The Weekend Western: Seven Men from Now
Much as I loved the western genre, I was never a fan of Randolph Scott when I was growing up. He always seemed too stiff, too straight laced and it took Sam Peckinpah to make me see the error of my ways. When I first saw Ride the High Country I realised I’d underestimated Scott. Since then I’ve seen several of his westerns and I’ve enjoyed more than a few, but until now I’d never seen one that came close to Ride the High Country.
Seven Men from Now is a psychological western that’s more in the vein of the Anthony Mann/James Stewart horse operas than with anything I’ve seen in Scott’s back catalogue. In fact Scott’s vengeance seeking ex-sheriff has much in common with Stewart’s character in The Man from Laramie, both looking to avenge the loss of a loved one, in Scott’s case his wife, murdered during a robbery.
As well as Scott’s excellent turn as the craggy hero Ben Stride, the film features strong support from an actor whose career was on the rise and an actress making a comeback. Lee Marvin’s character is far too complex to just be labelled a villain, he even saves Stride’s life at one point and it’s clear he admires him. Good though he is in Ford’s The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance he’s much better here, allowed to show shades of grey as opposed to just play black hearted bad guy.
