To star in one of the best westerns of all time, Steve McQueen was ready to do anything: even cause a dangerous car accident…
There are only a few films that are so iconic that they become the symbol of an entire genre. This is the case of The Seven Mercenaries by John Sturges, from 1960. The masterpiece following the adventures of a group of gunslingers protecting a village of bandits has been considered for 63 years as one of the best westerns of all time. The film’s potential was apparently predictable before filming as future Hollywood superstar Steve McQueen (Bullitt) went so far as to fake an accident to get a role in the feature…
The Seven Mercenaries, it is the remake of the epic The Seven Samurai (1954) by Akira Kurosawa. In the adaptation, a small peasant village in northern Mexico suffers from incessant raids by bandits led by the plunderer Calvera (Eli Wallach). The peasants then decide to ask for help from the other side of the American border: Chris Adams (Yul Brynner), a taciturn adventurer and excellent shooter, will be their savior. Together, they recruit six other men, all mercenaries, each motivated by personal reasons and with their own sense of honor.
ALL FOR ALL
From the start, the director John Sturges had Steve McQueen in mind for a role but the actor was already committed to the television series In the Name of the Law. However, he wanted the role: the experienced driver then faked a car accident, driving his vehicle straight into a bank, his biography revealed Steve McQueen: In His Own Words, written by Marshall Terrill. The actor was later seen around town wearing a neck brace for a while until the show’s producers postponed filming for him. The actor will therefore spend his “convalescence” on the set of Seven mercenariesone of the ten westerns you must have seen in your life.
Mirisch Company Steve McQueen and Yul Brynner in “The Mercenary Seven” (1960)
This daring stunt, which, according to the biography, was even performed with his wife in the passenger seat, gave him the breakthrough he was hoping for. One would have thought that the actor would then keep a low profile on the set of the film but that was not the case: frustrated at only having a few lines of dialogue and very eager to be noticed, he replaced his silences by playing with his hat or with coins – all means are good to attract attention, to the great despair of his partner Yul Brynnerannoyed by these small gestures.
Eventually, The Seven Mercenaries was celebrated as a milestone in the western genre and Steve McQueen became one of the biggest movie stars of his generation.
The Seven Mercenaries can be rediscovered on Prime Video.