Return of the Secaucus Seven (1979)

Seven former college friends, along with a few new friends, gather for a weekend reunion at a summer house in New Hampshire to reminisce about the good old days, when they got arrested on the way to a protest in Washington, DC.

Director:

John Sayles

Writer:

John Sayles

Stars:

Bruce MacDonald, Maggie Renzi, Adam LeFevre

5 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bruce MacDonald	...	Mike Donnelly
Maggie Renzi	...	Katie Sipriano
Adam LeFevre	...	J.T.
Maggie Cousineau	...	Frances Carlson
Gordon Clapp	...	Chip Hollister
Jean Passanante	...	Irene Rosenblue
Karen Trott	...	Maura Tolliver
Mark Arnott	...	Jeff Andrews
David Strathairn	...	Ron Desjardins
John Sayles	...	Howie
Marisa Smith	...	Carol
Amy Schewel	...	Lacey Summers
Carolyn Brooks	...	Meg
Eric Forsythe	...	Captain
Nancy Mette	...	Lee

Storyline

The Secaucus 7 of the film's title are seven friends who, during their college days, were arrested in New Jersey on their way to a protest in Washington. The film takes place ten years after all that, as the friends gather at the home of Mike and Katie, now schoolteachers in New Hampshire, bringing with them old problems and new: Maura has left Jeff and seeks consolation with his best friend, J.T.; J.T., arguably the least successful of the friends, finally gets the courage to move to Los Angeles to start a career as a songwriter; Irene brings her new boyfriend along, hoping he'll like and be liked by her friends and expecting them to challenge him for his more-conservative politics; and more. This is the film that inspired "The Big Chill."

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Plot Keywords:

friend | new hampshire | college | protest | reunion | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 September 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

Secaucus 7

Filming Locations:

Jackson, New Hampshire, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Salsipuedes Productions, Anarchist's Convention Films, UCLA Film and Television Archive

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Apparently, according to one movie book, this film featured only one actor who had starred in a previous movie. Actually, Nancy Mette had played Denise in Girlfriends; Cora Bennett had appeared uncredited as P.R.O.'s Secretary in Time, Gentlemen, Please!; Brian Johnson had appeared in the one TV episode, Hazel: Hazel and the Vanishing Hero; Jack LaValle had appeared in The Hard Road whilst Gordon Clapp had appeared in Running. Of these five actors, in all cases, they had only appeared in one production prior to this film. For the rest of the entire cast, this film represents their acting debut. And actually, for seven of this film's cast, Return of the Secaucus Seven is their only ever film acting credit, not ever returning to any acting engagements.

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Goofs

Camera shadow on the ground during the basketball game when JT falls down.

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Quotes

Frances Carlson: You know, I can't imagine you guys teaching. I mean, is it the same old stuff we got?
Mike Donnelly: Well, I start the year with the Boston Police Strike.
Irene Rosenblue: They let you teach *that*?
Mike Donnelly: They let you teach just about anything, so long as you keep the students from knifing each other.

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Connections

Featured in Cinefile: Made in the USA (1993)

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Soundtracks

"I Brake for Animals"
© 1979 Sweet Melodies Publishing
Written by Adam LeFevre
Performed by Adam LeFevre (uncredited)

User Reviews

A Solid Beginning

Sayles' first film is, as one previously reviewer noted, the prototype independent film: small budget, previously unknown actors, an emphasis upon talk and ideas over action or even an event-oriented plot. The script varies from slow at times to very entertaining and incisive at others, but it always feels real. You don't necessarily feel you know the characters all that well when it's over, but you care about them nonetheless. It's all in all a very worthwhile film, in which you can see the director learning how to handle an ensemble cast, as he has done so effectively in recent years in Lone Star and Sunshine State. If you like this type of film at all, you will find it rewarding and quite worth your time.

It is amazing, though, how so many of the reviews attempt to not merely acknowledge the similarities to The Big Chill, but to elevate one film and denigrate the other. They come from very different places in terms of budget, stars and polish, but are both very fine films. In one sense, TBC is deeper in that the characters in that film have varied from their previous ideals (or at least it seems that way), a fact that lends a melancholy beneath the slickness that really isn't there in S7. However, a lot of people reach the age of the characters in S7 (they are all only about 30, younger than the characters in Chill) without yet having to really put things in perspective. The leads in S7 have become teachers, a predictable outcome. One other character has taken a job as an aide to a senator. J.T. is pursuing (or putting off pursuing) a musical career. The fact that this film views the characters before some of the inevitable conflicts in their lives have ripened actually makes it more subtle, and allows for the viewer to wonder where they will be in 5-10 years. Will the leads become Kevin Kline and Glenn Close? Will one of the characters die young and precipitate the life-examining session that occurs in Chill? I think the two films dovetail nicely together. To exalt one at the expense of the other is unnecessary and needlessly cynical.