After experiencing the fantastic WW2 action thriller The Train, I was keen to see more of the movies that director John Frankenheimer and actor Burt Lancaster made together. Seven Days In May (1964) was filmed in 1963 before The Train was made, but experienced a delayed release after the assassination of JFK. A political thriller consisting of scenes where men tensely talk to one another in meeting rooms, the film proposes a potential coup organised by military leaders against the U.S. President. Scripted by Rod Serling (creator of The Twilight Zone), the story is about President Jordan Lyman (Fredric March) who has divided support for his peace plan with the Soviets where both countries would disarm nuclear weapons and bring an end to the Cold War. One of the President’s most vocal critics is General James Mattoon Scott (Lancaster) who is also feted by right wing, conservative political parties as a potential figurehead. In the lead up towards a planned safety drill involving military forces, Scott’s subordinate Colonel Martin ‘Jiggs’ Casey (Kirk Douglas) suspects something else might be going on. Rather than being about the coup itself, the film follows the investigation by the President and his team (including reliable character actors like Edmund O’Brien and Martin Balsam) to prove that this conspiracy is being planned. This also includes finding potential dirt and gossip from a society lady Eleanor Holbrook (Ava Gardner) who General Scott had an affair with. In contrast to the experimental style of Frankenheimer’s Seconds or The Manchurian Candidate, this film’s aesthetic is direct and straightforward, and has considerably less stuntwork than The Train; it’s more about the terse exchanges such as the climactic sit down between Lancaster and March, and there are some trademark Serling monologues where the themes are bluntly yet still eloquently indicated. In some ways, Seven Days In May is dated in being tied to the Cold War times it was made while in others it remains relevant. All the cast are great, and there’s a robust military score by Jerry Goldsmith. Available to rent on iTunes. Recommended.
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