"I'm suggesting, Mr. President, there's a military plot to take over the government of the United States next Sunday". Those words spoken by Kirk Douglas playing Colonel Martin "Jiggs" Casey, set off the gripping cold war, political thriller Seven Days In May starring Burt Lancaster, Frederic March, Ava Gardener, Edmund O'Brien and Martin BalsamAfter the President (March) signs a treaty with the Soviet Union, General James Scott (Lancaster) head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, plan a military coup because he considers the treaty traitorous. Colonel Casey (Douglas) learns of the plot and informs the President. They have just seven days to find the proof and expose the plot.
Directed by John Frankenheimer the film is based on the best seller by Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey II, published in 1962. The book was adapted for the screen by Rod Serling and was released in 1964.
The film is one of many top notch political thrillers that were being produced in the 60's. The cast is uniformly excellent and the suspense builds to a dramatic conclusion. The ideas discussed are about the cold war, but still relevant in today's political climate.
At the Movie House rating ***1/2 stars. if you like this film then you should consider these other titles:
The Manchurian Candidate
Advise And Consent
Fail Safe
Mirage
The Spy Who Came In From the Cold
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