opened on Broadway on October 24, 1951 and ran for over 600 performances with real life acting legends Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy in the roles. For the screen version, the roles of John and Abby were awarded to Rex Harrison and his real life spouse at the time, Lilli Palmer, whose love for each other comes through in every frame of this film and what makes this alternately witty and heartbreaking look at a marriage so richly entertaining.
Watching the progression of this relationship from the wedding night where Abby looks terrified of the four poster bed and makes John turn around every time she removes an article of clothing, through John's alleged infidelity, the death of their son and the marriage of their daughter, to the bittersweet finale with just the right touch of fantasy, we are fascinated by this look at a romance and relationship that matures through the years while weathering multiple storms.
Since it was the title of the film, I was a little surprised that the bed became less important as the film progressed, but I was impressed that John and Abby were the only characters who appeared onscreen. There might be a tendency not to pay attention to the linking animated sequences but that would be a mistake. There is also a scene where Abby is going through her son's old toys that has a real Hitchcock feel to it, that we don't see coming at all.
Director Irvin Reis (The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer) lends a sensitive and imaginative directorial hand to the proceedings. Harrison and Palmer work beautifully together, crafting one of the most enchanting onscreen marriages I have ever seen. Fourteen years later, this story was turned into a Broadway musical called I Do I Do with Robert Preston and Mary Martin.
The institution of marriage is examined in 1952's The Four Poster an enchanting and effervescent look at a fifty-year marriage starting at the turn of the century that charmed this reviewer thanks to some stylish direction and the splendid performances from the leads, who are the only actors who appear on the screen.
The film opens at the turn of the century on the wedding night of John Edwards and his nervous young bride, Abby and provides selected scenes from this marriage in the form of vignettes that are linked through animated segments that sometimes fill in what we need to know that happens between the scenes and sometimes just sets the mood for us.
This the film version of a play that opened on Broadway on October 24, 1951 and ran for over 600 performances with real life acting legends Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy in the roles. For the screen version, the roles of John and Abby were awarded to Rex Harrison and his real life spouse at the time, Lilli Palmer, whose love for each other comes through in every frame of this film and what makes this alternately witty and heartbreaking look at a marriage so richly entertaining.
Watching the progression of this relationship from the wedding night where Abby looks terrified of the four poster bed and makes John turn around every time she removes an article of clothing, through John's alleged infidelity, the death of their son and the marriage of their daughter, to the bittersweet finale with just the right touch of fantasy, we are fascinated by this look at a romance and relationship that matures through the years while weathering multiple storms.
Since it was the title of the film, I was a little surprised that the bed became less important as the film progressed, but I was impressed that John and Abby were the only characters who appeared onscreen. There might be a tendency not to pay attention to the linking animated sequences but that would be a mistake. There is also a scene where Abby is going through her son's old toys that has a real Hitchcock feel to it, that we don't see coming at all.
Director Irvin Reis (The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer) lends a sensitive and imaginative directorial hand to the proceedings. Harrison and Palmer work beautifully together, crafting one of the most enchanting onscreen marriages I have ever seen. Fourteen years later, this story was turned into a Broadway musical called I Do I Do with Robert Preston and Mary Martin.