tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post6692338988207218503..comments2024-02-22T17:59:50.213-05:00Comments on in so many words...: Forgotten (or Overlooked) Films Tuesday: SEVEN DAYS IN MAY starring Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster and Fredric MarchYvettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-13543832887304420012012-11-27T17:22:55.991-05:002012-11-27T17:22:55.991-05:00We're usually off-track around here anyway, Mi...We're usually off-track around here anyway, Mike. :)<br /><br />What is the magic spell that Ellery Queen casts over his portrayers? Inquiring minds would like to know. <br /><br />I think this sort of thing happens to a lot of unwary actors. It can't be easy being one person for most of the day, then suddenly having to switch to your 'true' self.Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-69378539549578428902012-11-27T11:14:14.188-05:002012-11-27T11:14:14.188-05:00You aren't alone in the Hugh Marlowe Non-fan C...You aren't alone in the Hugh Marlowe Non-fan Club.<br /><br />When Marlowe was playing Ellery Queen on radio, he got so caught up in the part that he began making personal purchases (clothing, accessories, and the like) using the EQ name and charging the purchases.<br />This didn't sit well with Fred Dannay and Manny Lee, EQ's co-creators and the main writers of the radio show - who also didn't like Marlowe's full-of-himself acting style, both on and off mike.<br /><br />Sidenote: over-identification was apparently an occupational hazard with portrayers of Ellery Queen over the years.<br />One of the other radio Ellerys, Sydney Smith, started to book himself for lectures as EQ without first clearing it with Manny Lee or Fred Dannay. They weren't as hard on Smith as they were on Marlowe, because they preferred Smith's subtler approach to the EQ character.<br />I've also read that when Jim Hutton did the EQ TV show in the '70s, he actually lived in his dressing room on the set at Universal City, running his lines well into the night with his son Tim (although that could have had as much to do with Hutton's somewhat disordered domestic situation as anything else).<br /><br />OK, off-track, but I thought it was interesting, anyway ...Mike Dorannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-27177221340064564002012-11-26T12:00:22.384-05:002012-11-26T12:00:22.384-05:00Yeah, the date is pretty significant on this, Mike...Yeah, the date is pretty significant on this, Mike. I wonder where IMdB gets its info. At any rate, it makes for a great talking point. :)<br /><br />I remember that at Frankenheimer's request (I think) THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE was either drawn back from theaters or put in storage for awhile after the Kennedy assassination. <br /><br />Thanks for the story on that Martin Balsam scene. Who knew? I don't wonder that the DOD didn't like the screenplay. <br /><br />Hugh Marlow was never a favorite of mine. Remember what a sleaze he was in THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL? I always think of him as belonging to the Dana Andrews school of wooden acting. Though I like Andrews much better. :)<br /><br />Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-46543360716979198022012-11-26T11:09:11.355-05:002012-11-26T11:09:11.355-05:00My memory may be shaky on this, But I'm fairly...My memory may be shaky on this, But I'm fairly that <i>Seven Days In May</i> was mostly filmed in 1963, <i>before</i> the JFK assassinaation, which last may have delayed its release by a bit.<br /><br />The Knebel/Bailey novel appeared in '62, and I understand (haven't read it) that Serling's screenplay sticks pretty close to it.<br /><br />I do recall Serling appearing on a talk show years later, recounting how the film crew basically stole the scene of Martin Balsam boarding the Navy destroyer to drop the dime on Admiral John Houseman (that gentleman's film acting debut, by the way).<br />It seems the company didn't have Defense Dept. clearance to do the filming (the DOD didn't approve the screenplay). But a year or so before, Serling had filmed much of a <i>Twilight Zone</i> on such a destroyer, and he cashed in a chit to get the Balsam footage under the guise of another project.<br />( ... or something like that ...)<br /><br />I see that in my laundry list of Character People in this movie, I forgot to mention Hugh Marlowe and his one-man anticipation of the Fox News Channel.<br />(<i>The more things change, the more they stay the same ...</i>)Mike Dorannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-4711555472023925752012-11-23T14:35:56.026-05:002012-11-23T14:35:56.026-05:00Mike, I didn't hear the line about the VP, so ...Mike, I didn't hear the line about the VP, so thanks for bringing it to my attention. I will say though that you'd think they'd call him home - but then that might have alerted the conspirators. Or, heaven forbid if the VP had been in on the plot....<br /><br />The film came out in 64 AFTER Kennedy was already dead at least that's the date listed on IMdB. So people seeing the film would have been seeing it after the assassination - don't you think? It's funny, my brother and I had this same discussion last night after dinner. He made the same point as you about the 'elderly' types we were used to electing. We even counted back to see how old Eisenhower was.<br /><br />As for the lack of security - I still use the film's release date. If this film had been released in 1962, the security issue would have seemed perfectly normal.<br /><br />I love Whit Bissell and Andrew Duggan and George Maccready, especially. I was also very fond of Richard Anderson. I should have mentioned them in my post but I was running long. Shame on me. :)Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-13226067797786884232012-11-21T16:47:37.211-05:002012-11-21T16:47:37.211-05:00A couple of points:
