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[Movie Review] Seven Days in May

Seven Days in May is a taut, intelligent thriller about an attempted military takeover of the United States government which has been beautifully brought to Blu-ray by the Warner Archive.

Seven Days in May (1964)

Released: 01 Mar 1964

Rated: APPROVED

Runtime: 118 min

Director: John Frankenheimer

Genre: Drama, Romance, Thriller

Cast: Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Fredric March, Ava Gardner

Writer(s): Fletcher Knebel (novel), Charles W. Bailey II (novel), Rod Serling (screenplay)

Plot: United States military leaders plot to overthrow the President because he supports a nuclear disarmament treaty and they fear a Soviet sneak attack.

IMDB rating: 7.9

MetaScore: N/A

Disc Information

Studio: Paramount

Distributed By: Warner Archive

Video Resolution: 1080P/AVC

Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1

Audio: English 2.0 DTS-HDMA

Subtitles: English SDH

Rating: Not Rated

Run Time: 1 Hr. 58 Min.

Package Includes: Blu-ray

Case Type: Standard Blu-ray Case

Disc Type: BD50 (dual layer)

Region: A

Release Date: 05/02/2017

MSRP: $21.99

The Production: 5/5

I’m suggesting, Mr. President, there’s a military plot to take over the government. – Colonel Martin “Jiggs” Casey

Seven Days in May is a taut, intelligent thriller about an attempted military takeover of the United States government which has been beautifully brought to Blu-ray by the Warner Archive.

The President of the United States, Jordan Lyman (Frederic March), has recently negotiated a nuclear disarmament treaty with the Soviet Union, a treaty which has deeply divided American citizens and is strongly opposed by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General James Mattoon Scott (Burt Lancaster). The Gallup Poll shows that the approval rating of the president has sunk to a new low, and a demonstration in front of the White House has broken out in a brawl between Lyman supporters and those who are opposed to the treaty.

In the meantime, the president is meeting with his most trusted advisors: his appointments secretary Paul Girard (Martin Balsam) and Senator Ray Clark (Edmond O’Brien) of Georgia. There are serious and justifiable concerns about the Soviet Union’s willingness to abide by the treaty, and there is likely to be some pain experienced by an economy with has been on a war-readiness footing since the end of World War II. The continual bashing of the treaty by the charismatic General Scott, Senator Frederick Prentice (Whit Bissell), and rabble-rousing television commentator Harold McPherson (Hugh Marlowe) has helped to turn the tide of public opinion against the president.

Scott attends a contentious hearing before the Senate Armed Forces Committee with his assistant, Marine Colonel Martin “Jiggs” Casey (Kirk Douglas), after which they discuss a Top Secret training alert which has been scheduled for the following Sunday. Scott reminds his assistant that only a relatively few military officers and the president know about the alert, and even the Congress is being kept in the dark.

Casey then goes to the Joint Chiefs communications center to review the classified messages which have arrived that day. A talkative junior officer points out to him that Scott has sent out an unusual message on classified channels about a betting pool for the upcoming Preakness Stakes. The recipients of the message are all high-ranking military officers, and only one, Vice-Admiral Barnswell (John Houseman), the commander of the Sixth Fleet, has declined to participate. Casey shrugs it off, figuring that rank has its privileges, but shortly thereafter he bumps into an old friend, Colonel William “Mutt” Henderson (Andrew Duggan). After exchanging pleasantries, Henderson mentions that he is now the Executive Office of ECOMCON. Casey is momentarily taken aback because he has never heard of ECOMCON, even though his position in the Pentagon requires him to know about all military commands. Henderson naturally assumes that Casey knows all about ECOMCON, so when his friend inquiries about the command’s staffing he replies that there are 100 officers and 3,600 enlisted men stationed at a base near El Paso.

Casey is baffled and troubled about the fact that he has been left out of the loop regarding ECOMCON, and he is mildly annoyed a few minutes later when Scott’s aide, Colonel Murdock (Richard Anderson), quizzes him about whether he said anything to Henderson about the alert. Casey then casually mentions Scott’s Preakness pool, and Murdock almost flies off the handle. This unexpected reaction prompts Casey to begin making inquiries about ECOMCON, but he finds that the Pentagon operator has no phone number for a command by that name. At a party that evening Senator Prentice lets slip to Casey that he knows about the alert. Late in the evening Casey decides that he had better drive to General Scott’s house to report this, but when he arrives he discovers that Senator Prentice’s car is parked there.

The next morning Casey, suspicious about what he saw last night, asks his boss if he didn’t sleep well. “Got to bed too early,” lies Scott. “Slept from 8:00 to 8:00. Too much sleep.” Following a meeting of the Joint Chiefs, which Casey does not attend, he has a brief chat with Scott, who is leaving for New York to give a speech. Casey then notices a scrap of paper has been left on a table, which he instinctively picks up. It is a handwritten note which mentions ECOMCON and an airlift which is scheduled for Sunday, the day of the alert. Casey is persuaded that something is amiss, and he risks his career by asking for a meeting with President Lyman.

