Seven Angry Men *** (1955, Raymond Massey, Jeffrey Hunter, Debra Paget, Larry Pennell, Leo Gordon, John Smith, James Best, Dennis Weaver, Guy Williams) – Classic Movie Review 12,074

The 1955 Western film Seven Angry Men stars Jeffrey Hunter.

Director Charles Marquis Warren’s 1955 American Western film Seven Angry Men is a small-scale, but heartfelt biopic of abolitionist John Brown (Raymond Massey), the violent, 19th-century opponent of slavery.

This is always an offbeat and interesting drama, kicked up a couple of notches with a strong tour-de-force of a performance from Raymond Massey, reprising the role he took in the 1940 Santa Fe Trail. Massey had also appeared on stage in John Brown’s Body.

Seven Angry Men focuses on Brown’s involvement in Bleeding Kansas, a series of violent civil confrontations in Kansas Territory, and his leadership of the Raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia. Brown and his followers pursue a bloody trail through Kansas, and then take refuge in a warehouse at Harper’s Ferry, where Brown meets his fate at the hands of federal troops.

The title refers to Brown and his six sons.

It also stars Jeffrey Hunter as Owen Brown, Debra Paget as Elizabeth Clark, Larry Pennell as Oliver Brown, Leo Gordon as Martin White, John Smith as Frederick Brown, James Best as Jason Beown, Dennis Weaver as John Brown Jr, and Guy Williams as Salmon Brown.

It is executive produced by Walter Mirisch for Allied Artists Pictures Corporation.

Seven Angry Men is directed by Charles Marquis Warren, runs 90 minutes, is made and released by Allied Artists Pictures, is written by Daniel B Ullman (story and screenplay), is shot in black and white by Ellsworth Fredericks, is produced by Walter Mirisch (executive producer) and Vincent M Fennelly, is scored by Carl Brandt, and is designed by Dave Milton

Also in the cast are Tom Irish, James Anderson, James Edwards, John Pickard, Smoki Whitfield, Jack Lomas, Robert E Simon, Dabbs Greer, Ann Tyrrell, Raymond Barnes, Gregg Barton, Lane Bradford, Lester Dorr, Richard Emory, Joel Fluellen, William Hamel, Don C Harvey, Stuart Holmes, Selmer Jackson, I Stanford Jolley, Gayle Kellogg, Don Kennedy, John Larch, John Lupton, Kenneth MacDonald, Hank Mann, Donald Murphy, William Newell, Leighton Noble, Robert Osterloh, Dick Paxton, Jeffrey Sayre, Mickey Simpson, Bert Stevens, David Wolfson, Barbara Woodell, and Carleton Young.

The films of Charles Marquis Warren: Little Big Horn (1951), Hellgate (1952), Arrowhead (1953), Flight to Tangier (1953), Seven Angry Men (1955), Tension at Table Rock (1956), The Black Whip (1956), Back from the Dead (1957), Trooper Hook (1957), Without Incident (1957), The Unknown Terror (1957), Copper Sky (1957), Ride a Violent Mile (1957), Blood Arrow (1958), Cattle Empire (1958), Desert Hell (1958) and Charro! (1969).

American film producer Walter Mirisch was born on 8 November 1921. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture as producer of In the Heat of the Night (1967). He turned 100 on 8 November 2021.

© Derek Winnert 2022 Classic Movie Review 12,074

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