Mexican peasants are being terrorized by a bandit named Calvera and his men. The bandits take their food, their money and their women, leaving them just enough to survive.
After consulting with an elder, they decide enough it enough and head to the U.S. to buy guns.
Once there, they decide to buy gunmen instead.
Their timing is right. The day of the quick gun is fading in the West. Chris Adams (Yul Brynner) is drifting, looking for work. Vin Tanner (Steve McQueen) is considering taking a job as a store clerk or a bouncer at the local saloon.
They’re the first two to sign on to help the villagers.
Before long, Chris has rallied O’Reilly (Charles Bronson), Lee (Robert Vaughn), Harry (Brad Dexter) and Britt (James Colburn) to the cause.
He reluctantly allows a youngster named Chico (Horst Buchholtz) to sign on as well. And so they become the magnificent seven.
Once they’ve reached the village, they prepare defenses, teach the Mexicans how to defend themselves and force Calvera to retreat the next time he shows up to plunder the village.
The villagers think they’ve won.
But Calvera won’t be deterred that easily.
Yul Brynner as Chris Adams, awaiting the bandit Calvera’s return in The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Steve McQueen as Vin Tanner, signaling his willingness to become one of Chris’s hired guns in The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Review:
Take a great cast, a crisp script, a nice mix of action and character development, add a snappy score and you’ve got a Western classic courtesy of John Sturges and company.
The film was so successful, it spawned three sequels, even though only three of the magnificent seven were still standing when the gunfire ended.
Five of the seven – Brynner, McQueen, Bronson, Coburn and Vaughn – were or became household names. The other two were Brad Dexter and Horst Buchholtz.
Dexter would later be recognized for saving Frank Sinatra from nearly drowning during filming of “None but the Brave” and went into producing.
Buchholtz, a German actor, has the bigger part here as the youngster who looks up to the other six, dreams of being like them, but also finds himself drawn to a pretty villager named Petra.
Two early scenes are memorable: Chris driving a hearse to boot hill where no one wants to see an Indian buried while Vin rides shotgun, and James Coburn’s knife vs. six-gun showdown.
Eli Wallach makes for a splendid villain. And the final gun battle is wonderfully choreographed.
Based on 1954’s Japanese film “Seven Samurai,” this film spawned many of its own imitators. How often since have we seen a hero round up a small band of specialists for a dangerous, seemingly suicidal mission?
James Coburn as Britt, about to show off his skill with a knife in The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Charles Bronson as Bernardo O’Reilly, using a flute to make friends with a young villager in The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Directed by:
John Sturges
Cast:
Yul Brynner … Chris Larabee Adams
Eli Wallach … Calvera
Steve McQueen … Vin Tanner
Charles Bronson … Bernardo O’Reilly
Robert Vaughn … Lee
Brad Dexter … Harry Luck
James Coburn … Britt
Horst Buchholtz … Chico
Jorge Martinez de Hoyos … Hilario
Vladimir Sokoloff … Old Man
Rosenda Monteros … Petra
Rico Aleniz … Sotero
Pepe Hern … Tomas
Runtime: 128 min.
Brad Dexter as Harry, convinced there’s some sort of fortune to be had in the Mexican village in The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Robert Vaughn as Lee, looking for a place to hide from vengeance seekers in The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Memorable lines:
Villagers: “Even if we had the guns, we know how to plant and grow. We don’t know how to kill.”
Old man: “Then learn. Or die.”
Undertaker: “There’s an element in town that objects … they say he isn’t fit to be buried there.”
Traveler number one: “What? In boot hill?”
Traveler number two: “Why there’s nothing up there but murderers, cutthroats and derelict old barflies. And if they ever felt exclusive, brother, they’re past it now.”
Undertaker: “They happened to be white, friend. And old Sam … well, old Sam was an Indian.”
Traveler #2: “Well I’ll be damned. I never thought you had to be anything but a corpse to get into boot hill. How long has this been going on?”
Undertaker: “Since the town got civilized.”
Yul Brynner to Charles Bronson, who’s chopping wood: “They tell me you’re broke.”
Bronson: “Nah, I’m doing this because I’m an eccentric millionaire.”
Horst Buchholtz as Chico, the young gun determined to become a member of the seven in The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Rosenda Monteros as Petra, finding herself drawn to young gun Chico in The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Vin: “We deal in lead, friend.”
Calvera: “So do I. We’re in the same business, huh?”
Vin: “Only as competitors.”
Chico, after watching Britt shoot a fleeing Mexican off his horse: “That was the greatest shot I’ve ever seen.”
Britt: “The worst. I was aiming at the horse.”
Calvera, about the villagers: “If God didn’t want them sheared, he wouldn’t have made them sheep.”
First village boy: “If you get killed, we take the rifle and avenge you.”
Second village boy: “And we see to it there’s always fresh flowers on your grave.”
O’Reilly: “That’s a mighty big comfort.”
Second village boy: “I told you he’d appreciate that.”
O’Reilly: “Well, now don’t you kids be too disappointed if your plans don’t work out.”
Eli Wallach as Calvera, a bandit with 40 guns riding behind him in The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Pepe Hern as Tomas, Jorge Martinez de Hoyoes as Hilario and Natividad Vacio as a villager, looking for guns or hired guns in The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Vladimir Sokoloff as the Old Man, encouraging the villagers to stand up to Calvera in The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Rico Aleniz as Sotero, cowering under the threats of the bandit Calvera in The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Yul Brynner as Chris Adams and Steve McQueen as Vin Tanner, working together to get a body to boot hill in The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Brad Dexter as Harry, being restrained by Bernardo O’Reilly (Charles Bronson) when a drunk cowboy causes trouble in The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Charles Bronson as Bernardo O’Reilly with the three youths committed to tending his grave should he die in The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Yul Brynner as Chris Adams and Steve McQueen as Vin Tanner, looking down on the Mexican village in The Magnificent Seven (1960)
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