Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: The Turbulent Production of MGM's Remake
The journey of bringing Vicente Blasco-Ibañez's novel to the screen for a second time was a complex saga of creative clashes, escalating budgets, and shifting historical settings. While Metro Pictures had previously invested $190,000 in the 1918 silent film rights (roughly $4,066,925 in 2025), MGM sought to revitalize the property in the late 1950s, riding the wave of success from their widescreen remake of Ben-Hur.
By June 1958, MGM announced the project was in active development under producer Julian Blaustein. The studio aimed to modernize the story, moving the narrative from the backdrop of World War I to the Nazi occupation of Paris during World War II.
Key Facts
- Original Rights: Purchased by Metro Pictures in 1918 for $190,000.
- Director: Vincente Minnelli, who initially disagreed with the World War II setting.
- Lead Actor: Glenn Ford, cast despite Minnelli's preference for other actors.
- Final Budget: $7,590,775.
- Production Locations: Paris, France, and Culver City, California.
- Key Changes: The lead character, Julio Desnoyers, was recharacterized as a French-Argentine.
The Writing Process and Creative Conflict
The script underwent numerous revisions as the studio and director struggled to find a cohesive vision. Novelist Graham Greene was approached for a treatment but declined. Robert Ardrey was hired first, implementing the studio's mandate to update the setting to World War II and change the protagonist's background.
Director Vincente Minnelli expressed significant doubts about this temporal shift, preferring the original World War I setting. Despite his reservations, MGM's head of production, Sol C. Siegel, remained insistent. Minnelli eventually worked with writer John Gay to refine the script to better reflect the atmosphere of occupied Paris, though Minnelli later admitted he never fully justified the update in his own mind.
Further attempts to polish the script involved requests for rewrites from Terence Rattigan and Irwin Shaw, both of whom declined.
Casting Challenges
Casting the lead role proved to be a point of contention. While Minnelli favored Alain Delon or Horst Buchholz, MGM felt neither was sufficiently well-known to American audiences. Other contenders included Dirk Bogarde, George Hamilton, and Maximilian Schell. Ultimately, the role went to Glenn Ford, a decision that left Minnelli unhappy, as he felt Ford lacked the "brashness and impulsiveness" required for the character.
The supporting cast was more international in scope, featuring Yvette Mimieux, Charles Boyer, Paul Henreid, and Lee J. Cobb. The female lead, originally intended for Ava Gardner, was eventually played by Swedish actress Ingrid Thulin. Karlheinz Böhm was cast as the young German son after Buchholz was passed over for the lead.
Filming in Paris and California
Principal photography began in Paris on October 17, 1960. The production faced significant logistical hurdles, including strict French regulations requiring consent letters from every person in buildings used for filming. To avoid traffic, most street scenes were shot on Sundays.
The production clashed with French authorities when police denied permits to film the Wehrmacht marching into the Champs-Élysées and Resistance battles near the Sorbonne. Minnelli eventually completed these sequences near the Arc de Triomphe and the Place de la Concorde.
By December 1960, costs had climbed to $6.5 million. Concerned by the spending, Sol C. Siegel ordered the production to return to Culver City, California, where filming continued until March 1961.
During this time, Saul Bass created four historical newsreel montages (Sports Palace, Warsaw, Rotterdam, and La Martinique). However, these were almost entirely removed from the final cut, with some edits later reused for the 1963 film The Victors.
Post-Production and Final Hurdles
Post-production was marked by extensive reshoots and revisions. Between May and July 1961, Minnelli reshot the Nazi entrance into Paris and created a stylized sequence of the Four Horsemen—Conquest, War, Pestilence, and Death. This involved Tony Duquette's armory designs and actors on parallel treadmills surrounded by smoke and red lighting to symbolize devastation.
A sneak preview in Santa Barbara in October 1961 yielded negative audience scores. This led to several drastic changes: Alex North's original score was replaced by a new composition from André Previn, and Ingrid Thulin's dialogue was dubbed by Angela Lansbury because her delivery was deemed "monotonously uninflected."
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Director | Vincente Minnelli |
| Lead Actor | Glenn Ford |
| Final Budget | $7,590,775 |
| Primary Settings | Paris, France & Culver City, USA |
| Key Writers | Robert Ardrey, John Gay |
| Composer | André Previn (Final Score) |
The financial strain of this project, along with other cost overruns on films like Lady L and the Mutiny on the Bounty remake, contributed to Sol C. Siegel's resignation as head of production in January 1962.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why was the setting changed from World War I to World War II?
MGM mandated the update to make the story more contemporary for the time, though director Vincente Minnelli disagreed with the decision and preferred the original historical setting.
Who was the lead actor and was the director happy with the choice?
Glenn Ford played the lead role. Vincente Minnelli was unhappy with the casting, believing Ford lacked the impulsiveness and brashness necessary for the character.
What happened to the newsreel montages created by Saul Bass?
Most of the montages were removed from the final cut of the film, although some of the edits were later repurposed for the film The Victors (1963).
Why was Ingrid Thulin's voice dubbed?
Despite her proficiency in English, the production team found her vocal tracks to be monotonously uninflected, leading them to hire Angela Lansbury to dub her lines.
How did the production handle filming in Paris?
The crew filmed mostly on Sundays to avoid traffic and faced several permit denials from French police for specific locations, eventually filming key scenes near the Arc de Triomphe and Place de la Concorde.