Poseidon-3 Review of The Magnificent Seven Ride!

The Magnificent Seven Ride! (1972)

Not "Magnificent". Not even very good.

[2 February 2007]

A perfect example of the exploitation of a name (i.e. - "The Magnificent Seven") in order to put butts in theatre seats, this dire THIRD sequel to the original film has little or no connection to it at all. Van Cleef (taking over a role made famous by Yul Brynner and then after that played by George Kennedy) is a newly-married sheriff of a small western town. His wife (Hartley) sympathizes with a young robber who is about to be transferred to Tuscon Prison. When, against his better judgement, he releases the punk, the robber and his two pals rob again and kidnap Hartley. Van Cleef and his recently-acquired biographer Callan ride off to rescue her, but find that impossible. Meanwhile, a crazed Mexican bandit (Stein) is terrorizing the area and wipes out all but 17 women and some children in a small village. Van Cleef decides to defend the village against Stein, who is about to return, and recruits five hardened criminals from Tuscon Prison to aid Callan and him, thus another "Seven" is formed. Van Cleef and company, with the aid of the women, fortify the village and plan to wipe out Stein and his 50 men when they come back. Within the preparations, Van Cleef begins to fall for Powers and Callan takes a shine to Murphy as the other men also establish relationships with their respective aides. Van Cleef isn't bad in the film and ably represents a sure-handed gunslinger and leader. Callan has little or no acting pressure placed on him in his rather lifeless role. The remaining members of the seven are familiar TV and movie faces and, considering it takes a very long time for them to team up, not very much of them is shown below the surface attributes. Waite, of "The Waltons", has a brief role as a friend of Van Cleef's. Hartley (who had co-starred with Van Cleef previously in "Barquero") only appears briefly and, while she gives a sensitive portrayal, she has very little to work with. Powers, decked out in thoroughly inappropriate hair (as are all the women of the village including one with a bob and one with a long greyish-blonde fright wig), has a tough row to hoe here. The idiotic script asks her, as a very recent widow and the victim of repeated rape, to instantly fall for Van Cleef! The romantic aspects of the film are heavily misguided as all the women have been brutalized, used and assaulted and yet make goo-goo eyes at the seven men who've come to rescue them! It's repulsive and trashy to have the female cast represented this way. Almost reprehensible. Other noted cast members include Busey, in an early role as one of the robber's associates and Conwell, who spent 24 years on "The Young and the Restless" as one of the widows. One major failing of the film is it's lack of a decent villain. The marauding bandit is referred to repeatedly as a vicious, menacing and mad killer, yet when he arrives, he's played by stuntman and bit player Stein! The entire film, as exciting as its concept sounds, has a pall over it. The legendary Elmer Bernstein theme music is trucked out again, but this time it has a muted, anemic, generic sound. The scenery is dull, the settings are bland and the cinematography is drab and uncaptivating. In its favor are some lively action scenes including an attack on a hacienda and the pivotal finale, but, unfortunately, too often it's a bleak, uninteresting, amateurish and tacky, to the point of being offensive, affair.