Seven Days in May (1964)

Director:

John Frankenheimer

Writers:

Fletcher Knebel (novel) &
Charles W. Bailey II (novel) ...

Release Date:

12 February 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

"I'm suggesting Mr President, there's a military plot to take over the Government of these United States, next Sunday..."

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

General | Coup | Colonel | Cold War | Joint Chiefs Of Staff

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Burt Lancaster	...	Gen. James Mattoon Scott
Kirk Douglas	...	Col. Martin 'Jiggs' Casey
Fredric March	...	President Jordan Lyman
Ava Gardner	...	Eleanor Holbrook
Edmond O'Brien	...	Sen. Raymond Clark
Martin Balsam	...	Paul Girard
Andrew Duggan	...	Col. William 'Mutt' Henderson
Hugh Marlowe	...	Harold McPherson
Whit Bissell	...	Sen. Frederick Prentice
Helen Kleeb	...	Esther Townsend
George Macready	...	Christopher Todd
Richard Anderson	...	Col. Murdock
Bart Burns	...	Art Corwin

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Norway:12 (1964) | Canada:14A (Ontario) | USA:Approved (certificate #20565) | Canada:PG (video rating) | West Germany:12 (f) | Finland:K-8 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Imperial County, California, USA

Company:

Seven Arts Productions

Trivia:

The "Eleanor Holbrook" subplot was based on a real-life incident involving General Douglas MacArthur. In 1934, the general sued journalists Drew Pearson and Robert Allen for libel. He dropped the suit when the defendants announced they intended to take testimony from Isabel Rosario Cooper, a Eurasian woman who had been the general's mistress.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the President sits down waiting for General Scott to enter his office, he does not have his hand to his chin, but in the next shot, he does.

Quotes:

Colonel Martin "Jiggs" Casey: The taste I have in my mouth is unmentioable.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Decade Under the Influence (2003)

a masterful thriller

Seven Days in May is cold war movie making at its best. This film does not have a car chase, gun battles, or a President as villian. It does have great actors and is one of the finest translattion of a novel to screen. It is the first of the U.S. Militery as villian plot lines, since over used on both the screen and tv. A number of years ago a remake was done for cable-The Enemy within-and it did not work. In that the President is to be over-throw because he will sign a defense bill! The Russians are no longer the enemy and that's why it fails. In the first, made three years after the Cuban Missle Crisis, the fear of the Soviets is real and provides the ploters with a major cause against the President's program of disarmement. One of the best movies of the last fifty years.