Seven Days in May [VHS] [1964]

A taut cold war thriller, has a U.S. General Scott,( Burt Lancaster) who plans a takeover of the American Government, when he learns that the President plans to radically cut back on defence spending, in order to make a peace deal with the Russians,
But when the General's aide Colonel Casey (Kirk Douglas), accidentally uncovers the plot, Casey has to try and convince the President, and the inner circle, before it is to late.
With a story line that includes murder,kidnapping,and blackmail, the viewer is kept in suspense right up the final scene.
A superb cast that includes Lancaster, Douglas, Edmond O'Brien,
Ava Gardner, Frederick March as President Lyman, George Macready, and Martin Balsam, and directed by the master John Frankenheimer, this is a superb political thriller, and comes highly recommended.

Seven Arts Productions presents "SEVEN DAYS IN MAY" (1964) (118 min/B&W) -- Starring Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Frederic March, Ava Gardner, Edmond O'Brien & Martin Balsam

Directed by John Frankenheimer

Adapted by Rod Serling from the best-selling novel by Fletcher Knebel and Charles Waldo Bailey II, Seven Days in May was allegedly inspired by the far-right ramblings of one General Edwin Walker. Burt Lancaster plays General James M. Scott, who, convinced that liberal President Jordan Lyman (Fredric March) is soft on America's enemies, plots a military takeover of the United States. Every effort made by President Lyman to find concrete evidence of General Scott's scheme is scuttled by political protocol, human error and accidental death. Ultimately, Lyman must rely upon the man who first uncovered the plot: Scott's best friend, Colonel "Jiggs" Casey (Kirk Douglas). John Frankenheimer's terse direction and Ellsworth Fredericks' stark black and white photography add considerably to the this absolute ripper of a film.

Oscar Nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Edmond O'Brien)
Oscar Nominated for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White (Cary Odell & Edward G. Boyle)

Special footnote: -- Kirk Douglas had originally signed to play Gen. James Mattoon Scott. Douglas eventually realized that his friend Burt Lancaster would be ideal as Scott, and took the less flashy role of Col. Martin "Jiggs" Casey after Lancaster signed on to the film. Fifth of seven films that Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster made together.

BIOS:
1. John Frankenheimer [aka: John Michael Frankenheimer] [Director]
Date of Birth: 19 February 1930, New York City, New York
Date of Death: 6 July 2002, Los Angeles, California

2. Burt Lancaster [aka: Burton Stephen Lancaster]
Date of Birth: 2 November 1913 - New York City, New York
Date of Death: 20 October 1994 - Century City, California

3. Kirk Douglas [aka: Issur Danielovitch Demsky]
Date of Birth: 9 December 1916 - Amsterdam, New York
Date of Death: Still Living

4. Frederic March [aka: Ernest Frederick McIntyre Bickel]
Date of Birth: 30 August 1897 - Racine, Wisconsin
Date of Death: 14 April 1975 - Los Angeles, California

5. Ava Gardner [aka: Ava Lavinia Gardner]
Date of Birth: 24 December 1922 - Brogden, North Carolina
Date of Death: 25 January 1990 - Westminster, London, England, UK

6. Edmond O'Brien [aka: Redmond O'Brien]
Date of Birth: 10 September 1915 - New York City, New York
Date of Death: 9 May 1985 - Inglewood, California

Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 5 Stars
Performance: 5 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 5 Stars
Overall: 5 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]

Total Time: 118 min on VHS/DVD ~ Seven Arts Productions ~ (May 16, 2000)

A perfect film for the period and the present day. All the other reviews give the detail so I wont repeat it. It's like an episode of the Twilight Zone but with fantastic actors, a decent budget and no aliens or rubber masks.

Superb