John Ford's final film is set in China in 1935, where a group of American women, led by Agatha Andrews (Margaret Leighton), work as missionaries. One of the women, Florrie (Betty Field), is pregnant and accompanied by her husband, Charles (Eddie Albert), while the others are single and on their own. The mission has become crowded after a cholera epidemic forced several outsiders to flee a nearby British mission and seek shelter with the American group, while a Mongol warrior, Tunga Khan (Mike Mazurki), has assembled troops who are sacking the area. When a female doctor, Dr. D.L. Cartwright (Anne Bancroft), enters the picture, she attempts to bring humor and civility to the group, but her tough yet compassionate nature clashes with Agatha's by-the-book approach, and when Cartwright is willing to put her own safety at risk to gain the attentions of Tunga Khan and slow his onslaught, the group is strongly divided -- most of the women admire the doctor's bravery, but Agatha (who seems to have a non-professional interest in Cartwright herself) considers her foolish and reckless. Seven Women was originally planned to star Patricia Neal as Dr. Cartwright, but when she suffered a stroke during filming that put her acting career on hold for several years, Anne Bancroft was recast in the role. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Review
Critically dismissed upon its first release, Seven Women has developed a small band of supporters who find it worthy of re-examination. It's hard to deny that there are a number of things about Women that deserve praise. First and foremost are the contributions of its cast, especially the oil-and-water performances of stars Anne Bancroft and Margaret Leighton. Leighton perfectly captures the passively oppressive nature of her character, a straight-laced, by-the-book woman whose rigidity masks a fierce desire that she fears would overwhelm her if released. Bancroft is all aces as her free-spirited, strong willed, and unconventional foil, filling the screen with an overwhelming sense of life from the moment she arrives. Both actresses grab hold of the film and engage in a spirited tussle for control of it; this tension adds much-needed life to the proceedings. The film also features a nice John Ford visual trick, filming the first part with dull, washed-out colors, and unleashing an orgy of color when the Mongols invade. Ford aficionados will also enjoy noticing the ways in which the film both fits into and strays away from his usual themes. Balancing (and to most, overpowering) these assets are a number of deficits, such as a confusing screenplay, some tired dialogue, numerous dead stretches, an unfortunate tendency toward racial caricaturing, and more than a hint of melodrama. On the whole, Women is perhaps best appreciated by fans of Ford's work who are adventurous and willing to take a chance with one of the master's least conventional works. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi
George W. Davis - Art Director, Eddie Imazu - Art Director, Walter Plunkett - Costume Designer, John Ford - Director, Otho Lovering - Editor, Elmer Bernstein - Composer (Music Score), William J. Tuttle - Makeup, Joseph La Shelle - Cinematographer, John Ford - Producer, Bernard Smith - Producer, Henry W. Grace - Set Designer, Jack Mills - Set Designer, J. McMillan Johnson - Special Effects, Janet Green - Screenwriter, John McCormick - Screenwriter, Norah Lofts - Short Story Author
7 Women, also known as Seven Women, is a 1966 film drama made by MGM. It was directed by John Ford, produced by Bernard Smith and John Ford, from a screenplay by Janet Green and John McCormick, based on the story Chinese Finale by Norah Lofts. The music score was by Elmer Bernstein and the cinematography by Joseph LaShelle. This was the last feature film directed by Ford, ending a career which spanned over fifty years.
The story takes place in China in 1935 on a remote missionary post.
The mission, made up predominantly of women, is threatened from within as well as from outside. Everything is calm on the surface as the head of the mission, Miss Agatha Andrews (Margaret Leighton) runs things fairly rigidly, self-righteously believing her idea of Christian piety is the only correct way to live. The other women at the mission are Miss Argent (Mildred Dunnock), her loyal assistant; Miss Binns (Flora Robson) and Mrs. Russell (Anna Lee) from the nearby British mission, who are seeking safety from the war atrocities; Mrs. Florrie Pether (Betty Field), whose husband, Charles Pether (Eddie Albert) is a mission teacher and the only male there; Miss Ling (Jane Chang), the demure Chinese mission teacher and translator and Emma Clark (Sue Lyon), a member of the staff and the youngest girl at the mission.
Neurotic tension is brewing and Miss Andrews soon turns out to have a god complex, her crazed piety is nothing like the religion she claims to have practiced. She is obsessed in keeping Emma, her beloved project, from being "defiled". The arrival of an elegant, humanistic, cynical, agnostic doctor, Dr. Cartwright (Anne Bancroft), soon disrupts the fragile peace, especially when Emma becomes the doctor's admirer. Cartwright stands apart from the group of women and she and Andrews clash over Cartwright's attitude, her profane speech, her smoking, and her total lack of interest in participating in the daily if austere prayers. Florrie is pregnant but fears she is too old to give birth without problems. Cartwright has to deal with the pregnant woman giving birth in very primitive conditions, then a cholera outbreak, and finally an attack by Mongol marauders who commit atrocities, gross indignities, and acts of barbarism. She inspires the women to great bravery and they manage to cope with extremely dangerous situations, but in the end Cartwright is forced to offer herself up to the Mongol leader, Tunga Khan (Mike Mazurki), as a concubine to save the group. This sets a rift among the missionaries with Agatha appalled by Cartwright's decision, while Miss Binns applauds her courage and spirit. Each member of the group offers a different response to the danger, which gives the film a certain depth and diversity. In the end the roles seemed to have reversed, Cartwright becomes the selfless and determined savior, and Agatha the depraved self-righteous one of false religion. At the film's conclusion, Cartwright toasts her captor Tunga Khan with a poisoned cup of tea which he drinks and immediately keels over as she coldly utters: "So long ya bastard!" After a moment's hesitation, Cartwright herself drinks the poison and shatters the cup on the floor as the screen goes black.
As Ford was a devout Catholic, the film shows the difference between the claim of being moral and the act of morals; the stark contrast between compassion and sacrifice to the austere holier-than-thou philosophy.[1]
Fred Camper, Richard Combs and Simon Galiero all rated it among the top ten greatest movies of all time. The film also appeared in several other lists. These include:
Most Misappreciated American Films of All Time (1977, Andrew Sarris)
Most Misappreciated American Films of All Time (1977, Pascal Bonitzer)
Most Misappreciated American Films of All Time (1977, Serge Daney)
Most Important American Films (1977, Erno Patalas)
The film was voted by They Shoot Pictures, Don't They? as the 680th greatest films of all time, in a poll of 1,825 film critics, scholars, cinephiles, etc. and as well in a culmination of over 900 'greatest film' lists of all kinds, that were already existing.
Production
The original story Chinese Finale was presented as an episode of Alcoa Theatre in March 1960 with Hilda Plowright as Miss Andrews and Jan Sterling as Dr. Mary Cartwright.[4]
John Ford considered both Katharine Hepburn and Jennifer Jones for the role of Dr. Cartwright but chose Patricia Neal. Ford began the film in February 1965 on the MGM backlot, but after three days of filming, Neal had a stroke. Anne Bancroft took over the role of Dr. Cartwright but Ford was unhappy with Bancroft and called her "the mistress of monotone".[5] Ford originally considered Carol Lynley for the role played in the film by MGM contract star Sue Lyon.[6]
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