Several months before Fletcher Knebel and Charles Waldo Bailey, II’s novel Seven Days in May reached the NYT bestseller list, the 5 Sep 1962 Var announced that actor Kirk Douglas, producer Edward Lewis, and director John Frankenheimer planned to adapt it for the screen. According to the 10 Oct 1962 DV, Douglas originally intended to serve only as a producer, but later decided to act in one of the five key roles. On 1 Nov 1962, LAT reported that screenwriter Rod Serling was expected to complete a first draft of the script sometime the following week.
       While Frankenheimer told the 6 Feb 1963 Var that he hoped to keep costs in the low $1 million-range, the budget was expanded once he secured a studio distribution deal. After nearly a month of negotiations, the 23 Apr 1963 DV announced that Paramount Pictures had beat out competing bids from United Artists, Columbia Pictures, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for worldwide rights to the project, which was to be independently produced through Joel Productions, a subsidiary of Douglas’s Bryna Productions, in association with Seven Arts Productions. Sources indicated that Frankenheimer would also participate as a producer, but his company was not named in contemporary sources. The 24 Apr 1963 Var estimated the revised budget at $3.5 million.
       Shortly after agreeing to appear in the picture, Douglas offered a co-starring role to Frank Sinatra, who recently worked on Frankenheimer’s political thriller, The Manchurian Candidate (1962, see entry). By the following year, however, the 22 Feb 1963 edition reported the casting of Burt Lancaster and Spencer Tracy, who was attached to play U.S. President “Jordan Lyman.” Tracy remained onboard for only a month, as the 21 Mar 1963 LAT revealed he decided to leave after a dispute with Lancaster and Douglas over who would receive top billing. Fredric March filled the role two days later, and LAT claimed that Douglas let Lancaster choose which character he wanted to play.
       According to the 11 Jun 1963 DV, Edie Adams was forced to decline a role due to previous television commitments. Two days later, the publication stated that Jean Simmons and Audrey Hepburn were both considered for “Eleanor Holbrook,” but the role ultimately went to Ava Gardner. On 14 Jun 1963, DV announced that radio and television announcer Bill Baldwin had been selected to provide his voice for a fictional news conference. The following week, DV also reported the casting of Leonard Nimoy, but he does not appear in the final film. Additional DV casting announcements throughout the summer of 1963 included several actors whose participation could not be confirmed or may have been uncredited, including Tyler McVey, Irvin Richardson, Bill Raisch, Regan Marlowe, Tom Harris, Douglas Henderson , Tom Conroy, and Joel Fluellen.
       Items in the 27 Jun 1963 and 9 Jul 1963 DV stated that the production placed an advertisement in a Washington, D.C. newspaper looking for cab drivers to test for a role in the film. Fifty-three-year-old George Pearson was selected from fifty applicants to drive his taxi to California, where he would film scenes on the studio set before rejoining the production on locations in the nation’s capital.
       Principal photography began 20 May 1963, as stated in a DV production chart four days later. The majority of filming took place at the Paramount studios in Hollywood, while briefs in the 29 May 1963 and 11 Jun 1963 issues reported locations at the Glendale YWCA, which stood in for the “White House” swimming pool; Los Angeles International Airport; and a hotel and house in Beverly Hills. On 5 Jul 1964, DV stated that the unit spent the day at the recording stage of the Los Angeles-based news station, KTLA. According to the 13 Jun 1963 DV, KTLA crews also helped Frankenheimer replicate a presidential news conference, which was simultaneously shot using four live video cameras and two 35mm film cameras.
       The remainder of production was split between locations in Yuma, AZ, and Washington, D.C. A 31 Jul 1963 Var article stated that nearly 300 local amateur theater actors and twenty retired wrestlers were recruited for a picketing scene and brawl outside the White House, which drew the attention of many passing tourists who believed the incident to be real. Although the unit received permission to film in Washington, D.C., Frankenheimer told the 25 Jun 1963 NYT that he did not expect to receive any participation from the U.S. government or the Pentagon.
       According to the 5 Jul 1963 LAT, costume designer Orry-Kelly was expected to create clothes for Ava Gardner. A 20 Aug 1963 DV brief claimed David Amram was hired to compose the score, but Jerry Goldsmith receives credit on the final film.
       On 27 Sep 1963, DV indicated that Paramount had planned a weeklong engagement in Dec 1963 to qualify for Academy Award consideration. The 2 Dec 1963 DV stated that private screenings would begin the next day, 3 Dec 1963, in thirty-four key cities across the U.S. and Canada. The 30 Nov 1963 NYT reported that general release was still scheduled for late Feb 1964, providing sufficient time after the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, which caused several studios to rethink the distribution strategies of some politically topical films. Although no changes were made to the film itself, a Paramount spokesperson conceded that the advertising campaign was “considerably altered” out of sensitivity.
       Seven Days in May debuted 19 Feb 1964 at the Criterion and Sutton Theatres in New York City, and 4 Mar 1964 at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
       The film received Academy Award nominations for Actor in a Supporting Role (Edmond O’Brien) and Art Direction (Black-and-White), as well as Golden Globe nominations for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama (Fredric March), Best Original Score – Motion Picture (Jerry Goldsmith), and Best Director – Motion Picture (John Frankenheimer). More Less