The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is a 1962 American drama film directed by Vincente Minnelli and starring Glenn Ford, Ingrid Thulin, Charles Boyer, Lee J. Cobb, Paul Lukas, Yvette Mimieux, Karl Boehm and Paul Henreid.

When Heinrich returns home from studying in Germany to reveal he has become a Nazi, Madariaga slaps him and predicts that the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Conquest, War, Pestilence, and Death) will soon devastate the earth.

He takes advantage of his status as a neutral to live a pleasant life with Marguerite in German-occupied Paris, where his cousin Heinrich is an important official in the SS.

When Marguerite becomes the object of German General von Kleig's lust, Julio - aided by Heinrich (it being the last time they are on good terms) - defies him and incurs his personal enmity.

[3] The following year MGM producer Sam Marx announced the studio might remake the film as a vehicle for Ricardo Montalbán, and if they did, the story would be updated to World War II.

What I want to put on screen is the atmosphere, so that when you sit in the theatre you will feel the hope and frustration of people struggling against invasion and may realize no man is an island.

He said he had doubts about relocating the time period and wanted it set back in World War I, but the studio was insistent.

Minnelli later claimed that he was "drafted" into making the movie, and was rushed into production before he was ready because MGM had a start date.

[11] However he managed to get the head of production, Sol Siegel, to arrange for the script to be rewritten in order to reflect the German occupation of Paris.

Because Robert Ardrey was busy, MGM hired John Gay to do rewrites of an outline prepared by Minnelli, which showed the weaknesses as he saw them.

[12] Early contenders for the male lead, the part originally played by Rudolph Valentino, were MGM contractee George Hamilton, and Maximilian Schell.

[13] Minnelli said that he wanted Alain Delon for the starring role and met with the young actor in Rome, but the producers did not feel that he was well enough known.

[12] In June 1960, it was announced that Glenn Ford, who had a long relationship with MGM and had recently signed a new contract with the studio, would play the lead role.

[14] Minnelli later reflected, "There I was, stuck with a story I didn't want to do, with a leading actor who lacked the brashness and impulsiveness I associated with his part.

[17] The studio wanted Horst Buchholz to play the young German son but he was unable to do it because of his commitment to make Fanny (1961) and so Karlheinz Böhm instead was hired.

"[12] Minnelli decided to make the Four Horsemen an integral part of the story, which would be designed by Tony Duquette as a set of andirons riding the sky parallel to the main action.

[22]MGM was impressed by the performance of Boehm and signed him to a contract by putting him in such films as Come Fly with Me and The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm.

Critics also considered Ford severely miscast as a Latin lover, who in their minds should have been played by someone much younger[citation needed].

"[32] Minnelli said that the movie received better reviews in Europe and it influenced the look of The Damned, The Conformist and The Garden of the Finzi Continis.

[33] André Previn composed the soundtrack score, the main theme of which Alan and Marilyn Bergman later adapted and wrote lyrics for.