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| The father, the uncle and the four children are highlighted, along with the cartoon source, on this cheerful poster for Alice O'Fredericks' Father of Four |
While Father is attempting to secure a raise at work, his eldest daughter the fair Sis' attention is changing from adoring Danish leading man celebrity Poul Reichhardt to the good-looking, local teacher. Her younger siblings Mie and Ole have upcoming exams; the smallest in the household, Little Per becomes a victim of neighbor Christian.
Father of Four is written by Lis Byrdal (Min Søn Peter (1953)), based on the same-titled daily comic strip by Kaj Engholm and Olav Hast, which ran from 1948-88, and directed by great Swedish-born Danish filmmaker Alice O'Fredericks (The Big Run/Det Store Løb (1952)).
There is not big plot at play in Father of Four, which is more a row of everyday occurrences over a short period of time, which is also severely charming as well as in line with the everyday humdrum focus of the popular Danish comic strip it is based on. Among the enjoyable elements in the film are the marriage-ready neighbor ms. Sejersen (Agnes Rehni (Fodboldpræsten (1951))) and a break-in (an uncredited Paul Hagen (Olsen-Banden over Alle Bjerge! (1981)) plays the burglar), which Little Per obstructs by going to the kitchen for cocoa.
Ove Sprogøe (The Olsen Gang Runs Amok/Olsen-Banden Går Amok (1973)) as the baker, Ib Schønberg (Mosekongen (1950)) as Father, Peter Malberg (En Søndag paa Amager (1941)) as Uncle Anders, Jørgen Reenberg (Europa/Zentropa (1991)) as the coveted teacher Jørgen; and all the children; Birgitte Price (Tango (1973, TV movie)) as Sis, Rudi Hansen (Min Datter Nelly (1955)) as Mie, Otto Møller Jensen (Fløjtespilleren (1953)) as Ole and, of course, especially Ole Neumann (Næsbygårds Arving (1965)) as adorable Little Per are all delightful.
Father of Four is a warm and still fresh cultural pearl. It presents a consistent, American-inspired universe, clearly molded by two women behind the script and direction, where no-one is really evil, and everyday life and the family home are what's most important.
Watch here a clip with the opening song from the film, the cheerful Danish classic Det Er Sol, Det Er Sommer og Det Er Søndag [it is sun, it is summer and it is sunday]
Cost: Unknown
Box office: Uncertain
= Uncertain - but certainly at least a box office success
[Father of Four was released 2 November (Denmark) and runs 97 minutes. The comic strip source was published on newspaper Politiken's back page from 1948-55 and then until 1988 in competing Danish newspaper Berlingske Tidende, with Engholm drawing it until his death, (Hast retired from writing it in 1973, after which other writers assumed the duty.) Shooting took place in Zealand, Denmark, including Copenhagen. Schønberg refused to shave his head to match his comic strip character, so the character gradually had some hair added instead. Jensen (Ole) had to wear a wig to match his character's look; Malberg and Neumann (Little Per) had to wear fake bellies to match theirs; young Neumann also wore a black wig; and his payment was a flat 25 DKK a day (approximately 4 $!) The film became a hit in Denmark, selling 311,956 tickets. It was released in 1954 in the UK according to one source; in 1955 in Sweden, and reportedly in 1962 in Finland! The cost and gross are regrettably not known. Note that the 5 mil. $ gross listed on Box Office Mojo for the film is wrong; it is that of the 2010 film Father of Four - in Japanese Mode. The hit in 1953 quickly inspired development of the first sequel, Father of Four in the Country/Far til Fire på Landet (1954), which was followed by another 6 sequels, one each year until 1961 - all by O'Fredericks. Then followed a 'lone bastard', Father of Four in Good Humor/Far til Fire i Højt Humør (1971), with a new set of actors and a different director. And in 2005 started the reboot film series, which has resulted in 10 films so far, the most recent in 2018. O'Fredericks returned with Fløjtespilleren (1953). Schønberg and Malberg returned first in the same film. 437 IMDb-users have given Father of Four a 6.2/10 average rating.]
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