Seven Days in May

"The astounding story of an astounding military plot to take over the United States! The time is 1970 or 1980 or, possibly, tomorrow!"

1964 1h 58m EN

👍

7.4

SOLID

🔥

92%

CERTIFIED FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.8

IMDB

★7.4TMDB · 237🍅92%Rotten Tomatoes●73Metacritic★7.8IMDB · 17,911

DramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A U.S. Marine Corps colonel alerts the president of a planned military coup against him.

“The astounding story of an astounding military plot to take over the United States! The time is 1970 or 1980 or, possibly, tomorrow!”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Burt Lancaster
Gen. James Mattoon Scott
Kirk Douglas
Col. Martin "Jiggs" Casey
Fredric March
President Jordan Lyman
Ava Gardner
Eleanor Holbrook
Edmond O'Brien
Sen. Raymond Clark
Martin Balsam
Paul Girard
Andrew Duggan
Col. William "Mutt" Henderson
Hugh Marlowe
Harold McPherson

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Frankenheimer
Writers: Rod Serling
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

62 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Frankenheimer, shot by Ellsworth Fredericks. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Original score by Jerry Goldsmith. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Ferris Webster shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas and Fredric March carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The astounding story of an astounding military plot to take over the United States! The time is 1970 or 1980 or, possibly, tomorrow!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0058576 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Frankenheimer directs. Ellsworth Fredericks behind the camera. Jerry Goldsmith scores. Ferris Webster cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

162 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Directed by John Frankenheimer, shot by Ellsworth Fredericks. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Jerry Goldsmith. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Ferris Webster shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas and Fredric March carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "The astounding story of an astounding military plot to take over the United States! The time is 1970 or 1980 or, possibly, tomorrow!".
7IMDB entry: tt0058576 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 16 themes, including "the white house", "based on novel or book", "general", "kidnapping".

The technical file

Cinematography: Ellsworth Fredericks
Original score: Jerry Goldsmith
Editing: Ferris Webster
Production design: Cary Odell
Makeup / hair: Sydney Guilaroff
Runtime: 118 min · 1h 58m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: Seven Days in May (1964)
Rotten Tomatoes: 92% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 73/100
IMDB rating: 7.8/10 · 17,911 votes
MPAA: Approved

Awards

Nominated for 2 Oscars. 4 wins & 8 nominations total

Also by

John Frankenheimer

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-12-02
★ 8/10
This is an enthralling political drama that pitches Fredric March ("Pres. Lyman") against the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff - Burt Lancaster ("Gen. Scott") in a battle for control of the United States. When an aide to the General - "Jiggs Casey" (Kirk Douglas) notices some odd goings on, he begins to suspect that his boss is plotting - and plotting on a treasonous scale. When he brings this to the attention of the President, a race is on between the elected authorities and their military commanders to stop the scheming general from achieving his goal. Lancaster is superb as the imperious 4-star general, as are Douglas and March. The star, for me at any rate, though, is Edmond O'Brien as the regularly sozzled Senator "Clark", who is despatched to investigate the existence of a secret base - and potentially thwart the entire rogue operation. The pace is excellent, the dialogue thoughtful and penetrating leaving us with a worrying degree of paranoia - might this actually be possible?

Production companies