The Devil at 4 O'Clock main backdrop
The Devil at 4 O'Clock main poster

The Devil at 4 O'Clock

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6.3/10 • 41

1961-10-182h 6m

AdventureDramaThriller

They jumped into hell to save part of heaven.

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.

Directors
Mervyn LeRoy

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Spencer Tracy

    Spencer Tracy

    Father Matthew Doonan

  2. Frank Sinatra

    Frank Sinatra

    Harry

  3. Kerwin Mathews

    Kerwin Mathews

    Father Joseph Perreau

  4. Jean-Pierre Aumont

    Jean-Pierre Aumont

    Jacques

  5. Grégoire Aslan

    Grégoire Aslan

    Marcel

  6. Alexander Scourby

    Alexander Scourby

    The Governor

  7. BarBara Luna

    BarBara Luna

    Camille

  8. Bernie Hamilton

    Bernie Hamilton

    Charlie

  9. Cathy Lewis

    Cathy Lewis

    Marguerite

Reviews1

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Jun 6, 2025

6/10

Idealistic priest “Fr. Joseph” (Kerwin Matthews) has arrived on a remote French Polynesian island to take over from the weary and cantankerous old “Fr. Matthew” (Spencer Tracy) whose congregation consists of a leper colony and a prison. When the priests manage to recruit a few reluctant convicts to help out with some repair work in the leper village, they - led by “Harry” (Frank Sinatra) prove to be a bit bigoted and recalcitrant, but things soon change when their very own version of Krakatoa decides to make it’s presence felt putting everyone into a spin and giving the cons an idea as to how they might just escape. Of course, “Fr. Matthew” can’t just abandon his flock, nor their hospital, and with lava lava everywhere he has to convince as many as he can to help him mount a very daring rescue mission into the mountains to see if there is anyone left to evacuate. This is a perfectly competent vehicle for Tracy and Sinatra that doesn’t look remotely realistic until a bit of volcanic activity at the end. The forest scenes don’t quite involve potted plants, but this isn’t anyone’s most convincing south sea island adventure as it takes it’s time to get going. For my money, it’s Grégoire Aslan who steals what limelight there is, and Jean-Pierre Aumont adds a bit of low-key eye candy as the seaplane pilot “Jacques” but the rest of the acting and the writing aren’t up to very much. Some more judicious editing could have tightened up the pace a little but ultimately this is just standard afternoon fayre where most of the cash went on the stars, and very little on giving them much of substance to work with. Watchable, but forgettable, sorry.

Media

  • The Devil at 4 O'Clock poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
rescueislandprisonervolcanopriesthospitalquicksand