- Early in the film, Sen. Cl...A couple of points:<br /><br /> - Early in the film, Sen. Clark says something to the effect, "Vice-President Giannelli picked the right time to go goodwillin' in Europe." So he wasn't being totally ignored (but then he wasn't cast, either, so there's that).<br /><br /> - You have to remember that in 1962-63, Kennedy was the first <i>young</i> President many of us had ever seen. We were coming off a long string of fatherly types: Eisenhower Truman, FDR - not a babyface in the lot. Fredric March was in the established mode of the time - looking older was considered an advantage in those days ( I may be mistaken on this, but I believe the prototype here was Adlai Stevenson).<br /><br /> - The lack of security: again, reflective of that time - we hadn't yet had the JFK assassination; the crackdown only happened then.<br /><br /> - I love movies with loads of familiar character actors, and this one is Valhalla:<br />Whit Bissell<br />John Larkin<br />Richard Anderson<br />Andrew Duggan<br />George Macready<br />Jack Mullaney<br />Bart Burns<br />Fredd Wayne<br /> ... and on and on ...<br /><br /> - Actually, <i>Seven Days In May</i> <b>was</b> remade for pay-cable a few years back.<br />I can't recall the title or most of the cast (except that Sam Waterston was the President and Jason Robards was the Bad General).<br />I do recall that they tried to "update" the story with dumb action scenes.<br />Didn't work at all.<br /><br />All in all, one of my all-time favorites.<br /><br /><br /> - Mike Dorannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-32937073303037999102012-11-21T12:24:52.864-05:002012-11-21T12:24:52.864-05:00Thanks, Sergio. I agree with your point about Doug...Thanks, Sergio. I agree with your point about Douglas, he had to be flawed. For sure. I think both Douglas and Lancaster were just too large in personality and physicality to accommodate even the large movie screen. Know what I mean? It was hard to corral their energy. <br /><br />I didn't really mind the low-key approach. <br /><br />Oh, THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE is such a nightmare of a film. You don't get that at all from SEVEN DAYS IN MAY.Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-84436770801255499642012-11-21T12:19:37.208-05:002012-11-21T12:19:37.208-05:00Thanks, Prashant. I hope you get a chance to see i...Thanks, Prashant. I hope you get a chance to see it. Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-6175663140697350302012-11-21T12:18:48.107-05:002012-11-21T12:18:48.107-05:00SteveHL, I'm fond of Douglas in small doses an...SteveHL, I'm fond of Douglas in small doses and admittedly, I liked Burt Lancaster more when I was younger. I think I liked March more as I grew older and began to appreciate him on a different level. <br /><br />Edmund O'Brien was always one of those actors who nearly always looked as if he needed a shower. :)Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-28503416686178379182012-11-21T10:24:11.309-05:002012-11-21T10:24:11.309-05:00Great choice Yvette - I agree that MANCHURIAN CAND...Great choice Yvette - I agree that MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE is the better film (but then, I think that's true of it in comparison with most any other film) but I like SEVEN DAYS IN MAY a lot too, not least for its low key approach, which is certainly a fine contrast to the nightmre imagery of CANDIDATE and does help get over the credibility gap(s). I'm a huge fan of Frankenheimer anyway and I love how precisely he stages the dialogue scenes - Serling could get a bit verbose but I think it works well here. And I like the fact that Douglas is made to look a heel for expliting his friendship with Gardner, even though it's the fate of free world at stake etc etc. Douglas is usually at his best playing flawed characters.Sergio (Tipping My Fedora)http://bloodymurder.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-14556606416410910282012-11-21T03:28:50.580-05:002012-11-21T03:28:50.580-05:00Terrific choice, Yvette! A Cold War film I know no...Terrific choice, Yvette! A Cold War film I know nothing about and with such a fine cast too. I'll see if I can pick up a DVD of this film.Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-2652050608355820372012-11-20T20:25:08.152-05:002012-11-20T20:25:08.152-05:00I liked this quite a bit more than you did. A lot...I liked this quite a bit more than you did. A lot of it was the acting - both March and Douglas are among my favorite actors. I also thought that in, as you say, a low-key manner, it maintained a growing sense of urgency. I grant that the ending is a little anti-climactic but I liked the fact that it didn't suddenly turn into a violent conclusion. As for the improbability of the Balsam and O'Brien missions, it embarrasses me to admit I never thought about how far-fetched that was so it didn't bother me; maybe if I saw the movie again, it would.<br /><br />As for Edmond O'Brien, even if you don't generally like him, you have to admit that nobody in films can out-perspire him.SteveHLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01745665231586422220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-69273830175713101982012-11-20T17:38:55.787-05:002012-11-20T17:38:55.787-05:00You think so, CW? I thought she was too much walki...You think so, CW? I thought she was too much walking wounded. But I could be wrong.<br /><br />I think the letters are in the story just to show that the Prez will not sink to the level of his enemies or even some of his own crew who are urging him to use them. He rises above it by putting the letters back in the desk. At least that was my reading of it.Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-73682371133980539242012-11-20T17:37:22.501-05:002012-11-20T17:37:22.501-05:00It could be remade today, I thought that too, Ande...It could be remade today, I thought that too, Anders. Maybe I ought to take a look at the novel one of these days. :)<br /><br />Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-33603182142547062712012-11-20T16:17:32.239-05:002012-11-20T16:17:32.239-05:00Audiences will always be interested in intrigue in...Audiences will always be interested in intrigue in high places and this movie satisfies.<br /><br />For me, the only thing that really dates "Seven Days in May" is the attitude of protecting Ava Gardner's character from scandal. These days, the character would self-publish the letter and make the rounds of the talk shows.Caftan Womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05936895555808823221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-53409359595401766152012-11-20T14:49:54.595-05:002012-11-20T14:49:54.595-05:00I remember this as a most interesting idea that co...I remember this as a most interesting idea that could have been executed better. Fine, nevertheless. And yes, I believe it could be remade even (especially) today. But who'd dare to?<br /><br />Btw, the novel (by Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey II) is also quite good, if not better than the movie. In here it is explicit that the action takes place not in 1962 but in "the near future". I can't recall exactly where and how, but somewhere in there you can calculate this near future to the early-mid 1970s - exactly when this kind of paranoia / big conspiracy movies were all the rage. Sort of prophetic.Anders Ehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06164550847416446757noreply@blogger.com