The cast of the original The Magnificent Seven (L-R): Brynner, McQueen, Buchholz, Vaughan, Bronson, Dexter and Coburn
One of our favorite movies when we were growing up was the 1960 Western The Magnificent Seven. Though we were too young to watch it when it first came out, we tuned in every time it played on TV. (The film is itself a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 epic Seven Samurai.) The 1960 version starred a host of movie and TV stars: Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughan, James Coburn, Brad Dexter, and a 26-year-old German actor named Horst Buchholz, among them. And in an inspired bit of casting, the great Eli Wallach, playing the Mexican badass, Calvera.
To the three of you who are unfamiliar with the movie: a bunch of Mexican villagers raise a pittance to engage an American gunslinger (Brynner) to help protect them from the ongoing raids led by the aforementioned Calvera. Brynner is able to recruit six others to come to their aid, not for any financial reward but for the noble cause it involves. The movie was filmed on location in Mexico.
Watch a classic scene… “the reception committee is forming…”
Here’s our Classic Video: the original trailer where the amazing McQueen says (in a straight face) to Wallach: “We deal in lead, friend.”
McQueen, dubbed “The King of Cool,” was born March 24, 1930. He was just 50 when he died on November 7, 1980. His other memorable film roles include The Great Escape, Papillon, Bullitt and The Getaway.
Brynner was born July 11, 1920. Bronson was just a wee bit younger, born on Nov. 2, 1921.
The musical score was from genius composer Elmer Bernstein, who also did The Ten Commandments, The Great Escape, and many more. His primary piece for The Magnificent Seven is also familiar to those of a certain age as the music used in many Marlboro commercials.
The great 1960 film is available to stream or purchase here.
And because a law in Hollywood is that every movie must be remade, a new The Magnificent Seven was released in 2016. It starred Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Vincent D’Onofrio, Ethan Hawke and a host of others. Here’s the remake’s trailer…
10 Comments so far
Jump into a conversationGreat article on the Magnificent Seven!!
‘THE MAG. 7 (1 & 2)
ARE WITHOUT DOUBT IN MY TOP MOVIE PICS !
ESPECIALLY BROTHER DENZEL ! KEEP THOSE CLASSICS COMING. GREAT ECLECTIC ASST.
The theme not only showed up in Marlboro commercials but also as the horn intro to Arthur Conley’s “Sweet Soul Music” (getting back to classic bands topicality).
I always watch the Magnificent Seven when it’s on. My western list is topped by The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and Unforgiven then M7. All three are great and I enjoy every viewing.
What, no mention of Brad Dexter, the, er, seventh of the Seven?
I’ll Take The Wild Bunch. Or, The Good, The Bad & The Ugly. Or, Once Upon A Time In The West. Magnificent Seven Is A Good Western, Good Cast & Many Fine Moments
Weekday mornings on H&I, ‘Wanted: Dead or Alive’.
Good thing The Blob didn’t get Steve!
My maternal grandfather turned me onto westerns @ really young age; lunch, western, nap! To him: no such thing as bad western! Morality plays, good vs evil! Both MAG 7 #1 & #2 are great, and many think MAG 7[#1] is greatest western; [many others might choose HIGH NOON…?] I remember seeing original MAG 7 in beautiful downtown Minneapolis STATE theater, on big screen, [cinemascope?], think I & friends sat thru it twice, overwhelmed by story, color, music, stars, action, saddened by death of 3 MAG heroes, remember being personally impacted by Horst B staying behind for love of Mexican woman…I own copies of both versions of film, tend 2 watch MAG 7 [#2] more having seen MAG 7 [#1] so many times…MAG 7 [#1] dvd has great historical features worth watching, re making of film & cast interactions…esp Brenner & McQueen…[western film suggestion: last western dvd watched was FASTEST GUN ALIVE..Glenn Ford/Broderick Crawford…clever surprising ending & amazing barn dance by Russ Tamblyn…worth watching! ENJOY!]
I remember gong to the Orpheum (with that wonderful lighted marquee!) to see ‘How The West Was Won’. The problem as a little kid was, you couldn’t take in EVERYTHING. But the panorama was gorgeous.
The score (the theme) is . . . magnificent. I love how Yes quoted it on their second album. Except . . .
That was the theme to ‘The Big Country’, a movie made a couple years before M7. The next time it’s on Grit or some other western channel, give it a listen. The score seems . . . familiar.