Monday, October 26, 2009

Seven Men From Now


Seven Men From Now (1956) is a western directed by Budd Boetticher. The film stars Randolph Scott (Ben Stride), Gail Russell (Annie Greer), Lee Marvin (Bill Masters) and Walter Reed (John Greer).

A former sheriff, haunted by the loss of his wife in a Wells Fargo robbery, hunts for the seven men responsible for her death. Along the way, he assists a couple, John and Annie Greer, travelling west from Kansas City to California, and forms a temporary alliance with a former outlaw , Bill Masters, a man he once sent to prison. Masters, who knows that Stride is after the express-office robbers, rides along letting Stride lead them to the bandits, then they will try and make away with the loot themselves. Stride also begins to fall in love with the wife of the man he's traveling with, but it doesn't slow him from his task - killing the remaining men responsible for his wife's death.

This is an excellent movie with beautiful scenery as most of the movie was filmed in the Alabama Hills near Lone Pine, California.

John Wayne was originally slotted for the role of Ben Stride, but it is doubtful that even such a great actor as The Duke could have played Ben Stride the way he was meant to be portrayed. This is also one of the early lead roles for Lee Marvin and he proves himself as a very talented actor.

If you like westerns and have not seen Seven Men from Now, I highly recommend it.

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