SEVEN MEN FROM NOW
T. it.: I sette assassini. Sc.: Burt Kennedy. F.: William H. Clothier. Mu.: Henry Vars. M.: Everett Sutherland. Scgf.: Leslie Thomas. Cost.: Rudy Harrington, Carl Walker, Edward Sebesta. Su.: Earl Crain Jr. Ass.R.: Emmett Morrison. Cast: Randolph Scott (Ben Stride), Gail Russel (Annie Greer), Lee Marvin (Bill Masters), Walter Reed (John Greer), John Larch (Bodeen), Donald Barry (Clete), Fred Graham (Henchman), John Beradino (Clint), John Phillips (Jed), Chuck Roberson (Mason), Stuart Whitman (tenente di cavalleria), Pamela Duncan (Senorita), Steve Mitchell (Fowler). Prod.: Andrew V. McLaglen, Robert E. Morrison per WB; 35mm. D.: 78’ a 24 f/s. Col.
Film Notes
My admiration for Seven Men From Now will not lead me to the conclusion that Budd Boetticher is the greatest director of westerns – though I do not exclude this hypothesis. It only leads me to the conclusion that his film is probably the best western I’ve seen in the postwar period. […] The first reason why Seven Men From Now amazes us, has to do with the perfection of the script, which continually manages to surprise us, though based on an extremely traditional plot. No symbols, no hidden philosophical meanings, not even the shadow of psychology, just ultra-conventional characters in widely familiar situations, but the direction is extraordinarily ingenious and defined, above all, by constant invention in regard to details which always manage to renew your interest in the situations. […] Indeed, we are dealing with one of the most intelligent westerns I know of, but also one of the least intellectual; one of the most refined but least aestheticized; the simplest and the most beautiful.
André Bazin, in «Cahiers du cinéma», n. 74, August-September 1957