7 Men from Now (1956)

Too much of everything

One of my all time favorites.

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

And that is meant in a favourable way. Seven Men from Now may be modest in budget, simple and short but not once does it feel simplistic or cheap. If anything the most remarkable thing about it was the depth of characterisation and how compelling the story was is as good as any film bigger budgeted and twice as long. The modest budget doesn't show either, the settings (ones that actually look like they're outdoors) have much colour and atmosphere and made terrific use of by the cinematography, which has a lot of grace but some of the camera work is quite inventive as well. Budd Boetticher's direction is efficient and lean, the characters are likable and flawed rather than black and white(even the villain has moral ambiguity which I liked) and the acting is fine too. In particular Lee Marvin as a villain where you feel the menace and the cunning but you also find yourself caring for him. Randolph Scott is a charismatic lead with a purposefully stoic presence (without ever being one-note) that is alive to nuances. Gail Russell is touching and like Scott her acting is remarkably subtle and dynamic. Add to that a rousing score that still allows the drama to speak, a script that's sharp, to the point and surprisingly meaty (none of that skim-the-surface, shallow stuff here), blistering action (especially that terrific final showdown) and a well-paced and engrossing story that allows you to engage with and relate to the characters, and you have a truly great film that makes the most of its budget and much more. Don Barry to me didn't quite fit his role in the same way that the others did, more to do with how atypical type-wise it was and that it didn't seem in his comfort zone, other than that the problems here were barely any. 9/10 Bethany Cox

While channel surfing I ran across this film, I had missed at least the first 10 minutes. I viewed for a moment, as Randolph Scott is watching two dusty riders show up at an abandoned stage depot in the middle of nowhere. First guy off his horse is Lee Marvin and he's soon telling Scott that he would not sink that low (killing a woman), I was hooked. I watched the remainder of the film and I was chagrined I had not seen it before.No spoilers here and the plot has been commented on a lot. Two items I wanted to mention: Lee Marvin's excellent performance..easy to spot stardom was heading his way. He reminded me a little of Burt Lancaster in "Vera Cruz"..a bad guy you just can't hate. The other is that I'm sure Sergio Leone was taking notes also. For example, the use of unique outdoor settings like the claustrophobic rocks and tunnels, vistas, etc. There is more quiet than noise indoors, such as the saloon..so that tensions can quietly build. And lastly, the final scenes between Scott and Marvin. Leone loved the build up between two men facing off in a gunfight as much as the action itself..he must have noted that in this film.

A bad, low budget B western by routine director Budd Boetticher sees a far too old Randolph Scott at his most wooden. Typically cast as a sheriff hunting a group of outlaws, at nearly 60 Scott was simply too old and laid back to be believable. It doesn't help that Gail Russell (who?) looks about twenty years older than her guessed at age of 25 or 26. About the only thing that saves this potboiler from being a complete loss is a young Lee Marvin's charismatic performance as the villain. Marvin pretty much acts everybody off the screen, particularly Scott. If only this film had starred John Wayne in Scott's role then the film might have worked. As it is it was too miscast and boring. Robert Mitchum was interested in starring in this film, he would have been the right age and much better than Scott.

Although this, the first of the Randolph Scott/Budd Boetticher westerns, wasn't produced by Harry Joe Brown, (Andrew V McLaglen is credited as co-producer), it was written, superbly, by Burt Kennedy and it did set a benchmark for those that followed. Indeed, the collaboration between Boetticer, Scott and Kennedy must rank amongst the finest and most fruitful in all of cinema and the westerns they made together are among the finest we've seen.The plots stuck to a simple formula. Scott was usually the taciturn, lone stranger, as here, more often than not, out to avenge the death of his wife. The villains were usually a gang of outlaws and there was always a woman involved but she remained somewhat on the periphery and although there was a romantic attraction between the woman and Scott it seldom amounted to anything. The principal relationship in these films, verging at times on the homo-erotic, was between Scott and the villain.In "Seven Men from Now" Scott is after the seven men who held up the Wells Fargo office and killed his wife in the process. On route, the teams up with mild-mannered rancher Walter Reed and his wife Gail Russell as well as 'villians' Lee Marvin and Donald Barry out to take the money for themselves. Nothing is cut-and-dried; the rancher isn't as pure or as weak as he first appears while Scott and Marvin's relationship verges, at times, on the affectionate, heightening the tension between them particularly in the film's superbly staged final showdown. Likewise, the relationship between Russell and Scott is far from conventional; they obviously love each other but we are are never sure if anything will ever happen between them.This is a complex, riveting picture magnificently photographed by William H Clothier and beautifully acted by Scott, (it is arguably his best performance), Russell and Marvin. Like the other Boetticher/Scott westerns that followed it it clocks in at an economical 80 minutes or so and is simply not to be missed.