The Devil at 4 O'Clock

IMDb RATING

6.4/10

2.7K

YOUR RATING

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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

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

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

6/10

Convicts, Religion, and the Volcano

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

Some say the film was a precursor to the disaster films of the 1970s, such as The Poseidon Adventure, Earthquake, and The Towering Inferno. I can see that, although I never would have made that connection myself.

Because of Tracy's demand of top billing in any movie he starred in, Sinatra ceded top-billing in order to secure Tracy for the film. The film was the most expensive that Columbia Pictures had ever made. This was a wise move on Sinatra's part, because Tracy really makes the picture. Although the convicts are great, this is one of Tracy's better roles (and it helps that Hepburn is not around to slow him down).