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

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.