IMDb > 7 Women (1966)

Overview

User Rating:
6.8/10   600 votes
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Up 7% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

Norah Lofts (short story "Chinese Finale")
Janet Green (writer) ...
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Contact:

View company contact information for 7 Women on IMDbPro.

Release Date:

24 March 1966 (West Germany) more

Genre:

Drama more

Tagline:

A Story of Flame and Fury, Faith and Fear, Love and Adventure

Plot:

Legendary director John Ford's final film involving seven dedicated missionary women in China circa 1935 trying to protect themselves from the advances of a Mongolian barbaric warlord and his cut-throat gang of warriors. full summary | add synopsis

Plot Keywords:

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NewsDesk:
(2 articles)

Actress Anne Bancroft Dies at 73
 (From IMDb News. 8 June 2005)

Actress Anne Bancroft Dies at 73
 (From IMDb News. 7 June 2005)

User Comments:

A great swansong from Ford more (18 total)


Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Anne Bancroft ... Dr. D.R. Cartwright
Sue Lyon ... Emma Clark, Mission Staff
Margaret Leighton ... Agatha Andrews, Head of Mission
Flora Robson ... Miss Binns, Head of British Mission
Mildred Dunnock ... Jane Argent, Andrews' Assistant
Betty Field ... Mrs. Florrie Pether, Charles' pregnant wife
Anna Lee ... Mrs. Russell, Mission Staff
Eddie Albert ... Charles Pether, Mission Teacher
Mike Mazurki ... Tunga Khan, Bandit Leader
Woody Strode ... Lean Warrior
Jane Chang ... Miss Ling, Mission Staff
Hans William Lee ... Kim, Mission Staff
H.W. Gim ... Coolie

Irene Tsu ... Chinese Girl
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Additional Details

Also Known As:

Chinese Finale (USA) (working title)
Seven Women (USA) (alternative spelling)
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Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Mandarin

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1 more

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)


Fun Stuff

Trivia:

Originally titled "Chinese Finale" according to an M-G-M 40th anniversary short. more

Quotes:

Dr. D.R. Cartwright: [to Tunga Khan, Bandit Leader] So long, ya bastard! more

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Le fantôme d'Henri Langlois (2004) more


FAQ

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7 out of 9 people found the following comment useful.
A great swansong from Ford, 17 October 2002
8/10
Author: Jugu Abraham (jugu_abraham@yahoo.co.uk) from Trivandrum, Kerala, India

I wonder what feminists feel about this film. I found this work to be a fascinating look at women by a male director that can compare with two other cinematic works: Paul Mazursky's "The Unmarried Woman" and Muzaffar Ali's "Umrao Jaan". Strong women, weak women, lesbians, and immature girls, are contrasted with cardboard male characters that are never fully developed and are obviously no match to the array of women portrayed in the film. The men are painted so negatively that one begins to wonder if Ford thought Asian men had more brawn than brain--a strange view that has gained currency in Hollywood cinema.

I applaud Ford's decision to cast Anne Bancroft in this role. This is one of her strong performances. She makes even the most vapid films look elegant with her roles ("Lipstick", "Little Nikita", to name just two). Ford develops her role "7 women" on the lines of a Western gunslinger--only there are no gunfights. The woman has a weapon: sex. That weapon can down all the bad guys faster than it takes to down Mexicans, Red Indians, rustlers, bank-robbers. In this film these bad men are Chinese/Mongolian thugs. Established thespians Dame Flora Robson and Margaret Leighton are totally eclipsed by Bancroft's riveting performance.

What Ford wanted I guess was to stun the viewer with the ending--the twist preceded by the gradual softening of the Bancroft in men's clothes to the Bancroft in women's clothes and the acceptance of male superiority. Most critics have found the end facile but I found the end was powerful as it makes you review and reconsider the strength of the lead character.

The film questions established views on religion; evidently Ford was old enough to have seen enough to choose to make this film in the evening of his life. In his films, Ford's women are as interesting as any other aspect of his cinema and this film provides ample fodder for those interested in studying this element of Ford's work.

However, for a 1966 film, the studio sets for the film look too artificial for the serious cinema the film offers. If anything, the film makes the viewer think!

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