The Seven Minutes (1971)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Russ Meyer

Writers:

Richard Warren Lewis (writer)
Irving Wallace (novel)

Release Date:

23 July 1971 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Why is The Seven Minutes the most exciting experience in a woman's life?

Plot:

The Seven Minutes is a steamy book written in 1969. To help with an upcoming election, a bookstore clerk...

Plot Keywords:

Based On Novel | Number In Title

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe.

Cast

Wayne Maunder	...	Mike Barrett
Marianne McAndrew	...	Maggie Russell
Philip Carey	...	Elmo Duncan
Jay C. Flippen	...	Luther Yerkes
Edy Williams	...	Faye Osborn
Lyle Bettger	...	Frank Griffith
Jackie Gayle	...	Norman Quandt
Ron Randell	...	Merle Reid
Charles Drake	...	Sgt. Kellogg
John Carradine	...	Sean O'Flanagan
Harold J. Stone	...	Judge Upshaw
Tom Selleck	...	Phil Sanford
James Inglehart	...	Clay Rutherford (as James Iglehart)
John Sarno	...	Jerry Griffith
Stanley Adams	...	Irwin Blair

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

USA:PG (edited for re-rating: 1973) | USA:R (original rating)

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

In an interview many years later Russ Meyer recalled that with his substantial budget from 20th Century-Fox he had exposed a tremendous amount of footage, with over 24 hours of usable film, and in the editing room he decided to make quick cuts using all sorts of angles, with hardly any shot in The Seven Minutes (1971) lasting more than 3 or 4 seconds as edited.

Soundtrack:

Love Train

Good flick ... but not if you are a Russ Meyer fan (unless you are a complete Russ Meyer addict)

I just watched this film on Bravo. While I admit to being a bit of a Russ Meyer fan in the same way many people slow down to look at train wrecks, I actually found this movie surprisingly entertaining. Russ Meyer is the master of campy dialogue, bizarre twists and nonsensical plots, and of course larger (pun intended) than life characters. This movie has them all, but at a much more subdued level than most of his other films. In many ways, this film works ... much better at least than other Russ Meyer films.

If you are looking for a quality film delving into the drama of the courtroom, forget it here. With even a modicum of legal savvy it is easy to see all the holes in the courtroom antics of both sides. The twist at the end might be typical Russ Meyer, but it was also pretty predictable. Normally, I dislike predictability in a movie, but Russ Meyer flicks are usually such mixed up, twisted messes, that seeing a plot actually come to fruition with a credible twist that fits into the rest of the story was a bit of a treat.

I echo the sentiments of other users when they say that this is not a Russ Meyer fan's movie. Unfortunately, the only people who likely will ever see this film are the serious Russ Meyer fans who want to see everything the man has made. (Said fans can look for the cameo of Russ as well, in true Hitchcockian style *smile*.) I felt this was a good film, easy to watch, fun and sexy at times, with a few valuable (yet no doubt satirical) comments about the hypocrisy of the day. Being that Russ had his own personal problems with censorship, the movie is an obvious "poke-in-the-nose" at all the holier-than-thou types out to save society while wallowing in their own debauchery.

My Rating: 7 / 10 (Unless you are looking for a Russ Meyer genre film, then only 2 / 10)