Seven Days in May (1964)

Directed by John Frankenheimer. Starring Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, Fredric March, Edmond O’Brien, Ava Gardner, Martin Balsam, Hugh Marlowe, Whit Bissell, Andrew Duggan, George MacReady.

Dramatic depiction of a planned coup by the Joint Chiefs when they feel that the nuclear disarmament treaty recently signed by the president (March) will push the nation to ruin. Lancaster is the Air Force general and chairman leading the mutiny; Douglas is the Pentagon chief assistant that uncovers the evidence of the plot and is determined to stop it. Not quite as taut or exciting as Frankenheimer’s earlier political thriller, The Manchurian Candidate, but very engrossing in its own right, with several fine performances, including O’Brien as a sousy senator. The major issue is the character of Eleanor Holbrook (Gardner), a mistress of Lancaster who not-so-secretly has eyes for Douglas; despite being important in the discovery of key evidence, she still feels manufactured to appease audiences wanting a side of romance to go with their suspenseful main course (Gardner’s mediocre performance doesn’t help either). Compelling and all-too-believable script by Rod Serling, based on the book by Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey II.

79/100