Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Stanley Donen

Writers:

Stephen Vincent Benet (story)
Albert Hackett (writer) ...

Release Date:

22 July 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Family | Musical | Romance | Western

Tagline:

LUSTY, MIRTHFUL GIRL-STEALING MUSICAL! . . . with Seven Great Songs!

Plot:

In 1850 Oregon, when a backwoodsman brings a wife home to his farm, his six brothers decide that they want to get married too.

Plot Keywords:

Cabin | Mountain | Love | 1850s | Singing

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Howard Keel	...	Adam Pontipee
Jeff Richards	...	Benjamin Pontipee
Russ Tamblyn	...	Gideon Pontipee
Tommy Rall	...	Frankincense (Frank) Pontipee
Marc Platt	...	Daniel (Dan) Pontipee
Matt Mattox	...	Caleb Pontipee
Jacques d'Amboise	...	Ephraim Pontipee
Jane Powell	...	Milly Pontipee
Julie Newmar	...	Dorcas Gailen (as Julie Newmeyer)
Nancy Kilgas	...	Alice Elcott
Betty Carr	...	Sarah Kine
Virginia Gibson	...	Liza
Ruta Lee	...	Ruth Jebson (as Ruta Kilmonis)
Norma Doggett	...	Martha
Ian Wolfe	...	Rev. Elcott

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Anscocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Western Electric Sound System) (magnetic prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (Australia) (1968 re-release) | Mono (optical prints)

Certification:

Iceland:L | South Korea:All | Sweden:11 (re-rating) (1963) | Sweden:15 (original rating) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Chile:TE | Finland:S | Peru:PT | UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #16932) | USA:G (re-rating) (1971) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Filming Locations:

Corral Creek Canyon, Sun Valley, Utah, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The censors weren't too happy about the line in the song "Lonesome Polecat" where the brothers lament "A man can't sleep when he sleeps with sheep". By not showing any sheep in the same shot as the brothers, the film-makers were able to get away with it.

Goofs:

Continuity: Milly's white dress is long at the barn raising and when she returns home to minister to the brawling brothers. However, when she's dancing with Frank it's a little above her ankles.

Quotes:

Benjamin Pontipee: This isn't exactly how we planned on spending the night: in a barn!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Free Enterprise (1998)

Soundtrack:

Wonderful, Wonderful Day

One of the truly durable musicals

Howard Keel died yesterday bringing a lifetime of energetic and fun films to a close. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers was one of those films. It had catchy memorable tunes with strong hooks that stay in the brain for days. It took full advantage of brilliant color, fabulous choreography, and even managed to have that one thing that too many musicals eschew... a plot... complete with character arcs. Adam Pontipee is the eldest of seven brothers who decides that living in a squalor with six other scroungy bachelors and horrible cooking has gone on long enough. When Milly agrees to marry him on the day they meet, everyone's in for a shock.

Adam finds that a wife is more than a cooking and cleaning slave and that his actions can effect others far more than he ever thought. Milly learns that expectations and dreams don't always work out the way you hope, but they can still work out. The six brothers learn that there's more to life than chopping wood, that Adam isn't always right and that you can't just take what you want. And six young women (the brides) discover that there are more choices than the ones people put in front of you.

The movie asks some hard questions and doesn't answer all of them. Initially the brides are all quite take with the brothers, until the bachelors in town chase them back into the mountains. When the bachelors decide to kidnap the brides we have to ask ourselves how such an act could work out well. Before we heap indignities on the writers, we should also ask whether the townsfolk should be allowed to chase off anyone who might contend for the affections of the girls they have their eyes on. That's one of the finest points of this movie. These aren't matters of black and white. This is a story of humanity and of men and women. But mostly, this is a fine musical and part of Howard Keel's enduring legacy.