Wapo Staff Washington Post Jul 25, 2022

A word must be added for the cameraman, whose shots from above of the circus interior are exceptionally fine.

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Robert E. Sherwood LIFE Oct 4, 2021

Mr. Murnau presents this tripe in all seriousness, just as if he didn't appreciate the fact that it is tripe.

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Age Staff The Age (Australia) Dec 3, 2020

So naturally are the sound effects rendered -- applause, expressions of alarm and so on -- that complete illusion results.

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Sunday Times Staff Sunday Times (Australia) Dec 3, 2020

It isn't fair to disclose the plot. See it for yourselves.

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Irene Thirer New York Daily News Dec 3, 2020 4/4

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.

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Edgar Waite San Francisco Examiner Dec 3, 2020

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.

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Marjory Adams Boston Globe Dec 3, 2020

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.

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H.H. Niemeyer St. Louis Post-Dispatch Dec 3, 2020

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.

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Donald Kirkley Baltimore Sun Dec 3, 2020

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.

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Robert Herring Guardian Dec 3, 2020

Murnau can only deal with mass emotions, and he is not psychologist enough to make of human symbols of humanity he seeks.

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Star Staff Washington Star Dec 3, 2020

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.

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E.W. Harrold Ottawa Citizen Dec 3, 2020

It is good entertainment, and has been cleverly directed by F. W. Murnau. who also made that unsung little masterpiece of a few months ago Sunrise.

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Jack Moffitt Kansas City Star Dec 3, 2020

Four Devils added together to make one big flop, if you ask us.

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Ben Robinson Miami Herald Dec 3, 2020

[4 Devils] promises from the opening scenes to be an unusual and Interesting play and it develops without lagging to its dramatic climax.

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Courant Staff Hartford Courant Dec 3, 2020

The circus scenes are elaborate and good and the characters of the story stand out well in individuality.

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Mae Tinée Chicago Tribune Dec 3, 2020 2/4

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.

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Norbert Lusk Los Angeles Times Dec 3, 2020

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.

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Ella H. McCormick Detroit Free Press Dec 3, 2020

An excellently staged and exceptionally well photographed picture.

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Inquirer Staff Philadelphia Inquirer Dec 3, 2020

Despite a difficult role, Janet Gaynor's refreshing personality and clever artistry, more than make up for any deficiency the picture might otherwise possess.

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Harold V. Cohen Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Dec 3, 2020

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.

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