The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Posted by martinteller on March 6, 2011
Mediocre melodrama from Vincente Minnelli about a neutral man becoming involved with a married woman… and the French Resistance. There are passing similarities to Casablanca, and the casting of Paul Henreid is perhaps not entirely coincidental in this regard. And let’s talk about the casting a little bit. In the lead, you’ve got a 46 year-old Glenn Ford as an Argentine playboy. Playing his grandfather, in an unbearably hammy (but thankfully brief) performance… Lee J. Cobb, only 5 years Ford’s senior (and 5 years younger than the woman playing Ford’s mother!). And as the female lead, one of my favorites from Bergman’s stable, Ingrid Thulin. Unfortunately, she’s overdubbed by Angela Lansbury, and not particularly well either. Really none of the cast are very well suited for their roles, and along with the awfully overbearing music, garish Technicolor and stagey sets, it all feels tremendously phony. The plot itself contains some compelling dramatic moments, especially concerning the family torn apart by the war. And the imagery of the four horsemen is spectacular… I envisioned an entirely different movie, a Bosch-ian horror fantasy just following them around. But this film as it is just doesn’t work very well. Rating: 6
