Editing Seven Days in May (section)

==Production==
[[Kirk Douglas]] and director [[John Frankenheimer]] were the moving forces behind the filming of ''Seven Days in May''; the film was produced by [[Edward Lewis (producer)|Edward Lewis]] through Douglas's company Joel Productions and [[Seven Arts Productions]]. Frankenheimer recruited screenwriter [[Rod Serling]]. Douglas intended to star in the film along with his frequent costar [[Burt Lancaster]]. Douglas offered Lancaster the General Scott role, while Douglas agreed to play Scott's assistant.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/16136/seven-days-in-may#overview|title=Turner Classic Movies overview|accessdate=December 14, 2022}}</ref> Frankenheimer commissioned [[Nedrick Young]] to rewrite the scene in which Casey visits Holbrook at her apartment.<ref name="DVD" />{{Rp|page=1:05:00}}

Lancaster's involvement nearly caused Frankenheimer to withdraw from the project, as the two men had conflicted during the production of ''[[Birdman of Alcatraz (film)|Birdman of Alcatraz]]'' two years earlier. Only Douglas's assurances that Lancaster would behave kept Frankenheimer on the project.<ref name="tcmarticle">{{Citation | first = Jeff | last = Stafford | url = https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/16136/seven-days-in-may#articles-reviews| title = Seven Days in May | publisher = TCM | type = article}}.</ref> Lancaster and Frankenheimer were at peace during the filming, but Douglas and Frankenheimer sparred with one another.<ref>Frankenheimer, John and Champlin, Charles. ''John Frankenheimer : A Conversation'' Riverwood Press, 1995. {{ISBN|978-1-880756-13-3}}</ref><ref name="ragman">Douglas, Kirk. ''[[The Ragman's Son]]''. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1988.</ref> Frankenheimer was very happy with Lancaster's performance, especially the long scene toward the end between Lancaster and March, saying that Lancaster was "perfect" in his delivery.<ref name="DVD" /> Frankenheimer stated decades later that he considered ''Seven Days in May'' among his most satisfying work.<ref name="DVD">Frankenheimer, John, ''Seven Days in May'' DVD Commentary, Warner Home Video, May 16, 2000</ref> He saw the film as putting "a nail in the coffin of [[McCarthyism|McCarthy]]."<ref name="DVD" />{{Rp|page=1:36:00}}

The filming took 51 days and according to the director the production was a happy affair, with all of the actors and crew displaying great reverence for Fredric March.<ref name="DVD" /> As supporting actor Richard Anderson recalled of March: "He was wonderful. As a kid, I watched him in those Fox movie houses in the thirties. I grew up on him. I told him, 'It's such a pleasure to meet you.' He said, 'Thank you, Mr. Anderson.' One day, I watched him work. Right after filming, he turned to the wardrobe man and said, 'Bill, don't take the coat and fix it up for tomorrow. Leave it like it is. We're continuing the scene.' He wanted the coat to look the same way. How'd you like that for an actor?"<ref>{{Cite web |title=American Legends Interviews..... Richard Anderson: Seven Days In May |url=https://www.americanlegends.com/Interviews/richard_anderson_seven_days_in_may.html |access-date=2025-02-22 |website=www.americanlegends.com}}</ref>

