Adapted by Rod Serling from the best-selling novel by Fletcher Knebel and Charles Waldo Bailey II, Seven Days in May was allegedly inspired by the far-right ramblings of one General Edwin Walker. Burt Lancaster plays General James M. Scott, who, convinced that liberal President Jordan Lyman (Fredric March) is soft on Americas enemies, plots a military takeover of the United States. Every effort made by President Lyman to find concrete evidence of General Scotts scheme is scuttled by political protocol, human error and accidental death. Ultimately, Lyman must rely upon the man who first uncovered the plot: Scotts best friend, Colonel Jiggs Casey (Kirk Douglas). John Frankenheimers terse direction and Ellsworth Fredericks stark black and white photography enhance the docudrama feel of Seven Days in May. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide