Seven Men from Now (1956)

Randolph Scott is Ben Stride, former sheriff of Silver City, where seven men made of with a chest full of loot and killed his wife in the process.

Now he’s hunting them down, one by one, or two by two.

Along the way, he encounters the broken down California-bound wagon of John and Annie Greer (Gail Russell).

He decides to help them out, slowly befriending them. And they need his help. John Greer is a better talker than doer.

But a showdown awaits, with the five men he’s still tracking, and with Bill Masters (Lee Marvin), a man he once jailed, who is now trailing him because he figures wherever Stride goes, the loot from Silver City can’t be far away.

Meanwhile, John Greer has been keeping a secret from his wife, one that could affect Stride’s quest for revenge.

Randolph Scott as Ben Stride, warning Bill Masters to watch what he says about Annie Greer in Seven Men from Now (1956)

Lee Marvin as Bill Masters, offering his services to outlaw Payte Bodeen in Seven Men from Now (1956)

Review:

Another taunt little Western from the team of Boetticher and Scott, with an interesting twist of an ending thrown in for good measure.

That said, several of the plot devices were used again, slightly more effectively, in 1959’s “Ride Lonesome” by the same team.

As usual, Scott is the tormented hero, blaming himself for his wife’s death. He was too proud to take a job as deputy sheriff after losing an election. That’s why his wife was working a clerking job the night she was killed during a bank robbery.

But the film is also marked by fine performances from Lee Marvin and Gail Russell, the latter in one of her final roles.

Plagued by alcoholism, Russell made just three films after this one. She died August 1961 at age 36 from chronic alcoholism.

Gail Russell as Annie Greer, explaining to Ben Stride that she and her husband are from back East in Seven Men from Now (1956)

Walter Reed as John Greer, listening to Bill Masters talk about his wife in Seven Men from Now (1956)

Directed by:
Budd Boetticher

Cast:
Randolph Scott … Ben Stride
Gail Russell .. Annie Greer
Lee Marvin … Bill Masters
Walter Reed … John Greer
John Larch … Payte Bodeen
Donald Barry … Clete
Fred Graham … Henchman
John Beradino … Clint
John Phillips … Jed
Chuck Roberson … Mason
Stuart Whitman … Lt. Collins
Pamela Duncan … Senorita Nellie
Steve Mitchell … Fowler
Cliff Lyons … Henchman
Fred Sherman … The Prospector

Title tune: “Seven Men from Now”

Runtime: 73 min.

John Larch as Payte Bodeen, the man responsible for the trouble in Silver City, with two of his henchmen in Seven Men from Now (1956)

Donald Barry as Clete, watching a group of possibly hostile Indians approach in Seven Men from Now (1956)

Memorable lines:

Bill Masters: “Mr. Greer, how come you were to marry such a handsome woman?”
Annie Greer: “We fell in love, Mr. Masters.”
Masters: “Love? That’s a mighty fancy word. That’s the trouble with the likes of you and me sheriff. We never take time out for the fancy things in life. We leave that for the fellas that run sorta gentle, soft.”

Bill Masters: “Sure is a shame, you and me have to face it out this way.”
Ben Stride: “You could have stayed behind a rock.”
Masters: “Never could have enjoyed spending this $20,000 if I’d have done you that way, sheriff.”

Randolph Scott as Ben Stride, explaining why he feels responsible for his wife’s death in Seven Men from Now (1956)

Gail Russell as Annie Greer nd Walter Reed as her husband John, settlers Ben Stride decides to help in Seven Men from Now (1956)

Stuart Whitman as Lt. Collins, warning Ben Stride and his fellow travelers of possible Indian trouble in Seven Men from Now (1956)

Donald Barry as Clete and Lee Marvin as Bill Masters, partners in a quest to wind up with stolen money in Seven Men from Now (1956)

Gail Russell as Annie Greer, growing increasingly worried about Ben Stride’s fate in Seven Men from Now (1956)

Randolph Scott as Ben Stride, out to make sure the men responsible for his wife’s death pay for their crime in Seven Men from Now (1956)