This Western Classic With 100% on Rotten Tomatoes Doubles as a Grim Revenge Thriller (2024)

The primal human thirst for vengeance has fueled some of cinema's most unforgettable stories ever. Once you’ve seen Taken, you'll always remember Liam Neeson's character and his "particular set of skills" after his daughter gets kidnapped. When Keanu Reeves as the titular character in John Wick goes bloodthirsty-berserk over the killing of his wife-gifted dog, we empathize with him. Because of this connection they create with us, they go straight into our cinematic legends' book. The Western genre, where justice on the dusty frontier is often a bullet away, also thrives on vengeance narratives.

In Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West, where the stakes are high with multiple layers of revenge among the characters, the reward is particularly satisfying to the viewer, elevating the film to one of the greatest ever made. Clint Eastwood, who turned down a leading role in Once Upon a Time in the West, cemented his iconic status partly by playing vengeance-seeking characters in the Man With No Name trilogy, with his character Blondie standing out in the trilogy's third outing, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Among the list of great Westerns themed around grim revenge is Budd Boetticher's 1956 classic Seven Men From Now, which boasts a perfect 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Seven Men From Now

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.

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Actors

Randolph Scott, Gail Russell, Lee Marvin, Walter Reed

Run Time

78 minutes

Director

Budd Boetticher

Release Date

August 4, 1956

Studio

Warner Bros.

What Is 'Seven Men From Now' About?

Starring Randolph Scott, Gail Russell, and Lee Marvin, Seven Men From Now, which has a cult-like following, has a simple plot. A proud, principled ex-sheriff Ben Stride (Scott), whose wife was killed by bandits in a robbery at Wells Fargo where she worked, sets out to punish the seven men who committed the heinous act. The film opens with Stride in a nighttime rainstorm in the Wild West desert. He encounters two men warming themselves by the fire in a cave encampment. Stride notices the unease between the men as he gets to know them over coffee and discerns that the two men are among the robbers who shot dead his wife. When Stride reveals that he hails from Silver Springs, the place where his wife was murdered, the two men try to kill him, but he outdraws them and shoots them both. This opening suggests a subtle psychological underpinning that the film intends to play — a game of wits and combat.

Stride embarks on his grim pilgrimage, trawling the desert and its neighboring towns to hunt down the remaining culprits. Along the way, he comes across husband and wife John and Annie Greer (played by Walter Reed and Gail Russell respectively), whose wagon is stuck, and offers to help them get it out of the mud. Stride and Annie take a liking to each other, but Stride's principles prevent him from making a move. As they journey together, they meet two of Stride's former nemeses, the audacious Bill Masters (Lee Marvin) and his obedient crime partner Cleet (Don "Red" Barry). The three sets of people are further entangled as Stride pursues his revenge mission. The end game is an unforgettable showdown following a series of thrilling physical and psychological warfare. Seven Men From Now is a classic Western movie that delves into the grim elements of the Old West. It's a story of a good man driven to the edge by rage and vengeance, but whom we cheer on in his descent into this darkness nonetheless.

There's a Reason 'Seven Men From Now' Has a 100% Rating on Rotten Tomatoes

Few films have a perfect rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, and Seven Men From Now is one of them. Rotten Tomatoes assesses feedback from reviewers as either positive or negative. For a film to attain a 100% rating on the website, it means that all the professional reviews of the film were deemed positive. Seven Men From Now's perfect score is not a mistake. The '50s classic is a raw, gut-punch revenge thriller disguised in a cowboy hat. Taking the classic Western structure, the film's narrative is straightforward. It steers clear of a jumbled presentation that could appear either underdeveloped or with lackluster directing and performances. From the outset, its protagonist's goal is set — Stride seeks revenge for his dead wife. Like all films that set out this way, along the way, we expect him to either garner support or face obstacles in his quest, and Seven Men From Now generously serves these.

We journey with Stride as he takes down his prey, and we walk beside him as he encounters the likes of the Greers and Masters, who play a part in determining whether he achieves his goals or not. However, Seven Men From Now goes beyond just a clear plot. The movie is built on the foundation of a captivating backstory, well-developed characters, a clear conflict between Scott's Stride and those who killed his wife, and the actors turning in their performances.

Seven Men From Now Has Well-Developed Characters Brought To Life By a Great Ensemble Cast

In Seven Men From Now, the characters are more than just archetypes of the Western genre. They are complex individuals with varying motivations and personal arcs. Ben Stride is a multifaceted hero who, as the rugged ex-lawman on a revenge mission, is also a man wracked with guilt, fighting internal battles about his role in his wife's death. Stride believes that if he had not been as proud as he was when he refused to take up a junior position after losing his sheriff role, his wife wouldn't have taken up the Wells Fargo job that got her killed. He directs this simmering rage into his ominous hunt for the killers. It is no longer just about revenge, but also about his redemption. Stride's interaction with the Greers also shows his complexity. His restraint and growing unspoken romantic tensions between him and Annie Greer, juxtaposed with Masters' shameless approach, depicts a man with a higher integrity who respects the sanctity of marriage.

Lee Marvin's Bill Masters is another standout character in Seven Men From Now. He is combatively brash, yet strategically patient. He doesn't hide the fact that he dislikes Stride. Even when rattled by Stride, he avoids pre-mature confrontation because he recognizes that their paths have a shared destiny. Throughout the film, Masters proves that he is capable of both brutality and calculated kindness. He is rude to others, but he is also kind to Annie, partly because he is interested in her romantically. This duality is more evident in how he castigates Stride for his interest in Annie while barefacedly seducing her in the presence of her husband, John Greer.

'Seven Men From Now' Is a Showcase of Great Performances

In what is arguably a career-best performance by the renowned leading man Randolph Scott, in Seven Men From Now, he brings onscreen a quiet intensity to Ben Stride. He captures Stride's internal turmoil and determination to achieve his goals with ease. Even though he doesn't say a thing about his affection for Annie, we can see it through his expressions — a stare that is a second too long, how he coils his rugged masculinity around her like when he offers to help her do laundry. After losing his wife, his scrapped ego is also visible in his stoic, hardened face. For a movie that is centered around his character, Scott's performance is impressive in driving the plot and portraying the complex character that his role demands. It might be interesting to note that Seven Men From Now might not have been what it is had John Wayne, whose company produced the film, accepted to take up Scott's role. Wayne turned down the offer to play Stride, providing Scott with an opportunity to play one of his most significant roles.

Lee Marvin, too, as the charming and menacing Bill Masters shines. He gives a nuanced performance that showcases a Western villain who is more than just a foil to Stride. His presence alone from the first encounter with Stride shows an important character whose motivations are not very clear. His performance perfectly portrays a charming, calculative opportunist that makes Masters one of the most memorable characters in Seven Men From Now. Gail Russell sparkles as Annie Greer, bringing a strong female presence to the film. Russell as Annie is warm and resilient when everyone else harbors darkness. She's not the stereotypical Western damsel, Annie is both vulnerable and determined. She protects her meek husband John Greer from Masters' bullying, but also falls for Stride's ruggedness that John lacks. This depth that Russell brings, along with other strong supporting performances, including Walter Reed's as the amiable-and-somewhat-naive John Greer, elevates Seven Men From Now into a compelling movie.

Seven Men From Now is currently available to rent or buy on Prime Video in the U.S.

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