I quattro cavalieri dell'Apocalisse

In Argentina, the family man Julio Madariaga (Lee J. Cobb) is the patriarch of his family and considers his farm the paradise on Earth. One of his daughters, Luisa Desnoyers (Harriet MacGibbon), has married the Frenchman immigrant Marcelo Desnoyers (Charles Boyer) and they have one son, the playboy Julio (Glenn Ford), and one daughter, the gorgeous student of Sorbonne Chi Chi (Yvette Mimieux). His other daughter, Elena von Hartrott (Kathryn Givney), has married the German Karl von Hartrott (Paul Lukas), and they have three sons: Heinrich (Karl Boehm), Gustav and Franz.

In 1938, Heinrich returns from Germany for a family reunion and when he tells that he has joined the SS, the displeased Julio Madariaga has a heart attack and dies. When France is occupied by the Germans, the family reunites in Paris and Franz is the Nazi administrator in France. The alienated Julio has a studio where he paints, and has a love affair with Marguerite Laurier (Ingrid Thulin), the wife of the owner of a newspaper Etienne Laurier (Paul Henreid) that is fighting in Belgium. Meanwhile Chi Chi joins the French resistance and is arrested. Julio uses the influence of his uncle Franz to release her. However, Chi Chi has an argument with Julio for his neutral position. When Chi Chi is tortured to death by Gestapo, Julio joins the resistance, using his relationship with the Germans to get inside information.

"The 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse" is an epic romance with the awakening of a playboy in times of war. The cinematography, art direction and costumes are amazing, but unfortunately the screenplay is shallow and the film is miscast in the lead role. Glenn Ford is never convincing as a French-Argentinean, and too old (46 years old) to be a playboy and son of Charles Boyer (63 years old). Further, it is ridiculous the actors and actresses speaking in English forcing accents in French, German and Spanish. I have never had the chance to see the 1921 original film to compare with this remake by Vincente Minnelli. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Os Quatro Cavaleiros do Apocalipse" ("The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse")

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.

If Vincente Minnelli is to be praised in this film, it his decision to film Ibanez' novel and to cast the fascinating Ingrid Thulin--who has contributed substantially to Bergman's early work and to Swedish theatre. No Hollywood actress could have lent credibility to this role as Ms Thulin did. It is a matter of historical tragedy that Thulin's own voice was not used and Angela Lansbury's voice was used instead.

Lee J Cobb as the patriarch and Glenn Ford as Julio were avoidable decisions. However, the casting of Paul Henreid and Charles Boyer enhanced the film.

What made the film rise over mediocrity? The story and Thulin. Ibanez' work is world renowned and film is a beautiful medium to capture the image of the four horsemen. Interestingly Minnelli is not able to capture the "pale" and the "red" horse on screen--the most difficult of the four horses in technicolor and decides to use smoke and clouds to distract us. According to "The Book of Revelations," the horsemen carried a bow, a sword, a balance and a great Sword. Ingmar Bergman in "the Seventh Seal" and Minnelli transforms the great sword into a scythe. But for this detail, the art direction throughout the movie was commendable.

Erich von Stroheim Jr. was a mere Assistant Director in this work. von Stroheim's body of work in Europe is revered today and one can only speculate about the result had he directed the film instead of Minnelli. Minnelli's film has its moments--Etienne meeting his wife on his return from capture, and Etienne's confrontation with Julio. Yet the film is Hollywood's attempt at presenting a narrative without complexity for audiences who prefer to be spoonfed. Ibanez' novel is still waiting for a good director to film--Minnelli stumbled in his effort to create a masterpiece. One mistake he made was choosing Glenn Ford to play an Argentinan playboy. What a costly mistake!

