The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1962)
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
In Argentina, family man Julio Madariaga (Lee J. Cobb) is the patriarch of his family and considers his farm paradise on Earth. One of his daughters, Dona Luisa Desnoyers (Harriet E. MacGibbon), has married French 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 German Karl von Hartrott (Paul Lukas), and they have three sons: Heinrich (Karlheinz Böhm), Gustav (Brian Avery), and Franz (Richard Franchot). In 1938, Heinrich returns from Germany for a family reunion and when he tells that he has joined the S.S., 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 newspaper owner Etienne Laurier (Paul Henreid), who is fighting in Belgium. Meanwhile, Chi Chi joins the French resistance and is arrested. Julio uses the influence of his cousin Franz to release her. However, Chi Chi has an argument with Julio for his neutral position. When Chi Chi is tortured to death by the Gestapo, Julio joins the resistance, using his relationship with the Germans to get inside information. - Actors:
- Glenn Ford, Ingrid Thulin, Charles Boyer, Lee J. Cobb, Paul Lukas, Yvette Mimieux, Karlheinz Böhm, Paul Henreid, Harriet E. MacGibbon, Kathryn Givney, Marcel Hillaire, George Dolenz, Stephen Bekassy, Nestor Paiva, Albert Rémy, Richard Angarola, Jan Arvan, Gertrude Astor, Brian Avery, Herman Belmonte
- Directors:
- Vincente Minnelli
- Producers:
- Julian Blaustein
- Writers:
- Robert Ardrey, John Gay, Vicente Blasco Ibáñez
- Aka:
- The 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse
- Genres:
- Action & Adventure, Classics, Drama
Reviews (1) of The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Technicolor Melodrama Mismatch - The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse review by griggs
Minnelli’s Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse remakes the 1921 silent epic, moving Vicente Blasco Ibáñez’s novel into World War II. On paper it’s ambitious, but the execution never quite matches the scope. MGM’s Technicolor sheen is dazzling, yet the colour and gloss often swamp the story. What starts as a sprawling family drama soon lurches into overheated melodrama, the war itself oddly pushed to the sidelines.
Glenn Ford feels miscast as Julio, too stiff and middle-aged to carry the role’s charm or recklessness. Without a believable centre, the romance and politics wobble. Minnelli’s touch shows in the set design and battle staging—those sequences are handsome—but spectacle alone can’t plug the gaps. The ending tries for redemption, but it arrives too late to lift the sagging middle. A glossy production, fascinating in flashes, but less than the sum of its lavish parts.