- John Sturges' The Magnificent Seven may be the best example of a Hollywood Western, by which I mean a cowboy movie featuring actors who would never in a million years be mistaken for cowboys. Sure, maybe Charles Bronson and James Coburn could pass, but it is nearly impossible to imagine Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, or Robert Vaughn toughing in out in the old West. (The only thing more difficult would be imagining Yul Brynner as a cajun, which this film also does.) Fortunately, all of the actors involved here are sufficiently charming that there is little else to complain about.
- Taking its inspiration from Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, the plot pits the greedy bandit Calvera (Eli Wallach) against a diverse set of seven anti-heroes who sign on to protect a poor Mexican village. Leading the team are Chris (Brynner) and Tanner (McQueen), whose earlier defense of an Indian burial suggests a shared interest in justice being served. After considerable effort, they manage to recruit treasure-seeker Harry Luck (Brad Dexter), laconic knife thrower Britt (Cobern), penniless laborer Bernardo O'Reilly (Bronson), and mysterious fugitive Lee (Vaughn). A young troublemaker named Chico (Horst Buchholz) eventually recruits himself, and that makes seven.
- While it is amusing enough watching Brynner, McQueen, and Coburn try to out-deadpan one another, the real hero of this piece is its villain. Played brilliantly by Wallach, Calvera's constant speechmaking paints him as the real hero, providing his hungry men with hard-won food (never mind that time they stole the poor box from a church). Wallach's performance here effectively serves as a prototype for his famous later role in The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, in which he perfected the endearing-yet-untrustworthy archetype. The remainder of the film is probably best remembered for its famous score, composed by Elmer Bernstein, and its impressive background scenery. There may be better Westerns out there, but The Magnificent Seven is easily one of the biggest Westerns ever made.
