Daughters Courageous

{{Infobox film

| name = Daughters Courageous

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| image = Daughters Courageous FilmPoster.jpeg

| director = Michael Curtiz

| producer = Henry Blanke (associate producer)
Hal B. Wallis (executive producer)

| based_on = {{based on|Fly Away Home
1935 play|Dorothy Bennett
Irving White}}

| screenplay = Julius J. Epstein
Philip G. Epstein

| starring = John Garfield
Claude Rains
Jeffrey Lynn
Fay Bainter

| music = Max Steiner

| cinematography = James Wong Howe

| editing = Ralph Dawson

| distributor = Warner Bros.

| released = {{Film date|1939|06|23}}

| runtime = 107 minutes

| country = United States

| language = English

| budget =

}}

Daughters Courageous is a 1939 American drama film starring John Garfield, Claude Rains, Jeffrey Lynn and featuring the Lane Sisters: Lola, Rosemary and Priscilla. Based on the play Fly Away Home by Dorothy Bennett and Irving White, the film was directed by Michael Curtiz. It was released by Warner Bros. on June 23, 1939.

Plot

Charismatic Jim Masters returns home to Carmel, California, after a globe-roaming 20-year absence to find that his wife, Nancy, is about to marry Sam Sloane, a dull pillar of the local community. The four Masters daughters are also upset that their irresponsible father has re-entered their lives after so long away. Meanwhile, the youngest, Buff, has grown cold on her playwright boyfriend and is drawn to malcontent Gabriel Lopez, whose irrepressible wanderlust reminds Jim Masters of himself.

Both women must choose between passion and stability.

Cast

John Garfield as Gabriel Lopez
Claude Rains as Jim Masters
Jeffrey Lynn as Johnny Heming
Fay Bainter as Nancy Masters
Donald Crisp as Sam Sloane
May Robson as Penny
Frank McHugh as George
Dick Foran as Eddie Moore
Priscilla Lane as Buff Masters
Rosemary Lane as Tinka Masters
Lola Lane as Linda Masters
Gale Page as Cora Masters
George Humbert as Manuel Lopez
Berton Churchill as Judge Henry Hornsby

Production

Daughters Courageous was made as a stand-alone film, and its characters do not appear in any other film. However, it has much in common with the "Four Daughters" film series of that era, with the same director, largely the same cast (including the Lane sisters) and many similarities in subject matter. The series consists of 1938's Four Daughters, the 1939 film Four Wives, and 1941's Four Mothers.

Reception

Frank S. Nugent of The New York Times called the film " a thoroughly pleasant entertainment—howbeit reminiscent—with a thoroughly pleasant cast to grace it."{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9B07E0D7173BE033A25757C2A9609C946894D6CF |title=Movie Review – Daughters Courageous |last=Nugent |first=Frank S. |author-link=Frank Nugent |date=June 24, 1939 |website=The New York Times |access-date=September 18, 2015 }} Variety wrote: "Few of the situations can stand up under too close scrutiny, but the flavor of the film as a whole is entertaining, amusing, and occasionally emotional."{{cite magazine |date=June 21, 1939 |title=Film Reviews |magazine=Variety |location=New York |publisher=Variety, Inc. |page=16 }} Harrison's Reports called it "Good entertainment ... Although it is not as impressive as 'Four Daughters,' it nevertheless holds one's attention well, since one is in sympathy with all the characters."{{cite journal |date=July 1, 1939 |title=Daughters Courageous |journal=Harrison's Reports |location=New York |publisher=Harrison's Reports, Inc. |page=103 }} Film Daily called it "A production with a high voltage of sentimental of romantic appeal" with a "super-duper" cast.{{cite journal |date=June 16, 1939 |title=Reviews |journal=Film Daily |location=New York |publisher=Wid's Films and Film Folk, Inc. |page=6 }} John Mosher of The New Yorker wrote that Garfield added "a touch of color or adventuresome liveliness" to help along the story, but found "a quantity of bungalow patter that wears one down at times" and "a slight dullness" to the picture.{{cite magazine |last=Mosher |first=John |author-link=John Mosher (writer) |date=June 24, 1939 |title=The Current Cinema |magazine=The New Yorker |location=New York |publisher=F-R Publishing Corp. |page=80 }}

Home media

Warner Archive released the film on DVD on August 1, 2011. The film was also released by Warner Archive in the "Four Daughters Movie Series Collection".