THE DEVIL AT 4 O'CLOCK is a disaster film about inhabitants of a remote Caribbean island struggling to escape from the volcano which has begun to erupt on the island. Although I'm a fan of the disaster film genre, I'd never heard of this film before watching, so perhaps it sank without trace. In any case it's a solid enough piece of entertainment with much in common with the likes of KRAKATOA - EAST OF JAVA and WHEN TIME RAN OUT.One of the most interesting things about DEVIL is the cast. Frank Sinatra headlines as another likable rogue of the kind he did so well. Old-timer Spencer Tracy is a delight as the hard-headed priest who essentially runs the island while the French bores in charge look on. Sinbad star Kerwin Mathews is here too as the young priest sent to replace a retiring Tracy. The supporting cast includes Barbara Luna, a truly exotic-looking beauty, and Bernie Hamilton as one of Sinatra's fellow cons. Hamilton would later go on to TV stardom in STARSKY & HUTCH.I think it's fair to say that THE DEVIL AT 4 O'CLOCK is a dated film and the special effects haven't held up particularly well, the back projection being a stand out. The first hour is a little slow too. However, once the disaster scenario kicks in, it becomes exciting and often gripping entertainment, and the ending is unexpectedly emotional. Solid Hollywood entertainment, in other words.

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).

A sea-plane bound for Tahiti, carrying three prisoners and a young priest, stops for the night on a small tropical island where tempers--and an angry volcano!--are flaring. Embarrassingly overacted adventure yarn pits salty priest Spencer Tracy with smart-mouthed convict Frank Sinatra in their attempt to save a leper colony of adults and children from the spewing lava. This may be the worst movie ever directed by veteran Mervyn LeRoy, who must have been so overwhelmed with the location shooting in Hawaii and California, the pyrotechnics involved, and the ill health of top-billed Tracy that he allowed the picture to get away from him. Liam O'Brien adapted his weak screenplay from the novel by Max Catto. Once the agonizing preliminaries and character conflicts are out of the way, moments of the perilous escape are worthwhile, and the volcano looks good. ** from ****

The dialogue of this thing is sometimes just wretched- Frank's dated, 'hip' talk, Spencer's supposed religious struggle or whatever vocalizings, Barbara Luna's innocent sweetness. All the other characters speechify to a greater or lesser degree. They're all just clichéd duds IMO. BUT- where did they film this thing? It looks pretty good, even the obvious studio shots. The earthquake stuff- I'll be darned- looked real! And that Volcano was the greatest, fakest, blowingest piece of technicolored lava spewing Hollywood mountain I've ever seen. I was completely entertained, yes sir. Watch it just for that- fast forward through the plot drivel or turn the sound down and just imagine the talk; anything is better than what they're actually saying.