7 Women

7 Women marks the final film of John Ford's 53 year career, and his last western; set at a mostly female Christian mission in rural China in 1935, it follows a progressive doctor who clashes with the mission's rigid leadership and ultimately sacrifices herself against a Mongol warlord's attack. The film was adapted from Norah Lofts' story "Chinese Finale." The lead role went to Anne Bancroft, brought in as an emergency replacement after Patricia Neal suffered a stroke on the third day of filming. The film flopped at the box office and with most contemporary critics, but was named the sixth best film of 1966 by the French magazine Cahiers du Cinéma and has since been reassessed as one of cinema's most underrated classics. Who it's for: anyone curious about the film that closed out a director's 53 year career, recast at the last minute after its lead actress suffered a stroke during filming. Who it's not for: viewers looking for a film that succeeded at the box office or with critics of its time, since it flopped on release before being reassessed later.