The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

1962
Approved
2h 33m

IMDb RATING

6.5/10

2.4K

YOUR RATING

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.

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Drama War

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 Madaria... Read allIn 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.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.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.5/10

2.4K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
Lee J. Cobb played Glenn Ford's grandfather, despite only being five years older than him (Cobb is actually made up to look twenty years older with gray hair and a large gray mustache).

Goofs
In the scene where the German army parades through Paris (June 1940) they're marching under the Triumphal Arch and past the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (this is indicated in the scene's opening shot with the eternal flame on the tomb). In fact, the Germans refrained from marching through the Arch, as did de Gaulle and the Free French in 1944. The German HQ wanted to avoid stirring up revulsion and hatred, and no parade at all has marched there since the Unknown Soldier was put to rest in 1920. They have all passed beside the Arch (part of the symbolism of the Tomb is a wish for "no more wars").

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

Connections
Featured in 7 Nights to Remember (1966)

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

User reviews34

Review

Featured review

5/10

Glenn Just Not A Convincing Latino

Vincente Minnelli had it right, he wanted Alain Delon for the role of French/Argentine Julio Desnoyers and he would have been perfect in the part. However MGM insisted on an American, but why Glenn Ford. Back in the late forties he was laughable in the part of Don Jose in The Loves of Carmen with Rita Hayworth. Did anyone at MGM screen that before signing him up for this expensive remake of the silent classic The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse?

Whatever else Glenn Ford was and I'm a big fan, he just doesn't cut it as the second Rudolph Valentino.

So besides a miscast leading man, they had their troubles with the leading lady as well. Ingrid Thulin was trying to break into the international market as fellow Swedes Greta Garbo and Ingrid Bergman had done before her. Her Swedish accent was way too thick and supposedly she was indecipherable in her scenes. That familiar voice you hear coming from her mouth is that of Angela Lansbury who was dubbed over Thulin's voice. Poor Ingrid still remained a star in Sweden, but never did get any international acclaim.

The rest of the cast is made of various continental types playing French and Germans. The plot of Vincente Blasco Ibanez's original novel is updated from World War I to World War II and changes are made to accommodate the different geopolitical situation in the two wars. Best performance in the film is that of Paul Henreid who plays Thulin's husband who while he's off to war and a POW camp, she's fooling around in Paris with Ford.

Now you can believe she'd have found Valentino irresistible, but not Glenn Ford.