Editing Seven Days in May (section)

==Reception==
''Seven Days in May'' premiered on February 12, 1964 in Washington, D.C.,<ref>{{Citation | url = https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/16136/seven-days-in-may#overview| publisher = TCM | title = Overview}}.</ref> to good critical notices and audience response.<ref name=tcmarticle />

===Awards and nominations===
The film was nominated for two 1965 [[Academy Award]]s,<ref name= "NY Times">{{cite web | url = https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/43837/Seven-Days-in-May/awards | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120301081854/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/43837/Seven-Days-in-May/awards | url-status = dead | archive-date = 2012-03-01 | department = Movies & TV Dept. | work = [[The New York Times]] | date = 2012 |title = Seven Days in May |access-date=2008-12-25}}</ref> for [[Edmond O'Brien]] for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, and for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration/Black-and-White for [[Cary Odell]] and [[Edward G. Boyle]]. In that year's [[Golden Globe Award]]s, O'Brien won for Best Supporting Actor, and Fredric March, John Frankenheimer, and composer Jerry Goldsmith received nominations.

Frankenheimer won a Danish [[Bodil Award]] for directing the Best Non-European Film, and Rod Serling was nominated for a [[Writers Guild of America Award]] for Best Written American Drama.

===Evaluation in film guides===
''[[Steven H. Scheuer's Movies on TV]]'' (1972–73 edition) gives ''Seven Days in May'' its highest rating of four stars, recommending it as "an exciting suspense drama concerned with politics and the problems of sanity and survival in a nuclear age", with the concluding sentences stating, "benefits from taut screenplay by Rod Serling and the direction of John Frankenheimer, which artfully builds interest leading to the finale. March is a standout in a uniformly fine cast. So many American-made films dealing with political subjects are so naive and simple-minded that the thoughtful and, in this case, the optimistic statement of the film is a welcome surprise." By the 1986–87 edition, Scheuer's rating was lowered to 3½ and the conclusion shortened to, "which artfully builds to the finale", with the final sentences deleted. ''[[Leonard Maltin's TV Movies & Video Guide]]'' (1989 edition) gives it a still lower 3 stars (out of 4), originally describing it as an "absorbing story of military scheme to overthrow the government", with later editions (including 2014) adding one word, "absorbing, ''believable'' story..."

''Videohound's Golden Movie Retriever'' follows Scheuer's later example, with 3½ bones (out of 4), calling it a "topical but still gripping Cold War nuclear-peril thriller" and, in the end, "highly suspenseful, with a breathtaking climax." ''Mick Martin's & Marsha Porter's DVD & Video Guide'' also puts its rating high, at 4 stars (out of 5) finding it, as ''Videohound'' did, "a highly suspenseful account of an attempted military takeover..." and indicating that "the movie's tension snowballs toward a thrilling conclusion. This is one of those rare films that treat their audiences with respect." Assigning the equally high rating of 4 stars (out of 5), ''[[The Motion Picture Guide]]'' begins its description with "a taut, gripping, and suspenseful political thriller which sports superb performances from the entire cast", goes to state, in the middle, that "proceeding to unravel its complicated plot at a rapid clip, ''SEVEN DAYS IN MAY'' is a surprisingly exciting film that also packs a grim warning", and ends with "Lancaster underplays the part of the slightly crazed general and makes him seem quite rational and persuasive. It is a frightening performance. Douglas is also quite good as the loyal aide who uncovers the fantastic plot that could destroy the entire country. March, Balsam, O'Brien, Bissell, and Houseman all turn in topnotch performances and it is through their conviction that the viewer becomes engrossed in this outlandish tale."

British references also show high regard for the film, with ''[[TimeOut Film Guide]]''{{'}}s founding editor [[Tom Milne]] indicating that "conspiracy movies may have become more darkly complex in these post-[[Watergate]] days of [[Alan J. Pakula|Pakula]] and paranoia, but Frankenheimer's fascination with gadgetry (in his compositions, the ubiquitous helicopters, TV screens, hidden cameras and electronic devices literally edge the human characters into insignificance) is used to create a striking visual metaphor for control by the military machine. Highly enjoyable." In his ''Film Guide'', [[Leslie Halliwell]] provided 3 stars (out of 4), describing it as an "absorbing political mystery drama marred only by the unnecessary introduction of a female character. Stimulating entertainment." [[David Shipman (writer)|David Shipman]] in his 1984 ''The Good Film and Video Guide'' gives 2 (out of 4) stars, noting that it is "a tense political thriller whose plot is plotting".