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The number seven has been quite popular in film titles over the years, though perhaps it has not always been lucky.
Directed by and starring , "Seven Samurai" (1954) could be considered lucky, inspiring as it did "The Magnificent Seven" (1960) starring as the leader of the seven, and as the villain. Decades later, led a different "Magnificent Seven" (2016) on a similar mission.
"Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" (1954) was a lucky circumstance for the brothers, led by , and possibly also for and the other brides. "Seven Angry Men" (1955) was less lucky for some, in particular John Brown, played by . On the other hand, must have felt very lucky to have as his neighbour in "The Seven Year Itch" (1955).
Oddly, "Seven Ways from Sundown" (1960) was the given name of the character played by , who did experience some luck in the course of this western.
Neither "Seven" (1995) nor "Seven Years in Tibet" (1997) was very lucky for characters played by , and even less so for who played his wife in the former film.
More bad luck was in store for in "Seven Pounds" (2008) and and friends in "Seven Psychopaths" (2012).
To end on a happier note, let's double back to 1955 and "The Seven Little Foys", a musical biopic starring as the father of seven talented youngsters.
There are lots more movies that we could look at, but they can wait until another time.
"Seven Samurai" was not the only one of Akira Kurosawa's films to inspire remakes in other countries, often with a western theme, but also in the "Star Wars" franchise, with "A New Hope" (1977) owing much to "The Hidden Fortress" (1958), also starring Toshiro Mifune.
As well as frequent appearances in Kurosawa's movies, Mifune became known internationally for his work in "Grand Prix" (1966), as a racing driver, and "Hell in the Pacific" (1968), a two person war thriller, alongside Lee Marvin.
"The Magnificent Seven" (1960) itself spawned three sequels between 1966 and 1972, with Yul Brynner reprising his role as Chris in only the first of these; "Return of the Seven" (1966). Before taking on that part the first time, Brynner was already well known for his Oscar winning performance as the King of Siam in "The King and I" (1956). Eli Wallach had another connection to Kurosawa-inspired movies, having been "the ugly" portion of "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" (1966) which compares to "Yojimbo" (1961).
Though similar to the 1960 version, "The Magnificent Seven" (2016) changed the names of the seven, and the location of their stand against evil. It DID retain the joke originally told by Vin (Steve McQueen) regarding a fall from a building and the line "So far, so good!" being spoken as the man passed each floor, giving Chris Pratt's character the lines. Steve told it better, of course, but that's only my opinion. This was Denzel Washington's first Western movie, though he has been no stranger to action films, including the American Civil War film "Glory" (1990) for which he won his first Oscar (Supporting Actor) and "Training Day" (2001) which garnered him a Best Actor Oscar.
If you enjoy a musical, then you could do a lot worse than "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers", featuring the singing voices of Howard Keel and Jane Powell, the acrobatic dancing of Russ Tamblyn (and others) and an amusing story that is just about summed up by the title. Keel's baritone also graced such films as "Calamity Jane" (1953), "Annie Get Your Gun" (1950) and the 1951 version of "Show Boat". Jane Powell's other credits include "A Date with Judy" (1948) and "Royal Wedding" (1951).
In "Seven Angry Men", Canadian actor Raymond Massey played abolitionist John Brown, with the rest of the angry men being Brown's sons. Massey had played Brown in the earlier "Santa Fe Trail" (1940) as well and Abraham Lincoln in "Abe Lincoln in Illinois" (1940), for which he was Oscar-nominated. He went on to play the scary brother in "Arsenic and Old Lace" (1944) and the strict father in "East of Eden" (1955). Television viewers in the 1960s came to know him as Dr. Leonard Gillespie, mentor to Richard Chamberlain's Dr. James Kildare in the series "Dr. Kildare" (1961-66).
You know that photo of Marilyn Monroe trying to hold her dress down because the wind is trying to blow it up around her waist? That's from "The Seven Year Itch". She played The Girl who moved into the apartment upstairs from Tom Ewell's character, while his wife of seven years, and son were away on vacation without him, about whom he fantasizes. Ewell had been in the Broadway cast, while Monroe was selected for the film version. Ewell's other movie credits included "State Fair" (1962) and "Adam's Rib" (1949). Monroe appeared in several films, including "River of No Return" (1954) (a personal favourite), "Bus Stop" (1956) and "Some Like It Hot" (1959).
Audie Murphy's character in "Seven Ways from Sundown" went by Seven Jones, explaining that his father unimaginatively gave numbers to each child in succession, whilst his mother adding a little something more. Seven joined the Texas Rangers, following in the footsteps of older brother Two Jones, who had died on the job. Audie made a lot of westerns in his career, but also appeared as himself in "To Hell and Back" (1955), about his heroic service during World War II. Another war film, the American Civil War this time, was "The Red Badge of Courage" (1951) in which he played a young soldier facing combat for the first time.
In "Seven", Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman played detectives on the hunt for a serial killer who themed his kills according to the seven deadly sins. When they started to get close, the killer took it out on Pitt's character's wife, played by Gwyneth Paltrow. In "Seven Years in Tibet", Pitt played an Austrian climber upon whose memoir the film is based. Heinrich Harrer (Pitt) had been confined in an internment camp in India after the start of WWII, but managed to escape to Tibet, where he befriended the young Dalai Lama, staying for seven years. Pitt has acted in a wide variety of roles during his career, picking up a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance in "Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood" (2019). Paltrow has also had a varied and successful career, with a Best Actress Oscar for "Shakespeare in Love" (1998) among her accolades.
The plot of "Seven Pounds" is complex, sad and even disturbing, with Will Smith's character making plans for what will happen to his organs after his death (and for the death itself). It is a completely dramatic role for Smith, who is, of course, also capable of a comedic performance, as in his television series "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" (1990-96). Other dramatic roles for Smith have included Chris Gardner in "The Pursuit of Happyness" (2006) and Richard Williams, father of Venus and Serena, in "King Richard" (2021), for which he won a Best Actor Academy Award (Oscar).
"Seven Psychopaths" sounds like it could be quite dark and frightening, but in reality it is a dark comedy, involving a screenwriter, some gangsters, a little dog and a lot of shenanigans. Colin Farrell has been in even stranger films in his career, including "The Lobster" (2015) and "The Banshees of Inisherin" (2022), for the latter of which he was Oscar nominated. One mustn't forget "In Bruges" (2008) or "Phone Booth" (2002), either.
So we look back to "The Seven Little Foys" a fictionalized account of the Vaudeville performer Eddie Foy, played by Bob Hope, who turned his children into part of his act after his wife died. The film's narration is done by one of the grown up seven little Foys, Charley. Bob Hope had a long career, including the series of "Road" movies with Bing Crosby as well as the comedy western "The Paleface" (1948) and numerous television appearances, including a long run as host of the Academy Awards (Oscars) between 1940 and 1978. To be precise he was host or co-host 19 times during that time span, though the ceremony wasn't televised until 1952.
So, there you have some movie "Sevens", some luckier than others, all fun to watch.
This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor jmorrow before going online.
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