The 4th Man (1983)

A man who has been having visions of an impending danger begins an affair with a woman who may lead him to his doom.

Director:

Paul Verhoeven

Writers:

Gerard Reve (novel), Gerard Soeteman

Stars:

Jeroen Krabbé, Renée Soutendijk, Thom Hoffman

4 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeroen Krabbé	...	Gerard Reve
Renée Soutendijk	...	Christine Halsslag
Thom Hoffman	...	Herman
Dolf de Vries	...	Dr. de Vries
Geert de Jong	...	Ria
Hans Veerman	...	Begrafenisondernemer
Hero Muller	...	Josefs
Caroline de Beus	...	Adrienne
Reinout Bussemaker	...	Eerste echtgenoot
Erik J. Meijer	...	Tweede echtgenoot
Ursul de Geer	...	Derde echtgenoot
Filip Bolluyt	...	Surfer
Hedda Lornie	...	Verkoopster boekhandel
Paul Nygaard	...	Violist
Guus van der Made	...	Treinkelner

Storyline

The morbid Catholic writer Gerard Reve who is bisexual, alcoholic and has frequent visions of death is invited to give a lecture in the literature club of Vlissingen. While in the railway station in Amsterdam, he feels attracted to a handsome man who embarks on another train. Gerard is introduced to the treasurer of the club and beautician Christine Halsslag, a wealthy widow who owns the Spider beauty shop, and they engage in a one night stand. On the next morning, Gerard sees the picture of Christine's boyfriend Herman and recognizes him as the man he saw in the train station. He urges her to bring Herman to her house to spend a couple of days together, but with the secret intention of seducing the man. Christine travels to Köln to bring her boyfriend and Gerard stays alone in her house. He drinks whiskey and snoops through her safe, finding three film reels with names of men; he decides to watch the footage and discovers that Christine had married each; all of whom died in tragic ...

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Plot Keywords:

bisexual man | homosexual | paranoia | catholic | nightmare | 

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Taglines:

Christine is young, beautiful and rich. Her three husbands all died tragically. It's time for Christine to find her fourth man.

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

Netherlands

Language:

Dutch

Release Date:

24 March 1983 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

The 4th Man

Filming Locations:

Hotel des Indes, Den Haag, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rob Houwer Productions, Verenigde Nederlandsche Filmcompagnie (VNF)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the scene where Herman (Thom Hoffman) walks out of the sea, Hoffman couldn't hear director Paul Verhoeven's instructions over the waves, so Verhoeven simply walked into the sea himself in full clothing in order to give Hoffman detailed directions.

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Goofs

When Gerard and Herman go back to the convertible after a rainstorm, the car's interior is dry.

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Quotes

Gerard Reve, Herman: [are confronted with a sudden shower]
Herman: Damn weather!
Gerard Reve: [yelling and pointing to trees] There!
Gerard Reve, Herman: [ran to the trees]
Herman: We all get soaked!
Gerard Reve: That one's open!
Gerard Reve, Herman: In that tomb?
Gerard Reve: Dead men don't bite, only live ones do.
Gerard Reve, Herman: [going inside]
Herman: [got licked by Gerard and turns towards him] Do you want to get hit?
[...]

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Alternate Versions

Italian version is largely censored. It runs 98 minutes (more than 5 minutes shorter than the original version).

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Connections

Referenced in My Place: Pat Moran (2017)

User Reviews

Lie the Truth

The morbid Catholic writer Gerard Reve (Jeroen Krabbé) that is homosexual, alcoholic and has frequent visions of death is invited to give a lecture in the literature club of Vlissingen. While in the railway station in Amsterdam, he feels a non-corresponded attraction to a handsome man that embarks in another train. Gerard is introduced to the treasurer of the club and beautician Christine Halsslag (Renée Soutendijk), who is a wealthy widow that owns the beauty shop Sphinx, and they have one night stand. On the next morning, Gerard sees the picture of Christine's boyfriend Herman (Thom Hoffman) and he recognizes him as the man he saw in the train station. He suggests her to bring Herman to her house to spend a couple of days together, but with the secret intention of seducing the man. Christine travels to Köln to bring her boyfriend and Gerard stays alone in her house. He drinks whiskey and snoops her safe, finding three film reels with names of men; he decides to watch the footages and discover that Christine had married the three guys and all of them died in tragic accidents. Later Gerard believes Christine is a witch and question whether Herman or him will be her doomed fourth husband.

The ambiguous "The Vierde Man" is another magnificent feature of Paul Verhoeven in his Dutch phase. The story is supported by an excellent screenplay that uses Catholic symbols to build the tension associated to smart dialogs; magnificent performance of Jeroen Krabbé in the role of a disturbed alcoholic writer; and stunning cinematography. The inconclusive resolution is open to interpretation like in many European movies that explore the common sense and intelligence of the viewers. There are mediocre directors that use front nudity of men to promote their films; however, Paul Verhoeven uses the nudity of Gerard Reve as part of the plot and never aggressive or seeking out sensationalism. Last but not the least; the androgynous beauty of the sexy Renée Soutendijk perfectly fits to her role of a woman that attracts a gay writer. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "O 4o Homem" ("The 4th Man")