Der Teufel kommt um vier

Turner Classic Movies is my favorite cable channel. I have worked in the production industry for twenty years, and have picked up a few film degrees. TCM is a goldmine. I was not familiar with this film, and am pleasantly surprised. Yes, it is a precursor to the 70s disaster films, in a way, but still a worthy film for Tracy and Sinatra.

Today, the film would be saddled with an obligatory happy ending, so the realism, per se, of this script is welcomed. The heroism is earned, not dictated.

All in all, worth the two hours. And since IMDb now requires ten lines in order for a comment to post, I will continue typing. If ONLY most "posters" could LIMIT themselves to ten lines.

I've always thought this would be a good film to show problem kids in a group home: the film presents great values of friendship, loyalty, love and self-sacrifice (among a group of convicts) and the possibility of "redemption" through these values. The story is melodramatic (bordering on operatic!) but, if you accept the old-fashioned style of movie-making, it really works. As with all classic films, this is one you can watch over and over for the aesthetics as well as for the story. The acting is fine. The ONLY thing in the film that doesn't hold up, in my opinion, is the scene through the jungle with Frank Sinatra carrying the blind girl on his back: it looks a bit comical to a modern viewer.

A star-packed disaster soap opera that's sort of a precursor to such 70s disaster films as "Earthquake". Fortunately, the characters are three-dimensional enough to hold our interest even in the non-action parts, while the big disaster scenes are technically good and hold up well. The film overdoes the religious and messianic angle a bit, but is certainly a pleasant time-filler. (**1/2)

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).

I have watched The Devil at 4 O'Clock several times on Turner Classic Movies, the BEST channel on television. It is a spiritual movie without being syrupy or preachy. The acting is superb, especially Spencer Tracy and Frank Sinatra. It is not the type of movie that would be produced today... no violence, filthy language, or sex. What is does have is the redemption of the main characters and their rediscovered or newly acquired faith.

The music complements the movie's theme. I am going to purchase this film because it has a timeless story and is entertaining at the same time. Spencer Tracy was able to convey so much with facial expressions and gestures that seem completely realistic unlike the stilted Method Acting technique ( which seems to me so patently artificial). I rate this film an eight out of ten.