The Devil at 4 O'Clock

"They jumped into hell to save part of heaven."

1961 2h 6m EN

😐

6.3

MID

🍅

67%

FRESH

⭐

6.4

IMDB

★6.3TMDB · 50🍅67%Rotten Tomatoes★6.4IMDB · 2,697

AdventureDramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“They jumped into hell to save part of heaven.”

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Cast

Spencer Tracy
Father Matthew Doonan
Frank Sinatra
Harry
Kerwin Mathews
Father Joseph Perreau
Jean-Pierre Aumont
Jacques
Grégoire Aslan
Marcel
Alexander Scourby
The Governor
BarBara Luna
Camille
Bernie Hamilton
Charlie

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Mervyn LeRoy
Writers: Liam O'Brien
Languages: French, English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

65 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: French, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Spencer Tracy and Frank Sinatra and Kerwin Mathews carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "They jumped into hell to save part of heaven.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0054805 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

Only 50 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Mervyn LeRoy directs. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in French, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

165 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: French, English.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Spencer Tracy and Frank Sinatra and Kerwin Mathews carry the top of the cast.
5Marketing tagline: "They jumped into hell to save part of heaven.".
6IMDB entry: tt0054805 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Only 50 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Runtime: 126 min · 2h 6m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: The Devil at 4 O'Clock (1961)
Rotten Tomatoes: 67% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 6.4/10 · 2,697 votes
MPAA: Approved

Awards

1 nomination

Also by

Mervyn LeRoy

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-06-06
★ 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.

Production companies