The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1962)

In Argentina, one daughter of patriarch Madariaga is married to a Frenchman while the other is married to a German thus leading to a crisis when Nazi Germany occupies France and some Madariaga family members fight on opposite sides.

Director:

Vincente Minnelli

Writers:

Robert Ardrey (screenplay), John Gay (screenplay)

Stars:

Glenn Ford, Ingrid Thulin, Charles Boyer

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Glenn Ford	...	Julio Desnoyers
Ingrid Thulin	...	Marguerite Laurier
Charles Boyer	...	Marcelo Desnoyers
Lee J. Cobb	...	Julio Madariaga
Paul Lukas	...	Karl von Hartrott
Yvette Mimieux	...	Chi Chi Desnoyers
Karlheinz Böhm	...	Heinrich von Hartrott (as Karl Boehm)
Paul Henreid	...	Etienne Laurier
Harriet E. MacGibbon	...	Dona Luisa Desnoyers (as Harriet MacGibbon)
Kathryn Givney	...	Elena von Hartrott
Marcel Hillaire	...	Armand Dibier
George Dolenz	...	General von Kleig
Stephen Bekassy	...	Colonel Kleinsdorf
Nestor Paiva	...	Miguel
Albert Rémy	...	François (as Albert Remy)

Storyline

In Argentina, family man Julio Madariaga (Lee J. Cobb) is the patriarch of his family and considers his farm paradise on Earth. One of his daughters, Dona Luisa Desnoyers (Harriet E. MacGibbon), has married French immigrant Marcelo Desnoyers (Charles Boyer) and they have one son, the playboy Julio (Glenn Ford), and one daughter, the gorgeous student of Sorbonne Chi Chi (Yvette Mimieux). His other daughter, Elena von Hartrott (Kathryn Givney), has married German Karl von Hartrott (Paul Lukas), and they have three sons: Heinrich (Karlheinz Böhm), Gustav (Brian Avery), and Franz (Richard Franchot). In 1938, Heinrich returns from Germany for a family reunion and when he tells that he has joined the S.S., the displeased Julio Madariaga has a heart attack and dies. When France is occupied by the Germans, the family reunites in Paris, and Franz is the Nazi administrator in France. The alienated Julio has a studio where he paints, and has a love affair with Marguerite Laurier (Ingrid Thulin),...

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Plot Keywords:

adolf hitler character | gestapo | argentina | french resistance | self sacrifice | 

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Taglines:

Paris, city of lovers...the day the clocks stopped turning and the world stood still...

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA Mexico

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 July 1962 (Mexico)

Also Known As:

The 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse

Filming Locations:

Chateau de Versailles, Versailles, Yvelines, France

Box Office

Budget:

$7,174,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Moctezuma Films, Olallo Rubio

Technical Specs

Runtime:

153 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sir Dirk Bogarde turned down the lead role. Alain Delon, Montgomery Clift, and George Hamilton were also briefly considered.

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Goofs

Although the film in set in the late 1930s, the costumes and hairstyles of the women are in very much in the early 1960s styles.

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Quotes

Marcelo Desnoyers: No man really loves life, who is unwilling to die for it.

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Connections

Referenced in The Cinema Snob: That Nazty Nuisance (2017)

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Soundtracks

Mine For the Moment
Written by André Previn and Dory Previn
Performed by Eileen Wilson

User Reviews

Mature admiration

I just caught this on TCM and it's the first time I've seen it since my teens. Either my maturity has given me a better appreciation for it or it has gotten better over the years, now that we're bombarded with so much garbage. I've carefully read all the comments here, and there's a common thread. Most take exception to the casting of Glenn Ford and classify the film as one of Minnelli's lesser efforts. It's not that I'm Glenn Ford's greatest fan, but I think he gives one of his finest performances here and is one of the movie's strengths. One doesn't have to be 21 to be a playboy; what he portrays, quite convincingly, is a mature dilletante. Minnelli's direction is typical of his late melodrama period that started with The Bad and the Beautiful. His style is jittery, baroque, and light years away from his airy musicals. The Four Horseman ranks right up there with some of his best later work, like Home From the Hill, Some Came Running, and The Cobweb. He has a particular flair for car scenes which started with his first Gothic, Undercurrent, in 1946. He gets one of the finest performances I've ever seen out of that limited actor, Charles Boyer. His scene with the gifted Paul Lukas where they mourn the deaths of their children is powerful and touching beyond words. The great disappointment, as everyone has noted, is the legendary dubbing of Ingrid Thulin by Angela Lansbury. What I find most peculiar is that I think Lansbury did not loop ALL of Thulin's dialogue, some lines sound like the voice of Thulin that I remember from The Damned and Return from the Ashes. The obvious question is: Why did M-G-M hire her if there was a problem with the voice? Didn't they test her before contract signing? In any case, the dubbing is unfortunate; her looks and performance are exquisite. My recommendation: SEE THIS GOOD, OLD FASHIONED, REALLY BIG MOVIE. P.S. Check out the magnificent, huge Andre Previn score.