The Devil at 4 O'Clock (1961)

Director:

Mervyn LeRoy

Writers:

Max Catto (novel)
Liam O'Brien (screenplay)

Release Date:

18 October 1961 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

48 HOURS OF TERRIFIC SUSPENSE AS NATURE GOES ON A RELENTLESS RAMPAGE OF DESTRUCTION !

Plot:

A crusty, eccentric priest recruits three reluctant convicts to help him rescue a children's leper colony from a Pacific island menaced by a smoldering volcano.

Plot Keywords:

Island | Convict | Priest | Volcano | Leper Colony

Awards:

1 win

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Spencer Tracy	...	Father Matthew Doonan
Frank Sinatra	...	Harry
Kerwin Mathews	...	Father Joseph Perreau
Jean-Pierre Aumont	...	Jacques (as Jean Pierre Aumont)
Grégoire Aslan	...	Marcel (as Gregoire Aslan)
Alexander Scourby	...	The Governor
Barbara Luna	...	Camille
Cathy Lewis	...	Matron
Bernie Hamilton	...	Charlie
Martin Brandt	...	Doctor Wexler
Louis Merrill	...	Aristide Giraud
Marcel Dalio	...	Gaston
Tom Middleton	...	Paul, Co-pilot
Ann Duggan	...	Clarisse
Louis Mercier	...	Corporal

Runtime:

126 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

UK:PG | USA:Approved (Certificate #19964, original rating) | USA:PG (re - rating DVD) | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15 | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Fallbrook, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The volcano in this film was built from scratch in farmland outside Fallbrook, California. Each shot required packing with hundreds of pounds of explosives and a carefully-orchestrated "eruption" to be filmed by the cameraman seated on the front skids of a helicopter. One eruption went off a little early and nearly took out the chopper, burning off the cameraman's eyebrows and some of his hair. Because the eruptions looked so good, this ersatz volcano provided stock footage for decades of other films, commercials, etc.

Goofs:

Factual errors: A volcano eruption of this size (destroying an entire island) would create huge tidal waves that would swamp the boat, but it is shown sailing away in calm seas.

Quotes:

Father Joseph Perreau: God go with you.
Harry: God? Who is he?
Charlie: I've never heard of him.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Sopranos: Another Toothpick (#3.5)" (2001)

Two men and a group of children try to escape the wrath of an island volcano

This film has been firmly entrenched in my mind since i first saw it in 1974 at the age of seven. I have often thought about it, sometimes forgetting the title, but never forgetting the horror i felt at seeing the explosions and the flowing lava, and feeling the panic of the characters. Man's insignificance and helplessness against mother nature is portrayed with a sense of evil; Not unlike lord of the Flies. Every now and then, it has been replayed on TV, so i have watched it again and refreshed my memory. Even though older now, and more Desensitised to that type of stuff i have enjoyed reflecting as i watch it again. I feel that it set a standard for others to come, with a mixture of suspense, heroism and tragedy that certainly leaves no punches pulled.