Palpable tension as an American general plans a military coup against the American president in the process of signing a nuclear disarmament agreement with the Soviet Union.
Made at the height of the early 1960s Cold War fears (and at the same time as Dr Strangelove), Seven Days of May sees General James Mattoon Scott (Burt Lancaster) believe he has no alternative. Fearing Russian nuclear strikes, Scott determines President Jordan Lyman (Fredric March) must go – as do any number of senior rankings in the military. But Scott’s aide, Colonel Martin ‘Jiggs’ Casey (Kirk Douglas) does not – and with access to schedules and classified military information, he and a few of the president’s men look to foil Scott’s plans.
Shot in stylised black and white, tautly directed by John Frankenheimer and with strong ensemble performances throughout, Seven Days of May is a wholly engrossing thrill of a feature as the uncertainty of where we are being taken takes hold.
Nominated for 2 Oscars in 1965 – best supporting actor (Edmond O’Brien) and art decoration
Rating: 78%
Director: John Frankenheimer (The Manchurian Candidate, Ronin)
Writer: Rod Serling (Planet of the Apes, The Yellow Canary) – based on the novel by Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey II
Main cast: Burt Lancaster (From Here to Eternity, Elmer Gantry), Kirk Douglas (Spartacus, Paths of Glory), Fredric March (The Best Years of Our Lives, Inherit the Wind)
An Opinion or Two 