Der Siebente ist dran (1956)

Der Siebente ist dran: Directed by Budd Boetticher. With Randolph Scott, Gail Russell, Lee Marvin, Walter Reed. A former sheriff blames himself for his wife’s death during a Wells Fargo robbery and vows to track down and kill the seven men responsible.

“I finally got to see Budd Boetticheru0026#39;s superb Technicolor western u0026quot;Seven Men from Nowu0026quot; which was long considered a lost classic in 1950s American cinema. The copy I saw was a pre-restored version but in excellent condition. This is Boetticheru0026#39;s first of a series of fascinating, modest, and low-budget westerns with Randolph Scott. The others include u0026quot;Buchanan Rides Aloneu0026quot;, u0026quot;Decision at Sundownu0026quot;, u0026quot;The Tall Tu0026quot;, u0026quot;Ride Lonesomeu0026quot;, and u0026quot;Comanche Stationu0026quot;. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAll of them are superb, but u0026quot;Seven Menu0026quot; is really my favorite. As Andrew Sarris astutely observed in his Boetticher entry in The American Cinema, u0026quot;Constructed partly as allegorical odysseys and partly as floating poker games in which every character took turns at bluffing about his hand or his draw until the final showdown, Boetticheru0026#39;s westerns expressed a weary serenity and moral certitude that was contrary to the more neurotic approaches of other directors in this neglected genre of the cinemau0026quot;. From the stunning opening sequence of Scott coming from behind the camera entering a rocky shelter to the final scene of Gail Russell watching Scott leaving the town, u0026quot;Seven Menu0026quot; is an exciting, brooding, and impeccably constructed western. Boetticher deftly uses the vast isolated landscape to comment on the charactersu0026#39; isolation and entrapment. The screenplay by Burt Kennedy is brilliant and witty. The film also features some extraordinary performances by Scott and his clever nemesis, played by the incredible Lee Marvin, a role that somehow anticipates his sadistic Liberty Valance in Fordu0026#39;s u0026quot;The Man Who Shot Liberty Valanceu0026quot;. Scott plays a morally ambiguous ex-sheriff who, while helping an Eastern husband and wife, travel cross-country in their covered wagon, hunts for the seven men shot and killed his wife. The scenes between Scott and Russell are strangely moving and effective. The final showdown between Scott and Marvin is stunning and unforgettable.”