The Four Poster

In turn of the century New York City, newlyweds John and Abby Edwards evade the enormous crowd escorting them from their wedding to their hotel and sneak back across town to their new Victorian home. John carries Abby into the bedroom and proudly shows her the four-poster bed he made himself. Abby responds with alarm when John shyly suggests they will pass the bed on to their children. John brings their bags upstairs while singing a racy French tune, prompting Abby to ask him whether he has ever had a lover before. When John evades her question, Abby wonders if she has made a mistake in marrying him. John soothes her and Abby tells him that she married him because they were good friends. John offers Abby a drink, hoping it will calm her, while she talks about the solid future they can look forward to because of the the teaching job her father got for him. Abby tries to get John to read his poetry to her, but he changes clothes, appearing moments later in an old-fashioned monogrammed nightshirt and cap, which makes Abby laugh as they climb into the four-poster bed. Several months later, John's informal teaching style at the rigid Dean Killan's Academy puts him at odds with his staid fellow instructors, who demand the Head fire him. While bicycling home from school in a snowstorm, John is taken ill with a cold. Although expecting to give birth any moment, Abby tends to her husband and keeps up with the household chores. (official distributor synopsis)