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4 Devils
Directed by
F. W. Murnau
Passed
1928
1h 40m
Drama
,
Action
82%
7.6
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Four orphans, raised by an aging clown, becomes a high wire act in a circus.
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Where to Watch 4 Devils
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Cast of 4 Devils
Janet Gaynor
Marion
Mary Duncan
The Lady
Charles Morton
Charles
Barry Norton
Adolf
J. Farrell MacDonald
The Clown
Anders Randolf
Cecchi
Anita Louise
Louise as a girl
Dawn O'Day
Marion as a girl
Nancy Drexel
Louise
George Davis
Mean Clown
Curley Phillips
Clown (uncredited)
Michael Visaroff
Circus Director
Jack Parker
Charles - as a Boy
Claire McDowell
Woman
Wesley Lake
Old Clown
Philippe De Lacy
Adolf - as a Boy
André Cheron
Old Roue
E.H. Calvert
F. W. Murnau
Director
Berthold Viertel
Writer
4 Devils Ratings & Reviews
Washington Post
Wapo Staff
A word must be added for the cameraman, whose shots from above of the circus interior are exceptionally fine.
LIFE
Robert E. Sherwood
Mr. Murnau presents this tripe in all seriousness, just as if he didn't appreciate the fact that it is tripe.
New York Daily News
Irene Thirer
You will love this new Murnau film. If it doesn't strike you as quite the arty photodrama Sunrise was, it will, nevertheless, thrill you more, and afford you the opportunity of seeing again the really unsurpassable Janet Gaynor.
San Francisco Examiner
Edgar Waite
It is to be doubted that anything Murnau might do could be lacking in interest or merit, for he it one of the few directors who seem able to visualize "the picture" in a moving picture.
Boston Globe
Marjory Adams
Thrilling scenes of life in a European circus, fine acting on the part of Janet Gaynor and an excellent cast and some first-rate photography and camera work combine to make Four Devils... a photoplay worth seeing.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
H.H. Niemeyer
Made by F. W. Murnau, the imported director who was responsible for The Last Laugh and Sunrise, it is done in the most approved German manner with plenty of surprising camera shots taken from queer angles.
Baltimore Sun
Donald Kirkley
It is a circus picture, the best since Variety, combining gripping melodrama played high up in the dome of an indoor circus in Paris, and emotional crises dominated by wistful little Janet Ganynor and seductive Mary Duncan.
Washington Star
Star Staff
Although weak in plot, splendid direction, good acting and photographic effects have combined to produce a work which holds the interest from beginning to end.
Kansas City Star
Jack Moffitt
Four Devils added together to make one big flop, if you ask us.
Miami Herald
Ben Robinson
[4 Devils] promises from the opening scenes to be an unusual and Interesting play and it develops without lagging to its dramatic climax.
Hartford Courant
Courant Staff
The circus scenes are elaborate and good and the characters of the story stand out well in individuality.
Chicago Tribune
Mae Tinée
Certainly it doesn't conform to the average person's idea of entertainment. It's too painful. Suffering, mental and physical, is portrayed with detail if not relish.
Los Angeles Times
Norbert Lusk
It is not wholly a satisfactory memory if for no other reason than the first part of the picture far exceeds the last half in interest and originality. The film as a whole is long to the point of exhaustion.
Detroit Free Press
Ella H. McCormick
An excellently staged and exceptionally well photographed picture.
Philadelphia Inquirer
Inquirer Staff
Despite a difficult role, Janet Gaynor's refreshing personality and clever artistry, more than make up for any deficiency the picture might otherwise possess.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Harold V. Cohen
4 Devils, through inspired direction and acting that is far above the average, closely approaches the distinction achieved by that earlier Murnau-Gaynor picture, Sunrise.
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Martin Dickstein
There are scenes of a circus troupe in action which are as eye-filling as anything the screen has offered. The whole pulsating spirit of the big tent show has been captured by the camera.
TIME Magazine
TIME Staff
A plethora of film-footage retards the vehicle but never altogether halts it.
New York Times
Mordaunt Hall
In a simple circus story F.W. Murnau, producer of those fine films, Sunrise and The Last Laugh, gives a wonderfully true idea of the natures of those who follow the white tops and the sawdust rings.
Variety
Variety Staff
4 Devils turns out to be an elegantly produced, photographed and directed picture.
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