Another film that ranks high on the list of man movies is THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN. Once more you have a group of actors that carried themselves in a way that guys envied them their confidence but that women thought were darn good to look at. The main thing that this film began though (and which carried over to my first “man movie” THE DIRTY DOZEN) was that it took a single individual who gathered together a small team to confront an enemy. It would be great to say that this was original to this film but the fact is that it was a remake of a successful Japanese film called THE SEVEN SAMURAI.
Yul Brynner stars as Chris Adams, a gunfighter with a conscious. When he hears of a group of poor Mexican farmers seeking aid in getting rid of a bandit that terrorizes their town and takes whatever they want, he accepts their proposition. With little or no money on hand (the farmers have little of value now), Chris sets out to recruit his team and he starts with Vin (Steve McQueen), another cowpoke who happened to be in the right place at the wrong time.
The two set out to fill in their group visiting other men that Chris has come across at one time or another, each with his own reason for joining or for fleeing their present situation. Britt (James Coburn) has just killed a man with his knife throwing skills in a fair fight that is sure to be questioned. Harry (Brad Dexter) thinks there is hidden gold in the village because what other reason would Chris have for taking on this task? Lee (Robert Vaughan) is a gunslinger looking for a peaceful place to live a quiet life if only for a while. Bernardo (Charles Bronson) sees it as an opportunity. And Chico (Horst Bucholtz) is a youngster who wants to make a name for himself, a boy who has yet to witness death but wants to stake his claim to it.
The team assembled, they head for the village and begin training the men of the village how to defend themselves. They set up traps, show them how to use guns and teach them that they’ll have to assist in defending themselves if they want the help of these professionals.
Eventually the bandits return expecting little or no problem. Instead they confront the seven for the first time. The bandit leader is Calvera (Eli Wallach) and he respects the seven but warns them that to stand in his way will result in death. Chris and his crew stand their ground and refuse to leave, choosing instead to defend the town they’ve been paid little to protect.
Once more we have a movie that is so well thought out and directed, in this case by John Sturges, that not a single moment watched unfold is wasted. Rather than focus on the panoramic vistas offered in most films, we frequently find ourselves in the poor dirt covered village. The heroes we watch are not the typical sort but ones who are flawed in one way or another. This was the beginnings of the anti-hero movement that sprang in the sixties, heroes that were not perfect in every way.
Once more a group of exciting and popular actors was assembled in to one production. Films like these would be impossible to pull off these days due to the contract and financial demands of those involved. The closest anyone has come has been the OCEAN’S ELEVEN films.
THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN led to several sequels and eventually in 1999 to a short run TV series. The noble defense of the small town displays a sense of honor that characters rarely show these days. And in that demonstration of honor we have another piece of what is a part of “man movies”.
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