Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)

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

Director:

Stanley Donen

Writers:

Albert Hackett (screenplay), Frances Goodrich (screenplay)

Stars:

Jane Powell, Howard Keel, Jeff Richards

Won 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

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

Storyline

Adam, the eldest of seven brothers, goes to town to get a wife. He convinces Milly to marry him that same day. They return to his backwoods home. Only then does she discover he has six brothers - all living in his cabin. Milly sets out to reform the uncouth siblings, who are anxious to get wives of their own. Then, after reading about the Roman capture of the Sabine women, Adam develops an inspired solution to his brothers' loneliness.

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Plot Keywords:

farm | barn | cook | horse drawn carriage | large family | 

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Taglines:

The once-in-a-lifetime musical romp!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Musical | Romance | Western

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 August 1954 (USA)

Also Known As:

Siete novias para siete hermanos

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Many of the actors' singing voices were dubbed: Matt Mattox's singing was dubbed by Bill Lee, Nancy Kilgas's singing was dubbed by Marie Greene, Julie Newmar's singing was dubbed by Betty Allen, two of the brothers had their singing dubbed by Allan Davies and Charlie Parlota, Ruta Lee had her singing dubbed by Betty Noyes, and Betty Carr had her singing dubbed by Norma Zimmer.

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Goofs

During the "June Bride" sequence, one of the girls plucks a bunch of fresh flowers to signify a bridal bouquet from a container hanging on a post in the bedroom, but the scene takes place in the middle of winter.

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Quotes

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

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Alternate Versions

Filmed in two different versions: one in CinemaScope (2:55) and one in a "flat" widescreen (1.77). The CinemaScope version is the one generally screened, but both are available. The main difference between the two versions is a slight difference in angles, some minor differences in sound clarity and finally the "flat" widescreen version features more camera movement in order to capture all the action. Warner Brothers has released a 2-DVD set of this film containing both of these versions.

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Magic Voyage of Sinbad (1993)

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Soundtracks

Bless Yore Beautiful Hide
(uncredited)
Music by Gene de Paul
Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
Sung by Howard Keel

User Reviews

Quality will always tell

Well, I wanted to show a musical to my critical viewing class but knew it would be difficult since the boys were the most unlikely candidates for liking musicals that I'd ever seen. I chose this because of the outstanding dance sequence and because the DVD had such an excellent "making of" which I showed first. It was wonderful to realize at the end of things that they totally got into it, even confessing that they were predisposed against it when I made my intentions known. They found the action funny, the dancing riveting and found lots to comment on in the growth of the relationship between Adam and Millie. One of my reluctant students even confessed to me that he'd found himself singing "Bless Your Beautiful Hide" in the shower one morning! This is a wonderful film for teens today and has the ability to draw them in. While they are totally aware of the sound stage sets and how "stagey" it looks, they also realize why it was filmed that way and manage to get past it. I showed this film only weeks after Howard Keel had died and was so glad that he had done the documentary, which is outstanding because all of the original cast were available to comment. It was charming to see them and how well they had aged.