I sette assassini

Like McCrea, Scott did not become exclusively a Westerner until the mid-forties, but once established he became a Western star of distinction, achieving his best and most interesting roles as his career matured…

Scott was a great gentleman… It was simple for him to do the part because it was indeed the prime quality he brought to his many roles as lawman or lone rider… Scott's best work was the group of seven movies he made with director Budd Boetticher in the fifties…In these he obtained a new stature as the lone figure on a mission of vengeance or similar private quest, becoming a tougher, more forceful character, the archetype of the much-parodied image… As we all know, a man's actions are what make the man, and over and over again, Scott believed in courage… He believed in conspicuous displays of courage… And finally he rounded off this splendid climax to a long career by starring with Joel McCrea in "Ride the High Country."

Boetticher's style was marvelously simple and economical, sticking closely to the same plots, locations and character types in each of his Westerns and stressing movement and action rather than ideas…

Budd Boetticher's "Seven Men From Now" is 78 minutes… And as concise as this great Western is, it has four really well-developed characters traveling through Apache country; beautiful storytelling; takes full advantage of the location; and there are a lot of narrative incidents…

Ben Stride (Scott) represents a man whose wife has been killed and he's going to go out and seek revenge… But his style is ramrod straight and not very interesting… The killers that Stride is after are all opportunists… They are men who had broken the law… Boetticher introduces a sympathetic bad man, Bill Masters (Lee Marvin) who had been put in jail twice by the ex-Sheriff… But you get the sense that Masters wouldn't kill a woman… That's not what he has in mind... But, surely, he wants the $20,000 in gold from the strongbox… Ultimately, he had to test himself up against Ben Stride in the final confrontation: the stronger villain against the stronger hero…

Lee Marvin stole the show… He had all the little tricks, and twitches, and schemes… He is magnetic, especially in one key scene on that stormy night, when he gets inside the covered wagon, asking for a cup of hot black coffee…Tension mounts when he tells John Greer (Walter Reed) that his wife is beautiful… He wanted to get on Stride's nerves… And some tension grew between the three characters…

Annie Greer (Gail Russell) was the object of desire… She was wonderful foil, essential, torn between two men… Obviously her character quite quickly falls for Scott's character… Her husband—who seems weak—turns out to be stronger than we thought... Stride let his own life down because he was too proud… We hear him says: "A man ought to be able to take care of his woman." This is the line that's submitted to a test by the whole action and script and direction of the movie…

One last note: Without sacrificing any of the traditional action elements, there was somehow an extra dimension to the Boetticher Westerns; they had a biting, underplayed quality, the kind of films one would have expected had John Huston (in his prime) suddenly decided to become a director of Westerns

"Seven Men From Now" marked the first of seven compact 75-80 minute little westerns starring Randolph Scott and directed by Budd Boetticher. This one was produced by John Wayne's Batjac production company. It was originally intended for Wayne but he was busy on "The Searchers" (1956) at the time, so the role went to Scott. One has to wonder what would have happened had Wayne starred. For instance the running time would probably have had to have been lengthened to elevate it to "A" picture status. As it was it is a compact 78 minute "B" plus classic with an excellent cast and crisp direction.

This picture had been locked away in the Batjac vaults until recently when this and several other Batjac productions were painfully restored to their original brilliance under the direction of Michael Wayne.

Ex marshal Ben Stride (Scott) is on the trail of seven outlaws who robbed the freight office in his town and killed his wife in the process. Stride had been defeated for the job of sheriff and had refused to take the deputy sheriff job, thus he carries the burden of blame for not being there to save his wife.

Stride catches up to two of the men in the opening sequence with predictable results. Later on, he comes upon a young couple, the Greers, traveling west by way of the town that Stride is going to. When we meet John Greer (Walter Reed) and his wife Annie (Gail Russell), they are virtually stuck in the mud. Stride helps them out and decides to travel along with them. Greer seems to be a bit of a milk toast and an attraction forms between Annie and Stride.

Along the trail they meet up with Bill Masters (Lee Marvin) and his pal Clete (Donald Barry). Although Stride suspects that they might be a part of the gang, Masters soon lets it be known that he too is after the $20,000 stolen in the robbery. After a falling out Masters and Clete ride ahead to town and meet the remaining members of the gang headed by Bodeen (John Larch). They learn that the gold is being brought to them in Greer's wagon.

The gang rides out to try and ambush Stride and Masters and Clete ride after them. Out in the country a showdown ensues and..........

This film established the types of characters that would appear in the subsequent six films, the solitary granite jawed hero with a past and the likable but lethal villain. The final six films would be produced by Scott's Ranown production company.

The beautiful but tragic Gail Russell was fighting her personal demons at this time. Her past relationship with John Wayne no doubt figured in her getting this part, which she carries off well. She died at the young age of 36 in 1961. For Marvin, I believe that this was the first time that he was billed above the title. He practically steals the picture as the likable but deadly villain. Walter Reed was a staple of the John Ford stock company and has one of the best roles of his career in this film. Watch for Stuart Whitman as a cavalry lieutenant and Wayne stunt double Chuck Roberson as one of the outlaws. Donald Barry was better known as Don "Red" Barry in the 1940s as the result of having played Red Ryder in the 1940 serial "The Adventures of Red Ryder".

A great little western.

Underrated entry in Boetticher-Scott cycle of Westerns. Maybe it's because this was the first collaboration between the two that has kept it overshadowed by better-known entries like The Tall T or Decision at Sundown. Nonetheless, the essential elements are already present: a laconic, embittered Scott, the neolithic Alabama Hills, a villain with some scruples (Lee Marvin), and an excellent script (Burt Kennedy). There's also a couple of neat surprises that make sense.

