Seven Days in May (1964) .... Col. Martin 'Jiggs' Casey 5

Screenwriter Rod Serling's adaptation of Fletcher Knebel's and Charles W. Bailey's 1961 suspenseful novel becomes a contemporary (1964) reformulation of the 'duty vs. loyalty' conundrum that Caius Brutus (in this case, Douglas as Col. 'Jiggs' Casey) faced in William Shakespeare's 'Julius Caesar'.

A principled but ineffectual President of the U.S. brings about distrust and unrest among the nation; consequently, an adjutant to the Joint Chiefs faces the decision to abide by the suspected illegal resolve of an immediate superior whom he admires or to uphold the institutional order and betray the confidence bestowed upon him.

Director John Frankenheimer ('Seconds'; 'The Train'; 'The Manchurian Candidate', 1962), in fine mettle before his inexplicable decline. With Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas and an exceptional cast, including Fredric March as the President and, as Secretary of the Interior, favorite George Macready - for once as one of the good guys.

Not only is there a sense of persuasiveness in each character's resolve, but wherever Frankenheimer establishes either affection or conflict, his actors convey the sentiment. 'Jiggs' Casey's initial commitment and pride to serve under General Scott (Lancaster) is unmistakable, as is Ms. Holbrook's (Ava Gardner) affection towards Col. Casey, and so are the animosities among Washington adversaries (Senator Prentiss vrs. Sen. Clark, etc.), or the different levels of skepticism with which President Lyman (March) or Paul Girard (Martin Balsam) respond to Casey's concerns - too many to list here. So that Douglas portrays Casey's dilemma as the character experiences it.

Jonathan Darby's 'The Enemy Within', the 1994 remake from the same script, is not nearly as compelling.

- Similarly Reviewed (originally) 08/15/2005 under '7 Days in May' and under 'Seven Days in May' 04/11/2009.