Burt Lancaster is imposing and thoroughly convincing as General Scott. Kirk Douglas recruited Lancaster to appear in the film, and reportedly he came to regret that Lancaster got the meatier role, but Jiggs Casey is more complex and in some respects the more interesting character of the two. Frederic March is excellent as the unpopular president who has less than a week to find out if there is anything to Casey’s suspicions. The always reliable Edmond O’Brien is superb as the hard-drinking Senator Clark, a performance which earned him an Academy Award nomination. Martin Balsam is equally effective as Paul Girard, and John Houseman is fine in the small but important role of Admiral Barnswell.

Also getting star billing is Ava Gardner as Eleanor Holbrook, a Washington socialite who has a past with both Casey and Scott. The depiction of Holbrook in the film is a considerable departure from the novel by Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey II. In the novel she is in her late twenties and living in New York City, and she willingly provides Casey with some information which proves to be important in the story’s ultimate outcome. Gardner plays her as an older woman, and while the interaction between her and Casey is interesting, in the end it does not amount to much.

The film’s often electrifying script is by Rod Serling, and in most respects it is true to the novel. A few scenes have been compressed – for example, the novel begins on Sunday but the film opens on Monday, which required moving the Preakness Stakes from Saturday to Sunday or it would have been Six Days in May. The chronology of the ending also has been changed, making it more tense and dramatic.

Seven Days in May is directed with skill and intensity by John Frankenheimer, whose previous film was the highly controversial The Manchurian Candidate. He had a reputation for being a demanding director who always knew exactly what he wanted, which apparently suited Lancaster. They had previously worked together on The Young Savages and Birdman of Alcatraz, and would so again on The Train.

The premise of Seven Days in May is that democracy is a fragile form of government. Its viability depends upon the willingness of those in power to peacefully turn over that power to others when the electorate so decides. In the United States it requires faithful adherence to the Constitution, even when that document gets in the way of policies which many might strongly support. President Lyman eloquently states his feelings on the subject:

There’s been abroad in this land in recent months a whisper that we have somehow lost our greatness, that we do not have the strength to win, without war, the struggles for liberty throughout the world. This is slander. Because our country is strong, strong enough to be a peacemaker. It is proud, proud enough to be patient. The whisperers and the detractors, the violent men, are wrong. We remain strong and proud, peaceful and patient. And we will see a day when on this earth all men will walk out of the long tunnels of tyranny into the bright sunshine of freedom.

That sentiment undoubtedly strikes some as hopeful and others as hopelessly naive. Regardless, this country’s democracy has survived for nearly 250 years, and Seven Days in May is a timely reminder that preserving it requires eternal vigilance.

Video: 5/5

3D Rating: NA

Frankenheimer preferred to film in black & white, and this sparkling Blu-ray transfer helps us to understand why. It is framed at 1.78:1 and is delivered in 1080p via the AVC codec. The picture is very sharp, with the unavoidable exception of some brief dissolves. Black levels are solid, shadow detail is excellent, and contrast is strong. A natural level of film grain has been retained to give Seven Days in May a natural film-like appearance.

The superb cinematography is the work of Ellsworth Fredericks (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Sayonara). President Kennedy was fond of the novel and gave permission for Frankenheimer to film the opening protest scene on location in front of the White House, while the president was away for a weekend. He also gave permission for the set designers to come in and sketch the interior of the White House, which gives the film a strong sense of authenticity. The shots of Paul Girard boarding an aircraft carrier were filmed aboard an active carrier, USS Kitty Hawk, in San Diego (doubling as Gibraltar).

Readers are encouraged to read the laudatory comments of our resident film restoration expert, Robert A. Harris:

A few words about…™ Seven Days in May — in Blu-ray

Audio: 4.5/5

The DTS HD-MA 2.0 soundtrack is flawless. Dialogue is crystal clear, ambient sounds provide some realistic effects, and Jerry Goldsmith’s pulsating score, particularly during the opening credits, makes it clear that this is a very serious film.

English SDH subtitles are available.

Special Features: 2.5/5

The extras on this Blu-ray disc consist of the original theatrical trailer (which is rather long with a running time of 3 minutes, 42 seconds) and a very informative commentary track by director John Frankenheimer. We are fortunate to have the commentary track as it was recorded in 1999, just three years before he died from complications following back surgery. Both extras apparently appear on the 2000 DVD release of Seven Days in May.

The director goes into great deal about the film’s production, discussing everything from filming locations to camera angles to the actors. I was surprised to learn that he had done a considerable amount of prior work with Rod Serling on television dramas. He also tells the story about how he decided to have the first scene of the film on a Monday but then realized that the story would end on Saturday. His friend Charles Lederer came up with the idea of having the Preakness Stakes run on a Sunday so that the story would cover a full seven days. Nobody seemed to mind, even though horse racing wasn’t done on Sundays in 1964.

Overall: 5/5

Seven Days in May is a top-notch political thriller with a cast which features some of Hollywood’s finest actors. I enjoyed the story so much that I re-read the novel immediately after I saw the announcement that the Blu-ray was coming out.

Source: https://www.hometheaterforum.com/seven-days-may-blu-ray-review/

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