The 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse is a 1962 drama film based on a novel by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez. It was directed by Vincente Minnelli and starred Glenn Ford, Ingrid Thulin, Charles Boyer, Lee J. Cobb, Paul Lukas, Yvette Mimieux, Karlheinz Böhm, and Paul Henreid. For this adaptation of the book, the time was changed from World War I to World War II. Released by MGM, the film lost six million dollars at the box office. It was compared very unfavorably to the famous 1921 version, which propelled Rudolph Valentino to superstardom. Ford, with many films behind him, was not the... unknown that Valentino was when he appeared in the 1921 film. Ford, 46 years old, also had the disadvantage of trying to reprise a role that Valentino had played when he was 26. Critics also considered Ford severely miscast as a Latin lover, and one who, in their minds, should have been a lot younger. Minnelli wanted Alain Delon and Romy Schneider for the starring roles, but Schneider declined and the producers were adamant that the male lead be an American star.
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