Ava Gardner, Burt Lancaster, Edmond O'Brien

John Frankenheimer's follow-up to The Manchurian Candidate is as intimate and subdued as its predecessor is flamboyant and energetic. Burt Lancaster is calm and calculating as the steely-eyed m...( read more  read more... )ilitary hawk General Scott, who opposes the president's (Fredric March) plan to end the cold war with a bold nuclear disarmament plan. Lancaster's longtime friend and frequent costar Kirk Douglas is his smiling, joking right-hand man, Colonel "Jiggs" Casey, whose easygoing manner is jolted by evidence of a possible plot to overthrow the American government. Scripted by Rod Serling from the novel by Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey, the film plays much like a classic live TV drama (the medium that spawned both Frankenheimer and Serling), with the drama arising from conversations and confrontations and the action largely limited to scenes within the Pentagon and the White House. An ominous undercurrent of danger seeps through the realistic (and often real) settings of the film, conveyed chiefly through the intensity of the excellent ensemble performances. Notable among the supporting cast are Ava Gardner as a lonely Washington socialite who was once the general's mistress, Edmond O'Brien as an amiable alcoholic senator, Martin Balsam as the president's shrewd but skeptical secretary, and underrated character actor George Macready as the wily presidential advisor. --Sean Axmaker

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88% liked it

1,959 ratings

Critics

100% liked it

17 critics

PG-13, 117 min.

Directed by: John Frankenheimer

Release Date: February 12, 1964

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DVD Release Date: May 16, 2000

Stats: 102 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (102)


  • September 16, 2009
    Kirk Douglas does a terrific job in his one cinematic chance to have a larger role than Lancaster. No 2nd act.
  • June 12, 2009
    Another solid installment in the Dr. Strangelove, Fail Safe, The Bedford Incident set.
  • December 11, 2008
    nothanks not my kinda thing
  • October 19, 2008
    Tense cold war thriller featuring a great cast
  • February 19, 2008
    Another political thriller from Frankenheimer. 7 Days is every bit as good and thrilling as the Manchurian Candidate.
  • January 22, 2008
    I found this movie very interesting in terms of how suspenseful politics can be. An interesting story line and wonderful actors, this movie is just one of those that say "just because it is in black and white doesn't mean it sucks"
  • July 19, 2007
    All CLASSICS are GOOD
  • June 24, 2007
    No, there are 31 days in May...

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