While surveying a telegraph line in 1861, Western Union engineer Edward Creighton (Dean Jagger) is severely injured in an accident. He is discovered by Vance Shaw (Randolph Scott), an outlaw on the run from a posse. Forced to travel on foot after his horse was hurt, Shaw at first considers stealing Creighton's horse, but changes his mind and takes the man with him, saving his life.
Sometime later, following his recovery, Creighton returns to Omaha, Nebraska and plans the construction of a telegraph line from Omaha to Salt Lake City, Utah. Facing considerable opposition to the line from Confederate soldiers, Indians, and outlaws, Creighton elicits the help of his sister Sue (Virginia Gilmore), foreman Pat Grogan (Minor Watson), and assistant Homer Kettle (Chill Wills).
Looking to put his outlaw past behind him, Shaw arrives at Creighton's Western Union office looking for honest work and is hired as a scout by Grogan who is unaware of his past. Creighton recognizes him among the men and allows him to stay despite his suspicions. Creighton also hires tenderfoot Richard Blake (Robert Young), a Harvard-educated engineer as a favor to Blake's father. Shaw and Blake are both attracted to Sue and vie for her attention, but their romantic rivalry is cut short when construction of the telegraph line starts on July 4, 1861.
After work commences on the line, one of the men is killed apparently by a mysterious band of cattle-rustling Indians. Unconvinced that Indians are to blame, Shaw rides out to investigate and follows the rustlers' trail to the camp of Jack Slade, a former friend and cohort, whose gang committed the killing disguised as Indians—the gang Shaw left following his last bank robbery. Slade reveals that they are working for the Confederacy to disrupt Western Union because they believe the telegraph service will help the Union. Shaw rides away and returns to the line. Not wanting to turn in his former friends, Shaw tells Creighton that a large band of Dakota Indians stole the cattle, and recommends that they simply replace the herd and not risk a fight with the Indians.
Sometime later, a confrontation takes place between men working on the forward line and a band of drunken Indians. When one of the Indians tries to steal some equipment, a nervous Blake shoots him, ignoring Shaw's order to remain calm. After word arrives that the main camp is under attack by other Indians, the Western Union men rush back to help with the defense. At the main camp, Slade's men, who are again disguised as Indians, steal the Western Union horses. The company discover the ruse when one of the wounded Indians turns out to be a white man. Forced to buy back their stolen horses from Slade, Creighton becomes suspicious of Shaw's involvement, especially when he admits to knowing the gang.
Soon the U.S. Army arrives and announces the Indians have now refused to allow the telegraph lines to go through their territory in response to Blake's shooting of the drunken Indian. Creighton, Shaw, and Blake ride out to convince Chief Spotted Horse to allow them to build the line through Indian territory, even though the man Blake wounded was Spotted Horse's son. Creighton is finally able to persuade the Indians to allow them passage, and work continues until the company approaches Salt Lake City.
Sometime later, Shaw receives word that Jack Slade wants to meet with him. On the way to see Slade, Shaw is captured and bound by Slade's men. Slade says his group is going to burn down the Western Union camp and they don't want Shaw to interfere. After Slade and his men ride off, Shaw escapes from his ropes but arrives back too late to prevent the fire. He helps rescue some of the Western Union men from the flames and burns his hands in the process.
After the fire, Creighton confronts Shaw for an explanation, but Shaw does not reveal what he knows and is fired by Creighton. As Shaw leaves the camp, he tells Blake that Slade is actually Shaw's brother and that he, Shaw, will find Slade's gang and stop them from interfering with the telegraph project. Shaw rides off and finds Slade and his men in a nearby town. At the barber shop, Shaw confronts his brother, whose gun is concealed under the barber's sheet. Slade shoots Shaw through the sheet. Shaw fights back in spite of his wound, killing some of the gang members, and then dies. Blake arrives and continues the fight with Slade who dies from his wounds. Soon after, the Western Union line is completed and the workers celebrate. When Sue laments the absence of Shaw, Creighton tells her that Shaw can hear them.
