The Devil at 4 O'Clock (1961)

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.

Director:

Mervyn LeRoy

Writers:

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

Stars:

Spencer Tracy, Frank Sinatra, Kerwin Mathews

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 (as Barbara Luna)
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

Storyline

Three convicts enroute to Tahiti are put to work at a children's leper hospital when their plane makes an unexpected stop on another island. There, Father Perreau is to get off and replace Father Doonan, who's been relieved of his duties by the cardinal. Once on the island, things get out of control when the volcano decides to erupt, and the Governor orders an evacuation. The convicts, priests and leper children are all on top of the island and have no sure way to get down and off to safety. All must work together if any are to survive.

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Plot Keywords:

island | convict | priest | volcano | evacuation | 

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Taglines:

It was Father Perreau who arrived, Father Doonan who was to be replaced.

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

18 October 1961 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der Teufel kommt um vier

Filming Locations:

Fallbrook, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

'Digitally Obsessed' said of this picture: "Even though they both began their careers at the movie studio that boasted the claim of "more stars than there are in the heavens" (MGM), it took nearly 20 years and a rival company to bring Frank Sinatra and Spencer Tracy together for their first and only collaboration." The teaming of Tracy and Sinatra in this picture was done at the Columbia Studios, not MGM.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

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

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Connections

Featured in The Sopranos: Another Toothpick (2001)

User Reviews

"It is hard for a man to be brave when he knows he is going to meet the devil at 4 o'clock"...

This film, starring Spencer Tracy and Frank Sinatra, is about a priest on an island that has essentially lost his faith. The island has a volcano that starts to erupt and the priest is concerned about evacuating the children's Hospital that he founded. The movie is titled for the fact that after the volcano starts erupting, Father Doonan only has until 4pm to rescue the children before the last boat leaves the island.

The film starts slow and never really recovers from the slow pace. The one high spot of the film is the location shooting in Hawaii which is gorgeous. But this hardly saves the movie. The biggest flaw I found was with the script. The dialogue and action were for the most part dull and uninteresting. I think they could have done a much better job creating and maintaining tension given the extent of the looming disaster.

I thought the special effects were very good for the era. It's amazing that they actually "constructed" the volcano on farmland in California. It looked very realistic. The earthquakes and destruction of the town's buildings were also fairly realistic. I thought some of the studio sets were pretty fake though - like most of the film as they are escaping down the mountain from the volcano. All the rocks, cliffs and vegetation were obviously fake. Especially the rocks, they looked "shiny".

So far as the acting performances, there's a reason no one won, or even got nominated, for awards. There are no intense performances like you would expect when people are in the midst of an apocalyptic disaster. But it mostly comes across as exaggerated acting. There is one tender moment of fine acting near the end from Tracy when he is saying his goodbyes to Charlie and praying to God. I suddenly felt like I was watching an entirely different film, it stood out so much from the rest of the performances. Tracy only appeared in 4 more movies after this one before dying in 1967. Barbara Luna plays the exotic beauty Camille, the blind nurse. You may remember her from Star Trek, or "One Life to live" (Maria Roberts - "the bitch everyone loves to hate). I have never seen eyes so dark.

I must say for a film made by Hollywood, where they usually laugh at spiritual matters - there is a pretty good message of redemption and forgiveness here. The theme of a disillusioned priest rediscovering his faith reminds of a similar message in "Signs". But unlike the latter, this film didn't enjoy the same box office success. Now, I see why. Too bad.