Guns of the Magnificent Seven (1969)

A Mexican revolutionary hires an American gunslinger to organize the rescue of their leader from a brutal Army prison.

Director:

Paul Wendkos

Writer:

Herman Hoffman

Stars:

George Kennedy, James Whitmore, Monte Markham

Cast

Complete credited cast:
George Kennedy	...	Chris
James Whitmore	...	Levi
Monte Markham	...	Keno
Reni Santoni	...	Max
Bernie Casey	...	Cassie
Scott Thomas	...	P.J.
Joe Don Baker	...	Slater
Tony Davis	...	Emil
Michael Ansara	...	Col. Diego
Frank Silvera	...	Lobero
Wende Wagner	...	Tina
Sancho Gracia	...	Miguel
Luis Rivera	...	Lt. Prensa
George Rigaud	...	Gabriel (as Jorge Rigaud)
Fernando Rey	...	Quintero

Storyline

A Mexican revolutionary hires an American gunslinger to organize the rescue of their leader from a brutal Army prison.

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Plot Keywords:

sonora mexico | one armed gunfighter | two gun holster | gun holster | double gun holster | 

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Taglines:

The Magnificent Seven are back - and they don't aim to please.

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Genres:

Action | Western

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

1 August 1969 (USA)

Also Known As:

Revolveri sedmorice veličastvenih

Filming Locations:

Almería, Andalucía, Spain

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Mirisch Production Company, The Mirisch Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Fernando Rey is the only actor besides Yul Brynner to appear in two Magnificent Seven films. He played a priest in Return of the Magnificent Seven (1966) and the captured leader of the revolutionaries in this movie.

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Goofs

When Joe Don Baker is shot multiple times in the chest before he dies, there is no blood on his shirt.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Col. Diego: Where is the meeting?
Tortured Prisoner: In the church.
Col. Diego: Is Quintero with them?
Tortured Prisoner: Yes.

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Connections

Followed by The Magnificent Seven Ride! (1972)

User Reviews

Great guns!

`The Guns of the Magnificent Seven' is, after the first film in the series, the best of the four `Seven' films. I'm constantly surprised at the number of critics who feel that this is the most undistinguished of the bunch as it is better cast, better written, better acted and better directed than any of the original `Magnificent Seven's other predecessors.

In my book, it easily rates alongside the first. It has a stronger story than any of the others (including the first) and the `seven' (especially Bernie Casey, Joe Don Baker and an excellent Monte Markham, in Steve McQueen-mode as Keno) have a doomed quality about them only matched by the Robert Vaughan character in the original film.

As the leader of the group, Chris, George Kennedy is excellent. He is both powerful and commanding, and more believable than either Yul Brynner or Lee Van Cleef were in the role. Sure, he's not as suave and `cool' as Brynner, but his Chris is a lot more interesting. Kennedy is an actor capable of delivering much tension and underplayed anger, and in this role he serves up plenty of each. The plot (the seven must rescue a Mexican bandit revolutionary from an evil army commandant) is skilfully executed by director Paul Wendkos. The action sequences are lively and made even more so the excellent (as ever) Elmer Bernstein score, which is played at an even more upbeat tempo than usual.

On the whole, this film would easily be at the top of my list of favourite Westerns, along with the Anthony Mann/James Stewart thriller-westerns of the 50s. It is certainly a cut above the score of cheap Italian/Spanish/US genre films that usually - and somewhat incredibly to my mind - seem to command greater respect in the field than they deserve. This is classier stuff than some critics would have you believe and deserves to be viewed as an enjoyable film in its own right rather than simply as a sequel to a great film. Indeed, in many ways it might have played better as a sequel to Richard Brooks' 1966 film `The Professionals' than as a follow-up to `The Magnificent Seven'.