7 Men From Now [DVD] [1956]

Many Great Westerns have been the results of Director and Star partnerships heading this list are John Ford and John Wayne (THE SEARCHERS 1956) followed by Anthony Mann and James Stewart (THE MAN FROM LARAMIE 1955). Also high on the list was the partnership between Bud Boettcher and Randolph Scott whose seven westerns included such films as SEVEN MEN FROM NOW 1956, THE TALL "T" 1957, RIDE LONESOME 1959 and COMANCHE STATION 1960. Apart from the first the remainder of the above were RANOWN Productions, the name was made up from the names of Randolph Scott and producer Harry Joe Brown.

In marked contrast to the first two partnerships above, the seven Bud Boettcher / Randolph Scott westerns were all together more modest affairs, built round its ageing star (Scott) as the stoic hero, they all had a running time of around one and a quarter hours give or take a minute or two. All seven films had strong supporting casts but four of them (see above) had the added benefit of a cracking script by Burt Kennedy making them mini-masterpieces with a cult following! These films would usually be found on their release here in the UK as a co-feature or as a so-called second feature or dare I say a B-Western.

SEVEN MEN FROM NOW 1956 was a Batjac / Warner Bros Production and the film lay hidden in the John Wayne family vaults for years, when it finally came to light it was found to be in a shocking state needing major restoration. Thankfully this was done and the resulting film plus extras was released as a Special Collector's Edition DVD in the USA on 20th December 2005. Here we had to wait until May 2007 for the UK release. HIGHLY RECOMMENED

THE STORY: Former sheriff of Silver Springs Ben Stride (Randolph Scott) is chasing seven men responsible for a hold up and the killing of his wife during a $20,000 gold bullion robbery. Following the credits the opening dramatic scene during a violent night time storm finds Stride on-foot coming across two of the suspects holed up in a cave, Words are exchanged and then the sound of gunfire. The film then cuts to a clear day to find a mounted Stride leading a packhorse on the trail of the remaining five. He soon encounters a wagon drawn by a pair of horses stuck in a mud-hole on board is Annie (Gail Russell) and Walter Reed (John Barry). Stride assists them clear of the mud-hole and feels obliged to help an obvious pair of greenhorns! Heading south they encounter a Cavalry patrol lead by Lt Collins (Stuart Whitman) who warned them of Indian troubles in the area and advised they returned to Silver Springs. Ignoring his advice they headed for Flora Vista. At an old abandoned relay station they run into Bill Masters (Lee Marvin) and his sidekick Clete (Don "Red Rider" Barry) who are after the gold shipment. Following an Indian attack Stride and Masters fall out and Master and Clete went ahead to Flora Vista to warn the robbers-leader Payte Bodeen (John Larch). All sides head for the inevitable showdown in a rocky canyon outside of town.

I have come across the Boetticher/Scott Westerns on TV & noticed that there was always something about them. Although relatively short in duration (75 - 80 Minutes) they told a good story well. Quality of the acting is invariably high and the characters have some complexity.

In 7 Men form Now, all the elements come together in a superb film.

When will the rest of the films in their collaboration be available on DVD?

this is probabley randys greatest western from the many that he made ,every western fan should own some of randys offerings and this is a damn good film from one of the true greats of the western genre,helped greatly with a very good supporting cast this is a fine film and i am very happy that i bought it.a very enjoyable film indeed.