cmcastl but I would still like to cast a ten out of ten vote for this film!I often re-watch it in part or in whole. One of my favourite scenes not just in this film but in any political thriller is the tense scene between Kirk Douglas' Colonel "Jiggs" Casey, Frederic March's President Jordan Lyman and Martin Balsam's Presidential Chief of Staff Paul Girard when Kirk Douglas' character first outlines his suspicions to his initially sceptical interlocutors. Each actor brings nuances to the excellent script, both verbally and in their physical expressions, which mark them out as actors of the highest class. Not only is it a dramatic scene but it and indeed the entire film is a masterclass in ensemble screen acting. That particular scene, I often wonder, if the director had been influenced by Stanley Kubrick, in making it simultaneously seem both clinical, mannered and yet also highly dramatic. I would also like to highlight the tender but ultimately poignant scene between Douglas' Colonel Casey and Eleanor Holbrook, played by Ava Gardner, the former lover of the would-be US junta-style leader General Scott played with menacing charisma by Burt Lancaster. It is obvious that in other circumstances Douglas' and Gardner's characters could have become lovers but the details concerning her relationship with General Scott which the colonel had reluctantly agreed to ferret out through betraying her confidence must spoil the possibility. Once again, a beautiful scene beautifully acted and what a gorgeous women Ava Gardner still was even in middle age. They sure do not make films like that anymore! There are neither the actors, the producers, the directors or the scriptwriters! Or, it would seem, the mass audience.Could a coup happen in the US? There is no historical guarantee that the US has been given denied to any other nation. All democracies are vulnerable given the right, or rather the wrong, circumstances.

Prismark10 The American President Lyman (Fredric March) with low approval ratings has passed a divisive nuclear disarmament treaty. The head of the Joint Chiefs General Scott (Burt Lancaster) opposed the treaty and is organising a secret coup with some of his supporters. His aide Colonel Jiggs Casey (Kirk Douglas) informs the President of the behind the scenes manoeuvring and Lyman instructs some of his trusted men to get evidence of the conspirators plans.Director John Frankenheimer loved a conspiracy thriller. Here he paints the conspirators as misguided and maybe the President as too honourable and principled.The film contains too much talking heads at times and it suffers from it during the showdown between Lancaster and March. The President actually does come across as weak and maybe proves Lancaster's point when in reality a more forceful resolution was required by the Lyman.The film is still masterful, full of intrigue and tension but it does move slowly at the beginning and has a major flaw. If the President was unpopular how did he manage to get the Treaty ratified by Congress? As the treaty is approved by Congress then it make General Scott's action more murkier and he should had been called out more strongly for his treachery.

poe426 SEVEN DAYS IN MAY may have seemed like "science fiction" back in 1964, but today, in 2015, it looks like nothing less than a blueprint for the political coup that began with Kennedy's assassination in 1963. (That's known as being "prescient," for those of you who didn't know...) Tapping Rod Serling to write the screenplay was a stroke of genius: from boxing (REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT) to Big Business (PATTERNS) to Fantasy (THE TWILIGHT ZONE) to down-to-Earth bona fide science fiction (PLANET OF THE APES), Serling was more than capable of spinning a yarn in cinematic terms, regardless of Genre. The complicity of the Media (Television in particular) and Big Business to overthrow the U.$. Government (i.e.; government of, by, and FOR The People) is highlighted in SEVEN DAYS IN MAY- exactly as it's come to pass. Says Senator Clark (Edmond O'Brien) in the movie: "This country will probably live as if peace were just as big a threat as war." How's THAT for prescient? "This one must be Deep and Dark," Lancaster tells an aide. Is it just me, or is that almost word-for-word what we heard going into Iraq the second time...? "We've all got to stay on alert these days," Whit Bissell advises, prefiguring the on-going, never ending "War on Terror." But it's Hugh Marlowe as the televangelist newscaster who sums it all up best when he says: "I'm not a lover of Communists, Socialists, or intellectual bleeding hearts. I have only one interest, and that is symbolized by the red, white and blue of our glorious flag." The camera then lingers lovingly on the faces of the fanatical followers of Lancaster before he takes the stage and promptly declares his love for the "Motherland." Shades of the Nuremberg rallies. When Martin Balsam's plane crashes, one can't help but be reminded of the documentary CONFESSIONS OF AN ECONOMIC Hit-man, in which just this kind of "accident" is detailed. March as The Pre$ident challenges Lancaster to beat him at the ballot box. "You don't steal it after midnight when the country has its back turned." The Real World parallels are obvious. The Great Disregard with which The Man (Obama, not James Earl Jones) has been treated since being elected speaks for itself.

SnoopyStyle U.S. President Jordan Lyman (Fredric March) has only 29% approval rate while passing a divisive nuclear disarmament treaty. The popular head of the Joint Chiefs General Scott (Burt Lancaster) is vehemently opposed to the treaty and argues for more robust military posture. His aide Marine Colonel Jiggs Casey (Kirk Douglas) discovers a secret unit ECOMCON headed by Scott. Jiggs informs the president but it's questionable who can actually be trusted. Ellie Holbrook (Ava Gardner) is Scott's drunken former mistress.Director John Frankenheimer has given this movie a very realistic feel of a Washington conspiracy drama. The acting is superb. However there is a coldness to the beginning like trying to watch CSPAN. There is a little too much political talks from talking heads. It's too static. The tension isn't as exciting as I want it to be. It's still a good movie. I just want more action. I'm not looking for shoot outs and car chases in the White House. I am looking for more action in the staging and the camera movements. It's not the style of the era and that is a drawback from its modern counterparts. The opening act is very slow. After the meeting in the Oval Office, the tension rises noticeably and the movie improves.