7 Men from Now

Ben Stride comes to a fire in the rain. Two men are there. They talk. Then Stride asks them about the robbery at Silver Springs and kills them both. There were seven; he is after the remaining five. His wife was killed during the robbery, and at the time Stride was the sheriff; because he had lost the election she had had to take work. On the road he meets a couple; their wagon is stuck in mud and they are heading west. Then another man joins: Masters is an old acquaintance, he smiles, and he does not say why he is there. Budd Boetticher directs. Randolph Scott plays Stride and Lee Marvin plays Masters. The screenplay is by Burt Kennedy. The film is the first of the westerns Boetticher and Scott made together; the series continued over several films and holds a place of its own in the genre. John Wayne's company produced it; Wayne had first been considered for the lead. The matter the narrative builds is guilt; Stride carries his own share in his wife's death and says so nowhere. The character played by Lee Marvin is the film's best side; the man builds his threats while smiling, and the long conversation scene in the wagon is among the most cited in the genre. The film is short and the narrative turns down no side path. Boetticher's westerns were made cheaply and take place largely in open country. Who it is for: viewers who like classic westerns and plain telling. Who it is not for: the plot is simple, there are few characters, and the ending lands where expected.