Note how well that first scene is both conceived and staged. Stranger Scott rides up to campfire where two other strangers sit cozily, drinking coffee. It's cold and Scott wants to sit awhile. Naturally, there's some wariness since these are strangers meeting in a hostile environment. But soon Scott and one stranger (John Beradino) start sounding friendly. Now, Boetticher could have cut between close-ups of the two conversing. But he doesn't. Instead he keeps the silent cowboy in the same frame as Beradino and cuts between them and Scott. This keeps a certain tension alive in the scene because the second stranger looks worried even while Scott and Beradino begin to warm up, and we're reminded of that every time the camera switches to Beradino. Thus, the undercurrent of unexplained unease never leaves the scene, until events climax. It's a brilliantly executed passage that hooks the audience for the remainder. It's also touches like this that lifted the cycle to classic status.

Then too, there's a chance to scope out a young Lee Marvin, about as good an actor as there was at the time. You never know what his talkative villain will do next. Pitting him against the sternly taciturn Scott makes for marvelously contrasting styles. Scott's ongoing role in these movies is a role he apparently was born to play, after starting his career in sappy male leads. Then too, there's the gorgeous and doggedly loyal Gale Russell as the pale-eyed wife. Her scenes with Scott amount to little gems of suppressed desire. But especially qualifying as a classic is the stormy night in the wagon. The tension there builds as Marvin tries to rile Russell's mild-mannered husband (Walter Reed), while Scott and Russell look on. The scene is beautifully played and fairly crackles with cross-currents of emotion as Marvin exploits the growing attraction between the married Russell and the conflicted Scott. My only complaint is the very last scene where the usually sure-handed Kennedy flounders and Russell looks like she just stepped out of a Hollywood beauty salon. Just goes to show, I suppose, the difficulty Westerns traditionally have when deciding on romantic commitment.

Another characteristic in this initial entry is Scott's clear code of honor. It's macho-based but also notable for its gallantry. Scott's not too proud to help Russell hang out the wash, nor will he get overt as long as Russell's married. But just listen when Russell strays into his private concerns, such as that of his dead wife. His voice turns suddenly cold and hard, and you know this is a man with a firm code of honor that will not be compromised, even by an appealing woman. He may not be as personable as villains like Marvin, but there's always that strict code that commands respect and guides his actions.That's the kind of character Scott portrays throughout the cycle, and is a major reason why little gems like Seven Men from Now endure.

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I have a story to tell about this one. I had never heard of Bud Boetticher or "7 Men from Now" when I set out with my mom (a cool old lady) to Berkeley to see what was going on (she's from out of town). We found a schedule for the Pacific Film Archive and it said they were showing 2 westerns by Bud Boetticher and that he would be there. Well, I'm a sucker for meeting directors (very few crawl out to bask in the sun, it must be bad for their complexion) especially if they directed lots of b movies. They were showing "Bullfighter and the Lady" (also excellent) and "7 Men From Now." 7 Men is one of the best westerns I have ever seen, Lee Marvin and Randolph Scott are just terrific and the direction is amazing. I thought the kinetic energy combined with the extreme tension in the fights at the end were excellent. Now, after the show Boetticher and his wife showed up and Boetticher had some illuminating words to say. After that he met some of us in the audience, and I happened to mention how much I liked the scene where Gail Russell is in the wagon and puts out the candle and has a brief but oddly touching dialogue with Randolph Scott, who is lying under the wagon. What Boetticher said was "Yes, that's a much better way to do a sex scene, now isn't it?". When I reflected on this statement later, I realized what seemed casual at first was in fact a profound statement on film expression: Boetticher was telling me that what he was showing WAS sex. Maybe, I think he suggested, throbbing bodies and dim lights aren't sex at all. Maybe what so many people in my generation (I'm 25) take as naivete in classic films was....... dare I say it, TASTE AND STYLE???!!! Yes is the answer. And Boetticher's got both of them, hats off to him and everyone else involved in this fine film I hope everyone sees (and I hope I get a chance to see again and again).

John Wayne's Batjac productions was the producer of this fine B western and it shows the clout of star power. According to a book I have about those last three B western heroes, Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea, and Audie Murphy, Wayne liked the script and wanted to do it himself, but at the time was tied up with The Searchers. He peddled the script which he owned because Burt Kennedy who wrote it was under contract to Batjac and was doing it under Wayne's auspices to a number of people before getting Randolph Scott. When it premiered Wayne cursed himself that he hadn't done it.

If he had it would have become a classic like The Searchers. Wayne was at the height of his career at that point and Randolph Scott was doing good critically acclaimed, but B programmers that filled the second half of double bills at that time.

Hard to see how the Duke would have been better than Randolph Scott. He's a former sheriff out hunting the men who robbed a Wells Fargo express office and killed his wife who was working there. While on the hunt he runs into Walter Reed and Gail Russell who are a homesteader and wife traveling to California. Scott helps them out and rides along with them. Their story and his get enmeshed as the plot unfolds.

Gail Russell was a tragic figure who was a good friend of Wayne's. She had a lot of problems both emotional and with substance abuse. Like the Duke was wont to do, he gave her a part in this hoping for a comeback. Though she was good, it was not to be the case.

Her husband in the film, Walter Reed, got another chance to work with John Wayne this time in The Horse Soldiers as one of the officers on the raid that Wayne was leading. So did Stuart Whitman who has a bit role as a young army lieutenant. Their chemistry in The Comancheros was legendary.

Speaking of The Comancheros, Lee Marvin is memorable here as one of the villains with some highly mixed motives. And he too would get to work with John Wayne in the future.

Seven Men from Now is a fine film which but for a previous commitment could have been an A picture and a John Wayne classic. But Randolph Scott could hardly have been topped for the performance he gave.