A very beautiful swan song, John Ford's last stand, one of the most terrific, gripping, sad, last film I have ever seen from a director. A GREAT director, I mean. I will remember the last scene of John Ford's last feature, this terrific fade to black. The most unusual, surprising, is that this topic is mostly built around women, from a director more used to monitor, speak about rough, tough men, because female leads were not very important in most Ford's movies, except a couple of ones, such as of course Maureen O'Hara, the only gal accepted by Ford's gang: him, the Duke, Harry Carey, Ward Bond, Victpr Mc Laglen. Ford liked women with feminine "figures" but men from the inside, and on this matter, we can say that Ann Bancroft's character could have been played by the most notorious red haired gal. The scarlet O'Hara. The flaming red haired empress of Hollywood. Bancroft is absolutely awesome in this so solid, sensitive, determined woman, some kind of substitute of John Wayne. BEWARE SPOILERS BEWARE SPOILERS BEWARE SPOILERS BEWARE SPOILERS that's the thing I admire the most in this film, her sacrifice in the end. I am positive that John Wayne would have done the same in such a scheme. Remember him in THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALENCE. Ann Bancroft as some kind of John Wayne's surrogate in this poignant John Ford's epitaph. Thats' my analysis. I found this final scene, ending scheme, close to Guy De Maupassant's book adaptations: BOULE DE SUIF, MADEMOISELLE FIFI. A strong female lead character who doesn't hesitate to make the sacrifice of her life to save others who despised - or not - her.
Review of 7 Women