This film has many fine qualities, some oddball aspects, and some things of interest because of how they relate to other work by the creative artists. For example, Minnelli returns to Paris location shooting as he did in 'American in Paris' and 'Gigi', but this time to re-create wartime Paris and what it was like to be part of the Resistance, as well as what life was like among the privileged Parisian collaborators who lived the good life under Nazi rule. In spite of MGM glamour and production values that must have cost a fortune, Minnelli and his screenwriters often succeed in portraying the anguish of that time, the moral crisis of privileged neutrals, and the courage of those who resisted. Credit must go to a splendid cast of Hollywood veterans and some talented newcomers. Paul Henreid shows up playing, what else?, a resistance hero. Ingrid Thulin's Swedish accent must have been too much for MGM's money men - they had her dialogue dubbed by Angela Lansbury, and pretty effectively too. One of the greatest pleasures of the film is Andre Previn's score. If you like your movie music big, complex, intrusive, and romantic, you'll agree that this score is one of the great overlooked gems of Hollywood soundtracks.

What's bad about the movie? Glenn Ford for starters, not too believable as an Argentinian playboy. But that may just be a matter of taste.

Remake from classic silent (1921) set in WWI and directed by Fred Niblo with Rodolfo Valentino , Alan Hale , Alice Terry that is still deemed the best . This one , updated to WWII deals with an Argentinian family man patriarch named Julio Madariaga (Lee J. Cobb) who reunites his diverse members as French (Charles Boyer and his sons Glenn Ford and Yvette Mimieux) as well as German (Paul Lukas , Karl Boehn) but with the Nazi outbreak the events get worse . Some years later , in Paris the various components of the grievous family cross their destinations with tragic results . Meanwhile , in the city of lovers , the day the clocks stopped turning and the world stood still , the protagonist (Glenn Ford) falls in love with the resistance leader's (Paul Henreid) wife (Ingrid Thulin , allegedly dubbed by Angela Lansbury)

This dramatic film is packed with an excellent cast , thrills , suspense , emotion , betrayal , a loving triangle and historical events . Complex anti-WWII story about cousins and uncles who fight on opposite sides . It depicts the tormentous period during painful Nazi invasion in Paris , including Resistance activities , Gestapo cruelties , and other sorrowful happenings . It is accompanied by a rousing and sensitive musical score by composer Andre Previn . Based on a novel by the Spanish Vicente Blasco Ibañez whose books have been adapted several times as ¨Blood and sand¨ , ¨The temptress¨ , ¨Cañas y Barro¨ and ¨Mare Nostrum¨ , among others . Glimmer cinematography by Milton Krasner , he is one of the few cameramen for whom Technicolor seems to have been invented , it includes colorist imaginary that still staggers as when appear the four riders , Pest , Hunger , War , Death . The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are described in the last book of the New Testament of the Bible, called the Book of Revelation of Jesus Christ to Saint John the Evangelist . Although some interpretations differ, the four riders are commonly seen as symbolizing Conquest, War, Famine and Death, respectively. The Christian apocalyptic vision is that the four horsemen are to set a divine apocalypse upon the world as harbingers of the Last Judgment.

The motion picture is lavishly produced by Julian Blaustein and well directed by Vincente Minelli . Vincente was an expert on musicals , being hired by MGM for many years . After working on numerous Mickey Rooney/Judy Garland vehicles , usually directed by Busby Berkeley , Arthur Freed gave him his first directorial assignment on ¨Cabin in the sky¨ (1943), a risky screen project with an all-black cast . This was followed by the ambitious period piece , the classic ¨Meet me in St. Louis¨ (1944) whose star Judy Garland he married in 1945 . Many of his films included in every one of his movies features a dream sequence such as ¨Four horsemen of Apocalypse¨ . Employing first-class MGM technicians , including Erich Von Stroheim , Minnelli continued directing musicals as ¨The band wagon¨ (1953) , ¨Kismet¨, ¨The pirate¨ , ¨ An American in Paris¨ , ¨Brigadoon¨ as well as melodramas as ¨Some came running¨ (1958) , ¨Madame Bovary¨, ¨The sandpiper¨ and urban comedies like ¨Designing woman¨ (1957), occasionally even working on two films simultaneously . In his last average film titled ¨Nina¨ worked with his daughter Liza Minnelli . Rating ¨Four horsemen of Apocalypse ¨ : Better than average , it's a good story though sometimes falls plain , well worth watching .