You have to work backward from Yul Brynner, who would ultimately star as Chris, the leader of the gunfighters, to figure out whose brainstorm the project was. Mirisch said he got the idea from Brynner, whose agent said, “Yul has an interest in doing a Western version of The Seven Samurai.” Brynner got the idea from Anthony Quinn, his director on The Buccaneer and announced costar in the ultimately abandoned The Gladiators. Quinn got the idea from screenwriter Lou Morheim, who, upon se


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