The Fourth Man (Dutch: De vierde man) is a 1983 Dutch suspense film directed by Paul Verhoeven, based on the novel De vierde man by Gerard Reve. The film stars Jeroen Krabbé and Renée Soutendijk in the lead roles. It was Verhoeven's last film made in the Netherlands before he established himself in Hollywood; he would later return to make 2006's Black Book. The film was selected as the Dutch entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 56th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee. The title refers to Krabbé's position as the fourth man whom Soutendijk seduces, after she presumably has dispatched her first three husbands. The film is sexually explicit and, like many of Verhoeven's other films, shows graphic violence and gore. Gerard Reve (Jeroen Krabbé), an alcoholic, bisexual novelist, leaves Amsterdam to deliver a lecture at the Vlissingen Literary Society. There, he becomes sexually involved with its attractive treasurer, Christine Halslag (Renée Soutendijk), who is...