7 Men from Now is a 1956 western directed by Budd Boetticher.
Former sheriff Ben Stride (Randolph Scott) is seeking out seven men who robbed a freight office in Wells Fargo. They murdered his wife in the process, so Stride aims to kill them all in revenge. While traveling, he runs into Annie (Gail Russell) and John Greer (Walter Reed), who are on their way to California. They intend to stop by Flora Vista, which gets Stride's attention and he decides to join them. The trio is also joined by Bill Masters (Lee Marvin) and Clete (Don Barry), who have a past enmity with Stride but also would like to get their hands in the Wells Fargo loot.
Tropes:
- Couldn't Find a Lighter: After shooting his partner Clete so he won't have to split the $20,000 with him, Masters takes the cigarette butt from from Clete's mouth and uses it to light his own cigarette.
- Crusading Widower: Stride's wife was killed during a robbery performed by seven men. Stride is now aiming to kill those seven men in revenge.
- Gotta Kill Them All: Ben Stride's wife was killed during a robbery performed by seven men. Stride is now aiming to kill those seven men in revenge.
- Gun Twirling: Bill Masters wears a pair of six shooters in cross-draw holsters and is constantly practicing his Quick Draw. He has a habit of twirling his guns before returning them to his holsters.
- Injun Country: At one point Stride, Greer and Annie are stopped by a US Army detail, whose commanding officer tells them to go back, as Chiricahua Apache have been spotted in the area and he cannot guarantee their safety.
- In the Back: Payte Bodeen forces John Greer to step round him if wants to get to the sheriff's office. Greer does and Bodeen shoots him the back.
- It's All My Fault: Stride feels guilty for his wife's murder, believing that if he hadn't been too prideful to take a deputy job, his wife wouldn't have had to work in the freight office that became the target of the seven men.
- It Was a Dark and Stormy Night: The movie starts on a stormy night, with Stride finding shelter in a cave with two men already there. Turns out he's been tracking them down to kill them.
- A MacGuffin Full of Money: The chest containing $20,000 in cold stolen from the Wells Fargo freight office in Silver Springs is what both the outlaws and Masters and Clete are after. John Greer has it in his wagon and is carrying it to the outlaws in Flora Vista.
- Maybe Ever After: Stride returns the gold to Wells Fargo and tells Annie that he is going to take a job as a deputy sheriff in Silver Springs. He puts her on a stagecoach bound for California, then rides away. Annie, however, tells the stage driver she is not going.
- Mucking in the Mud: Stride meets Annie and John when they are trying to get their wagon out of waist-deep mud. He helps them and joins them in their travels.
- My Fist Forgives You: Masters makes some veiled comments regarding Stride's late wife, and afterwards Stride confronts Masters in the rain and tells him if he would be better if he and and his partener Clete left the wagon. Masters agrees to do so and Stride turns around to go, and then turns back and punches Masters in the face; knocking him into the mud. Clete points his rifle at Stride, but Masters just gets to his feet, shrugs it off and takes Clete and leaves.
- No Honor Among Thieves: After they shoot Payte Bodeen, Masters then shoots his partner Clete so he won't have to split the $20,000 with him.
- Prospector: Stride meets a stereotypical prospector, including the mule, at the abandoned stage station. He ambles off into the desert, taking the station's supply of alcohol with him.
- Quick Draw: After every one of the seven robbers is killed, Stride and Masters have a face-to-face showdown; things are quickly settled as Stride kills Masters by simply pulling out his gun faster.
- So Much for Stealth: When Stride is wounded in an ambush, he hides in the rock formations. One of the outlaws follows him in but knocks a rock off a boulder and gives his position away.
- What a Drag: Stride is wounded in an ambush set by two of the seven men. After he kills them, he tries to take one of the outlaw's horses, only for the horse to spook and run off. Stride gets dragged along behind the horse until he slams headfirst into a rock.