Many of Lancaster's scenes were shot at a later time as he was recovering from [[hepatitis]].<ref name="DVD" /> [[Ava Gardner]], whose scenes were shot in just six days, thought that Frankenheimer favored the other actors over her. Frankenheimer remarked that she was sometimes "difficult."<ref name="DVD" />{{Rp|page=1:06:00}} [[Martin Balsam]] objected to Frankenheimer's habit of shooting pistols behind him during important scenes.<ref name="tcmarticle" /> Frankenheimer had been briefly stationed in the mailroom at [[the Pentagon]] early in his Korean war service and stated that the sets were totally authentic, praising the production designer.<ref name="DVD" /> Further providing authenticity, many of the scenes in the film were loosely based on real-life events of the Cold War.<ref>[http://www.all-reviews.com/videos-4/seven-days-in-may.htm Antulov, Dragan. "All-Reviews.com Movie/Video Review ''Seven Days In May''" (''All-Reviews'', 2002)]</ref>
[[File:US Navy 021025-N-6811L-008 USS Kitty Hawk leaves for routine training.jpg|thumb|Supercarrier ''Kitty Hawk'' in 2002]] In an early example of [[guerrilla filmmaking]], Frankenheimer photographed Balsam ferrying to the [[supercarrier]] {{USS|Kitty Hawk|CV-63|6}} in San Diego without prior permission. Another example occurred when Frankenheimer wanted a shot of Douglas entering the Pentagon, but unable to receive permission, he rigged a camera in a parked car.<ref>[[Gerald Pratley|Pratley, Gerald]]. ''The Cinema of John Frankenheimer'' London: A. Zwemmer, 1969. {{ISBN|978-0-302-02000-5}}.</ref>

Frankenheimer recruited well-known producer and friend [[John Houseman]] to play Vice Admiral Farley C. Barnswell in his uncredited acting debut. Houseman agreed in return for a fine bottle of wine (seen during the telephone scene).<ref name="DVD" />{{Rp|page=1:30:00}} Several scenes, including one with standins for nuns, were shot inside the recently built [[Washington Dulles International Airport]], and the production team was the first to ever film there.<ref name="DVD"/> The alley and car-park scene was shot in Hollywood, and other footage was shot in the Californian desert in 110-degree heat. The secret base and airstrip were specially built in the desert near [[Indio, California]], and an aircraft tail was used in one shot to create the illusion of a whole plane off screen.<ref name="DVD"/> The original script had Lancaster dying in a car crash at the end after hitting a bus, but this was dropped in favor of a scene showing him leaving for home in his limousine, a scene that was shot in Paris during production of ''[[The Train (1964 film)|The Train]]'' (1964).<ref name="DVD"/>

Presidential press secretary [[Pierre Salinger]] conveyed to Frankenheimer that President Kennedy had read the book and hoped that the film would be produced. Kennedy arranged a visit to the [[family compound in Hyannis Port]] one weekend so that the riot scene could be filmed outside the White House.<ref>{{cite book| author = Arthur Meier Schlesinger| title = Robert Kennedy and His Times| year = 1978| publisher = Futura Publ.| isbn = 978-0-7088-1633-2 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu/collections/featured/kirkdouglas/film/sevendays/7days.html ''Seven Days in May'' commentary as part of the Kirk Douglas Featured Collection at the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100610064500/http://wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu/collections/featured/kirkdouglas/film/sevendays/7days.html |date=June 10, 2010 }}</ref>

Frankenheimer considered the scene in which Douglas's character visits the president to be a masterful bit of acting which would have been very difficult for most actors to sustain.<ref name="DVD" /> He had done similar scenes on many television shows, and not only the acting but also every camera angle and shot were extensively planned and rehearsed. Frankenheimer paid particular attention to ensuring that all three actors in the scene were in focus for dramatic impact. Many of Frankenheimer's signature techniques were used in scenes such as this throughout the film, including his "depth of focus" shot with one or two people near the camera and another or others in the distance and the "low angle, wide-angle lens" (set at f/11) which he considered to give "tremendous impact" on a scene.<ref name="DVD" />

The film is set several years in the future from the time of its release. Although "1970" appears on a Pentagon display and the registration sticker on the rear license plate of Senator Prentice's Bentley sedan, the day/date indicator in the Pentagon depicts TUES / MAY 13, a date occurring only in such post-1964 years as 1969, 1975, 1980 or 1986. Other nods include a situation room which was designed to seem futuristic, as well as the utilization of then-futuristic technology of video teleconferencing and the recently issued and exotic-looking [[M16 rifle]]. Additionally, the concept of a nuclear treaty between Cold War powers anticipated the actual existence of one.<ref name="DVD" />{{Rp|page=1:45:00}}