Seven Days In May 1964

Watched this relic of the cold war the other night, and although not very good, it does have things in it that are way too close to our current political situation and delivers a kick or two. . Directed by John Frankenheimer with a screenplay by Rod Serling its a cheap looking thriller about the take over and take down of our country by the military. Led and run by the granite like Burt Lancaster who has it in for the president played by Frederic March who has just signed an arms treaty with the soviet union. Burt doesn't like that, and starts a covert plot with other army brass to take it all down. The plot is uncovered by Kirk Douglas who is his assistant and is also made of granite, but is not a traitor and brings the news of the plot to the president. There are stock cardboard characters including Edmund O'Brien as the alcoholic southern senator who is a close friend of the president and who helps save the day, the good ole boy. Also there is Martin Balsam who once again meets a bad end as the loyal friend and confidante of the president and best of all there is Ava Gardner as an aging Washington D.C. gal about town who has been around the town more than once and has some dirt on Burt. The film looks cheap as if it's made of cardboard but it works, if not as a great work of art or even a very good film then as a document of a time long long ago. And there are all those phones, television sets and other quaint things from the early 60's to give one a chuckle or two, plus there's Ava a little worn and blowsy but still very lovely.