The Devil at 4 O'Clock

IMDb RATING

6.4/10

2.7K

YOUR RATING

Play trailer3:18

1 Video

37 Photos

Disaster Adventure Drama Thriller

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.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.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.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.4/10

2.7K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 nomination

Videos1

Trailer 3:18

The Devil at 4 O'Clock

Photos37

Top cast33

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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
(as Lou Merrill)

Marcel Dalio

Gaston

Thomas H. Middleton

Paul, Co-pilot

Ann Duggan

Clarisse

Louis Mercier

Corporal

Michèle Montau

Margot
(as Michele Montau)

Eugene Borden

Citizen
(uncredited)

Earl D'Eon

Radio Operator
(uncredited)

Director
- Mervyn LeRoy
Writers
- Liam O'Brien
- Max Catto
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
The volcano in this film was built from scratch on 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 other films, commercials, etc., for decades.

Goofs
After the island explodes, the sea is perfectly calm. A huge eruption like that would have produced a huge tsunami.

Quotes
Charlie: I was a pretty good thief in my time.
Father Matthew Doonan: I believe that.
Charlie: It's too late. Can't you get out now?
Father Matthew Doonan: It's never too late to change.
Charlie: My mother, that's what she used to say, "It's never too late."
Father Matthew Doonan: She was right.
Charlie: She kept after me - kept tellin' me - there was another thief once dyin' on the cross right next to Christ.
Father Matthew Doonan: The Good Thief.
Charlie: That's what she called him.
Father Matthew Doonan: He didn't chicken out. He just got smart and at the very last moment, he stole Heaven.
Charlie: That's pretty good stealin', huh?

Connections
Edited from When Worlds Collide (1951)

User reviews45

Review

Featured review

8/10

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.