Seven Men from Now (1956)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Budd Boetticher

Writer:

Burt Kennedy (original story and screenplay)

Release Date:

4 August 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Plot:

Ex-sheriff Ben Stride tracks the seven men who held up a Wells Fargo office and killed his wife. Stride...

Plot Keywords:

California | Wells Fargo | Sheriff | Shot In The Back | Gold

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Randolph Scott	...	Ben Stride
Gail Russell	...	Annie Greer
Lee Marvin	...	Bill Masters
Walter Reed	...	John Greer
John Larch	...	Payte Bodeen
Don 'Red' Barry	...	Clete (as Donald Barry)
Fred Graham	...	Henchman
John Beradino	...	Clint
John Phillips	...	Jed
Chuck Roberson	...	Mason
Stuart Whitman	...	Cavalry Lieutenant Collins
Pamela Duncan	...	Señorita
Steve Mitchell	...	Fowler
Cliff Lyons	...	Henchman
Fred Sherman	...	The Prospector

Also Known As:

7 Men from Now (Australia) (UK) (DVD title) (USA) (DVD title)

Runtime:

78 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #17817) | West Germany:12 | Australia:PG | UK:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company:

Batjac Productions

Trivia:

John Wayne had originally intended to play the lead role himself, but was prevented from doing so due to his busy schedule.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Ben Stride is first wounded (he'd taken a bullet in his leg or foot), he uses his rifle in his right hand as a crutch. Later, when he comes out to face off with Bill Masters, he's using his rifle in his left hand as a crutch.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Budd Boetticher: An American Original (2005) (V)

Soundtrack:

Seven Men From Now

Top-drawer western from a great director

This seminal western, long out of circulation, was recently restored by the UCLA Film Archives. It reappeared in August, 2000, at UCLA and played in the 2000 New York Film Festival, with director Budd Boetticher on hand. It was the first of a series of westerns directed by Boetticher and starring Randolph Scott. All are excellent, but this may be the best. The script by Burt Kennedy is genuinely surprising, exciting, and funny. Boetticher smartly uses the landscape as a character in his story, portraying the craggly, rocky plains as a visual metaphor for the sense of entrapment that envelops the characters. Lee Marvin is a first-class villain with a great speech in a covered wagon scene which is one of the best scenes Kennedy ever wrote. This is a must-see. If you like it, also check out THE TALL T and RIDE LONESOME.