FAQ

When a smoldering volcano erupts on the small island of Talua, three convicts -- Harry (Frank Sinatra), Charlie (Bernie Hamilton), and Marcel (Grégoire Aslan) -- and two priests-- Fathers Joseph Perreau (Kerwin Mathews) and Matthew Doonan (Spencer Tracy)-- must lead to safety a group of children living in a leper hospital near the volcano. Along the way, the small group faces fire, rivers of molten lava, earthquakes, quicksand, and decrepit bridges as they fight to make it to a waiting schooner that has threatened to sail away at 4 o'clock when the tide changes.

The Devil at 4 O'Clock is a 1958 novel by British author Max Catto [1907-1992]. It was adapted for the screen by American screenwriter Liam O'Brien.

Talua is a fictional South Pacific island, supposedly located in French Polynesia some 500 miles from Tahiti.

A leper is a person inected with leprosy, aka Hanson's Disease, caused by an infection of the bacteria Mycobacterius leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosa. It results in numb skin patches and loss of limbs. Once considered a social stigma, leprosy is easily cured nowadays with certain antibacterial medications.

The French convict Marcel. He is carrying a little boy as they are crossing a watery area, and they both get stuck. Marcel manages to hand the boy off to the others in a heroic gesture before he is sucked down. He begs God to forgive him for his sins as he goes down.

After successfully leading the group to the waiting schooner, Harry goes back to be with Father Doonan and Charlie, who are stuck on the opposite side of a steep ravine with no way to get across. As Charlie lay dying of his chest wound, Fr Doonan assures him that it's never too late to embrace God. Charlie dies, Doonan recites the Confetior prayer, and Harry makes the Sign of the Cross. Suddenly, the volcano begins to erupt big time. In the final scene, the passengers on the schooner, now safely out at sea, watch as the island blows up.