The Magnificent Seven Ride! (1972)

Forced by personal circumstances, Marshal Chris Adams recruits a writer and five prisoners to help him eliminate a gang of Mexican bandits.

Director:

George McCowan

Writer:

Arthur Rowe

Stars:

Lee Van Cleef, Stefanie Powers, Michael Callan

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lee Van Cleef	...	Chris
Stefanie Powers	...	Laurie Gunn
Michael Callan	...	Noah Forbes
Mariette Hartley	...	Arrila
Luke Askew	...	Mark Skinner
Pedro Armendáriz Jr.	...	Pepe Carral (as Pedro Armendariz Jr.)
Ralph Waite	...	Jim Mackay
Melissa Murphy	...	Madge Buchanan
William Lucking	...	Walt Drummond
James Sikking	...	Andy Hayes
Ed Lauter	...	Scott Elliot
Allyn Ann McLerie	...	Mrs. Donavan
Gary Busey	...	Hank Allen
Robert Jaffe	...	Bob Allen
Darrell Larson	...	Shelly

Storyline

Marshal Chris Adams turns down a friend's request to help stop the depredations of a gang of Mexican bandits. When his wife is killed by bank robbers and his friend is killed capturing the last thief, Chris feels obligated to take up his friend's cause and recruits a writer and five prisoners to destroy the desperadoes.

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Plot Keywords:

arizona territory | tucson territorial prison | tucson arizona | magdalena mexico | sonora mexico | 

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Taglines:

A Brand New Seven -- Doing Their Number! They put their lives on the line and let it ride!

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Genres:

Action | Western

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

1 August 1972 (USA)

Also Known As:

La furia de los siete magníficos

Filming Locations:

Joshua Tree, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$1,050,000, 31 December 1972

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Mirisch Production Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Noah is interviewing Chris for a biography, he asks Chris about a clash that he participated in called The Battle of Adobe Walls, and Chris replies that it was a fight between 28 buffalo hunters and 600 Comanche Indians led by Quanah Parker, and among the white participants was William Barclay 'Bat' Masterson. The Battle of Adobe Walls was a real-life siege by approximately 700 Comanche, Kiowa and Cheyenne warriors of the small trading settlement of Adobe Walls, TX, on June 27, 1874, in which Masterson did indeed participate (this was the only time in the "Magnificent Seven" film series that a real-life gunfighter was mentioned). The siege lasted almost three days, and the Indians attacked the post several times but were driven back each time. The battle ended when one of the buffalo hunters, a man named Billy Dixon, used his long-range rifle and shot and killed a Cheyenne warrior sitting atop his horse at a distance of approximately 1500 yards; it so unnerved the Indians--whose medicine man had promised that they would be immune from bullets--that they turned around and left. Total casualties were four whites dead (one of whom accidentally shot himself in the head) and approximately 20 Indian warriors killed and at least that many wounded.

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Goofs

In the final shootout in town, Chris shoots the bandit chief off his horse. The bandit chief is blown backwards off his horse, but Chris is shown on his left hand side, ninety degrees from the way the bandit is blown off his horse.

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Quotes

[last lines]
[Laurie convinces Chris to stay with her]
Marshall Chris Adams: Skinner, you've just been demoted to deputy.
Mark Skinner: Yell, well that figures. I wouldn't have had much time for work anyway.

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Connections

Referenced in Girls in the Night Traffic (1976)

User Reviews

This one broke all the rules

This ain't your grandfather's western. It's disturbing, cynical, morally ambiguous, and despite the stunningly bright visuals and bouncy themesong by Elmer Bernstein, it's one of the darkest westerns I've ever seen. I couldn't help but wonder if this film served as the template for the Eastwood masterpiece UNFORGIVEN that would come 20 years later.

Unlike your classic westerns where the hero is infallable and can shoot the dandruff off a cockroach at 100 yards, this presents a realistic protagonist: a man who is troubled by questions of morality, one who doesn't always have the perfect plan, one who makes some pretty bad judgements and has to pay the price.

There are some real gems of dialogue that illustrate this human factor, delivered brilliantly by Lee Van Cleef in the role of Chris.

A priest says: "God works in mysterious ways."

Chris retorts: "Yeah, he confuses the heck out of me, too."

And throughout the film we get similar insight into the soul of a man who, despite his decades of experience, still doesn't have any answers--at least none that he can convince himself about, despite his bravado. For that reason alone, I rate this as one of my favourite westerns. Like the aforementioned UNFORGIVEN, this is one of the rare westerns that shows us what real life is about, not comic book goodguy/badguy stuff.

I can only assume that's why this film doesn't seem to be well received. The earlier MAG7 films seemed to be a clearcut war between right & wrong, whereas MAG7 RIDE gives us a war between two different forms of insanity. This presents a much more challenging story to follow. Viewers might be confused at how a "good guy" can leave his friends to die, or how he doesn't fight fair. But to me--and maybe to you--it gives the story a lot more substance. It also makes the story very unpredictable right from the beginning, and as a result it's one of the most suspenseful westerns I've seen.

A word about Stefanie Powers: FREAKIN AMAZING. Good golly miss molly, I didn't know she could act! If you think all she can do is "Hart to Hart" you gotta check this film out for her performance alone. It's a tough role, because she plays the emotional character amidst a backdrop of cold, leathery gunslingers. This formula is nothing new for western heroines; however I've noticed in other films the emotional heroine is too melodramatic, reducing her to the absurd. Stefanie, on the other hand, delivers the perfect subtle performance: very human yet not hysterical. She's smart, wise (in many cases wiser than any other character)... and I gotta say it... what a looker! You'll find your eyes glued to her in every scene.

A final note, for anyone who notices this sort of thing: horses. As with all old westerns we see a fair number of horses getting thrown around. I went back & watched these scenes in slowmo, and I'm pretty sure that these were trained horses who fell without harm. Unlike RETURN OF THE MAG7 which was absolutely brutal (in one case you see a trip wire pop up, sending a 40mph, 2000lb horse onto its head--I doubt that horse ever got up again), these horses always fall to the side and roll safely. It always sucks when you learn how many horses are killed in these old westerns, but this film seemed to be pretty tame in that respect. Well, enough of that. The bottom line is I really enjoyed this film, and if any of this review made sense to you, I think you'll really like it, too. Go Ride(!) to your nearest video store and check it out. (gawd that was a cheezy line. Maybe I'll edit it out later)