I don't have advantage of viewing the original "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" in its entirety with Valentino but this one was a disaster because of the miscasting, most notably Glenn Ford playing the part of Julio Desnoyers.The movie follows the twists and turns of an Argentinian family with the patriarch Julio Madariaga being played by Lee J Cobb as they wend their way through World War II. It should have stopped right at Cobb's performance at the start or went directly from there to the end for me. Cobb gave a magnificent performance. I was mesmerized by it. But that was his swan song and he was gone from then on.Andre Previn's music was superb. It is the only thing that held it together for me. But the miscasting probably done almost exclusively by the producers killed the movie. They picked people that they thought would pull in the public. With the exception of just a few of the cast it just didn't work. We didn't get the tension of those that were for Germany and those that were against it in the family developed in the movie in a meaningful way.The ending was predictable. Other than Cobb's performance at the start, Andre Previn's music and the ending it reminds me of sitting down to a sumptuous dinner created by a chef only to discover that the food wasn't nearly as good as it looked. Viewer, you have been warned!

This is a pretty obvious stinker. Not long into this you realize why the stars signed up for this one. They probably got payed well.Where to start. Can you imagine Glenn Ford playing the role of a college age student just flitting about Argentina and Europe during the start of WWII? By this time he was 45 years old. Dying his and darkening his skin a bit couldn't convince me. His acting was so wooden in this I believe I could get more out of staring at a Cigar Store Indian.I won't even get into Ingrid Thulin. Let's just say she musta owed someone to star in this. For me the only actor worth mentioning is Charles Boyer. For the little part he had he did OK. He usually does.For me the whole reason, or most of the reason, for this negative review is the first 15 minutes and the acting by the grandfather character. For around 15 minutes or so we get a speech from this patriarch of the family and when he spewed this drivel out, all I could imagine was if he were wearing a Shakespeare costume and the sets were different, it would just be like a Shakespearean play. This long and winding oratory sounded like it came straight outta Macbeth or Othello or whatever. It had no place in this film. He overacted his small part and I knew then I was in for a dud...and it was.This screenplay was just plain bad. I mean some of the dialog just didn't work. I think what made it worse was the acting. To say it was bad would be an understatement (listen for some really bad audio dubs to...it's a laugh).Simply put, this film was obviously in trouble in pre-production...screenplay wise...so they got a few big stars and tried to make it work...It didn't.

One of Glenn Fords best performances. Andre Previn's musical score one of his best.Studio troubles, politics seemed to interfere with the production.I wanted it the film to be better, but still give it a 10.Boyer is great and so is Tuilin, in the role of the war wife. Hendric Hendicx is fine, but too small a part.Based on a true family I understand.MGM was struggling and running out of money, after Cleopatra's over runs. The music almost defines, why this is a great film, it tells us more than the camera shows, but together you receive the true gift in the performances and script.

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!