很久没看到这么劲的群戏和文本了，以至于现在很想去把艾伦·索金之前录过的编剧小课堂恶补一番。顺便说一句和电影不太搭边的，看雀斑君用美音演戏总是感觉莫名的出戏。
3.5分吧，其实不是品质不够4，是我期望可能有点过高。这么本身有话题性有戏剧性的事件，哪怕已经在群像上做的很棒，但我仍然期待Sorkin同学在价值表达上给我惊喜。。。但除了Tom和Hoffman那段对左派革命者应该呈现什么的争吵以及之后那段对于关键问题“谁挑起来的”平行剪辑高潮，其他部分真的看不出Sorkin的痕迹，连台词里应该透出的灵气都没了。。。高赞短评里的“匠气”说的很到位。
所以今年大选的时候念因新冠去世的人的名字会怎样？
场景角色无缝衔接，太精致了。
Very well orchestrated, 但是太 煽 了。这样的剧本，如果对它有满分的信念，又为什么要剪辑和音乐助力呢。
就是喜欢这种调调的电影，老死头子法官太气人了，真想知道他的后续，想看他吃瘪
不苦情、不沉重，大量的美式笑话让人忍俊不禁。但笑着看完，却哭着回忆，百老汇的这波美式正能量，我先干为敬。
法庭戏➕艾伦·索金的剧本，字幕已经看不过来。全世界都在看：有些人在推翻，有些人在伪装。
乏味的很，为什么英雄联盟和芝加哥七君子这两种水火不容的电影类型，都能在豆瓣找到共鸣？因为，它们来自灯塔。我从这部电影里只能看到美国民主的混乱不堪，貌似程序正义背后的弱肉强食，伪善
没有停顿、甚至没有转场，几把椅子，几件衣服，仅凭借着灯光，十几个演员一人分饰多角，演出了一万人的故事。
当懂王把今年夏天发生的一切称之为左翼暴乱、拒绝承认美国存在广泛的警暴和种族问题时，艾伦·索金用一部取材于真实历史的法庭片做出了最热血的左派还击，借古与讽今结合得有穿越之嫌。工整、沉稳的剧本揭露了美国不只有民事审判和刑事审判，还有杀鸡儆猴式的政治审判。而在国家机器碾压式的霸凌面前，从被告到律师甚至到检察官都做出了最理想主义的回应。——问题是，我们知道这一切不只是理想主义，而是真实发生过的美国现代史。没有无因的反叛，只有舍身的信念。为什么高举拳头？因为全世界在看。
一个惨痛背景下温馨的故事。遇到灾难所体现的那种人类互助的温暖。
用一场60年代的庭审戏借古讽今，各种因素仿佛一种昨日重现般一一对应。工整、扎实的剧本+精巧的剪辑，将庭审内外与每次开庭的前情提要巧妙穿插。
民运也许存在很多问题，但这绝不是思想审判的正当理由。当法律沦为政治的走狗，那么自然法上的正义就不复存在了。对正当程序的背弃、对政治迫害的容忍、以及对公民最基本权利（生命和自由）的肆意剥夺，都是这种状态孕育而生的产物。这是一个完完全全的警察国家。
凌厉的剪辑，干练的台本与机关枪般的对白是索金的强项，审判法庭戏和真实暴动片段闪回交叉叙事。“如果要流血，那就让鲜血流淌整座城市”，到头来才发现，是我们的血，政府早就安插了卧底，公诉人是他们的，证人是他们的，法官也是他们的，审判不过是流于形式的程序正义。看到最后我真的哭了，一如辩护人般的公义之花开在公权力之上，一如波斯语课般神谕式的念出四千多个烈士名单，相比政府对我们的蔑视，我对政府的蔑视不值一提。9
剧本台词的编纂和剪辑转场，简直是朝着最佳嘻哈专辑而去的，太聪明太漂亮。常常是一句没说完的话，就转成下一个互文又不确切相关的场次。大时代背景下，胜负早已定下，七君子审判也成为好莱坞剧作里难得并没有最终反叛的意外故事，但不但没有灰暗的“反高潮”，而是成功制造出另一种虽败犹荣又振聋发聩的更高级高潮。以往总会警惕这种正反分明的剧情，觉得不够客观不够有着强大反派，可七君子的节奏和能量，让我忽略了这些平衡原则。去年10月中，在芝加哥电影节时，恰好赶上NFL的熊队比赛日和七君子街景拍摄日，新上任的电影电视剧局长还跟我得意地抱怨，"忙坏了但也乐坏了。“
他们的平民团结可以带来正义或者改变，不论输赢，起码曾经为之抗争过。
现今时代已远非60年代，每一起游行变成暴乱的背后究竟是谁策划的，谁可以利用“程序正义”光明正大地行使权力？司马昭之心路人皆知。
一个惨痛背景下温馨的故事。遇到灾难所体现的那种人类互助的温暖。
太想念剧场了。本来看到简介的时候很疑惑，这么现实这么像新闻报道的故事用音乐剧表现不会很奇怪吗，看了以后震撼又感动。歌曲、表演、编排等等都很好，原卡官摄很好，要是有机会看现场就好了。
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