ShangLuda Admirable film.

Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Roxie The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

SimonJack "The Devil at 4 O'Clock" is based on a 1961 novel of the same title. Max Catto was an adventure novelist who had films made from nine of his novels. This story is set on an island somewhere in the South Pacific. Spencer Tracy plays a Catholic priest, Fr, Matthew Doonan who is being replaced by a younger priest, Fr. Joseph Perreau (played by Kerwin Mathews). The local volcano has been acting up, and the island needs to be evacuated. That includes children from a leprosy hospital. Three convicts en route to jail in Tahiti are pressed into service. They include Frank Sinatra as Harry. The island residents have turned on Fr. Doonan because he set up the leprosy hospital for kids. They think it deters tourism. In his rejection, Fr. Doonan has turned to alcohol. There aren't any graphic scenes of drunkenness or squabbles. Mostly, the film picks up with action as Fr. Doonan and Harry evacuate kids from the leprosy camp, and then go back to find a missing person as the volcano blows. The story is a good one, but this film version is melodramatic. Tracy's character is very good, but Sinatra sounds and acts more like a hoodlum kid off the streets of Newark, New Jersey. Some of the rest of the acting is quite good, but Sinatra and the other two criminals don't seem believable. The plot has some holes. We don't know how or why Harry, from America, winds up in France, or what crime he committed there for which he has been sentenced to a distant French penal facility.In the end, the priest and Harry redeem themselves by giving their lives trying to save others. The scene of the island exploding in the distance is gripping. The movie was filmed in California and Hawaii. Some of the scenic island shots are very beautiful. The special effects are very well done and interesting. The cracking of the street pavement, earthquake and others are excellent. The higher rating for this movie are due to the scenic shots and special effects.

mnofan I saw this movie while in high school, it was recommended. I always liked watching movies in school because then we didn't have to do school work.This movie is a fantastic movie, with great cinematography and a depth of characters that makes you root for the ones less likely to be someone you would call friend.Spencer Tracy plays a priest who lost his faith, while Frank Sinatra plays a man who never had faith. Brought together during a disaster and I couldn't imagine two better actors to portray these men.The supporting actors combined with the stars turn this movie into a powerful choice about doing the right thing or living.

drystyx This pretty much the way to make a movie, and a movie that is 8/10 is a film, so this is pretty much the way to make a film as well.It is one of those that is best seen without a spoiler, without knowing what will happen, because there are some surprises in store, as a drama becomes a high octane action adventure.In order not to spoil it, I will say it is the story of three convicts on an island, who establish a working relationship with a priest and his young replacement. Like most "cult" films, the characters appear to us as clichés at first, and then emerge into multiple dimensions, pretty much the way people appear to do so if you meet them in real life, so this is very fair.Tracy and Sinatra are gigantic names, and easily recognizable. But while they do superb jobs, they wouldn't be enough to make a movie great. This movie is well written, with many great characters. The situations are believable, and all of the action is believable.In fact, it is probably too realistic to be made today. It is a ride to be taken and not spoiled.

MartinHafer It's amazing that the amount of money that was spent getting these high profile actors for the movie STILL resulted in a dull and unconvincing film. Part of the problem may have been the genre itself. This is at heart a disaster movie, and although some may disagree, almost all the disaster movies made were cheesy messes with terrible scripts and HUGE explosions! This film is certainly not an exception to this rule. Frank Sinatra and Spencer Tracy, among others, have pretty ill-defined parts--playing more characters than people. And, once the volcano starts to blow, the movie becomes predictable and clichéd. This is down deep just a time-passer--a mediocre film with no lasting impact.