''Seven Angry Men'' is a 1955 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by Charles Marquis Warren and starring Raymond Massey, Debra Paget and

Jeffrey Hunter Jeffrey Hunter (born Henry Herman McKinnies Jr.; November 25, 1926 – May 27, 1969) was an American film and television actor and producer known for his roles in films such as ''The Searchers'' and ''King of Kings (1961 film), King of Ki ...

. It is about the abolitionist John Brown, particularly his involvement in

Bleeding Kansas Bleeding Kansas, Bloody Kansas, or the Border War, was a series of violent civil confrontations in Kansas Territory, and to a lesser extent in western Missouri, between 1854 and 1859. It emerged from a political and ideological debate over the ...

and his leadership of the Raid on Harpers Ferry. The title refers to Brown and his six sons.

Plot

John Brown is a 19th-century abolitionist. After cutting a bloody swath through Kansas, Brown and his followers take refuge in a warehouse at Harper's Ferry, Virginia, where he meets his own personal Waterloo at the hands of federal troops.

Cast

* Raymond Massey as John Brown * Debra Paget as Elizabeth Clark *

as Owen Brown * Larry Pennell as Oliver Brown * Leo Gordon as Martin White * John Smith as Frederick Brown * James Best as Jason Brown *

Dennis Weaver Billy Dennis Weaver (June 4, 1924 – February 24, 2006) was an American actor and president of the Screen Actors Guild, best known for his work in television and films from the early 1950s until just before his death in 2006. Weaver's two most ...

as John Brown Jr. * Guy Williams as Salmon Brown * Tom Irish as Watson Brown * James Anderson as Henry Thompson * James Edwards as Ned Green * John Pickard as George Wilson * Smoki Whitfield as Newby * Jack Lomas as Doyle * Robert Simon as Lewis Washington * Richard H. Cutting as Maj. Beckham (uncredited) * Lester Dorr as

Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (born David Henry Thoreau; July 12, 1817May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading Transcendentalism, transcendentalist, he is best known for his book ''Walden'', a reflection upon sim ...

(uncredited) *

Selmer Jackson Selmer Adolf Jackson (May 7, 1888 – March 30, 1971) was an American stage film and television actor. He appeared in nearly 400 films between 1921 and 1963. His name was sometimes spelled Selmar Jackson. Jackson was born in Lake Mills, Iowa ...

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, minister, abolitionism, abolitionist, and poet who led the Transcendentalism, Transcendentalist movement of th ...

(uncredited) * John Lupton as J.E.B. Stuart (uncredited) *

Robert Osterloh Robert Osterloh (May 31, 1918 – April 16, 2001) was an American actor. In a career spanning 20 years, he appeared in films such as '' The Dark Past'' (1948), '' The Wild One'' (1953), ''I Bury the Living'' (1958) and '' Young Dillinger'' (1965 ...

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

(uncredited) * Carleton Young as

Judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

(uncredited)

Production

Raymond Massey had previously played Brown in ''

Santa Fe Trail The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, the ...

'' (1940) and appeared on stage in '' John Brown's Body''. The planned film was known as ''John Brown's Raiders''. In July 1954 Walter Mirisch announced the film would be one of 15 Allied Artists would make over the next 6 months. The same month the studio announced that Massey would play Brown. Hunter and Paget were borrowed from 20th Century Fox. Filming started in September 1954.

Reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' critic called it a "competent if hardly inspired Allied Artists presentation".

References

External links