Trivia for
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) More at IMDbPro »

• Matt Mattox' singing was dubbed by Bill Lee.
  
  
• On the 2004 DVD commentary, Stanley Donen states that the film was originally shot in two versions, one widescreen and another in normal ratio, because MGM was concerned that not all theatres had the capability to screen it. Despite the fact that it cost more than the widescreen version to make, he says, the other version was never used.
  
  
• Scenes for the widescreen version were shot in the morning and, for the normal ratio, in the afternoon.
  
  
• MGM considered this a B movie - they had higher aspirations for the more expensive "Brigadoon". For this reason, they slashed the budget on "Seven Brothers", forcing Stanley Donen to use painted backdrops instead of location filming.
  
  
• Played at the Radio City Music Hall in New York in a slot that was originally intended for "Brigadoon".
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• Stanley Donen was producer Jack Cummings' first choice for director from the outset, thanks to his success with "On the Town" and "Singin' in the Rain".
  
  
• Michael Kidd initially turned down the project. He had just come off a show on Broadway and wanted a rest. He changed his mind after hearing the score.
  
  
• Rehearsals for the barn-raising sequence took 3 weeks.
  
  
• Shot in only 48 days.
  
  
• Only four of the brothers were dancers. Russ Tamblyn (Gideon) was an acrobat, and Jeff Richards (Benjamin) was an actor. Benjamin rarely dances in the movie.
  
  
• Jacques d'Amboise had to leave before filming was finished because he was still under contract with the New York City Ballet, so someone filled in for him during the last few days. You can see someone else playing Ephraim in the scene where the brothers are pacing downstairs while Milly is giving birth.
  
  
• For the brides costumes, designer Walter Plunkett went to the Salvation Army, found old quilts and turned them into dresses.
  
  
• The avalanche was filmed at Corral Creek Canyon, at Sun Valley, Idaho.
  
  
• Because there was no way of distinguishing between them and the Town Suitors, MGM decided to make all the Pontipee Brothers red-headed.
  
  
• Jeff Richards (a former professional baseball player) was one of the two "brothers" not chosen for his dancing ability. The other being Howard Keel, who was an actor/singer.
  
  
• Average Shot Length (ASL) = 12 seconds (CinemaScope version)
  
  
• Caleb says, "There was no 'F' names in the Bible, so Ma named him Frankincense, 'cause he smelled so sweet." However, there are in fact three "F" names in the Bible: Felix (referenced in Acts 24:27); Fes'tus (referenced in Acts 24:27, 25:1, 25:4, 25:9, 25:12, 25:13, 25:14, 25:22, 25:24, 26:24, 26:25, and 26:32); and Fortunatus (referenced in 1 Corinthians 16:17).
  
  
• The working titles of this film were "Sobbin' Women" and "A Bride for Seven Brothers".
  
  
• The story of the Sabine women referred to in the film came from Plutarch's Life of Romulus .
  
  
• M-G-M had waited five years to acquire the rights to 'Stephen Vincent Benét''s short story, as Broadway producer Joshua Logan had optioned the story as a potential stage musical.
  
  
• Director Stanley Donen said that producer Jack Cummings originally planned to use existing American folk songs for the film's musical numbers. After months spent searching in vain for the right music, Donen recalled, the decision was made to commission an original score.
  
  
• M-G-M did not have high financial expectations for the film, and chose instead to allocate its resources to Rose Marie (1954) and Brigadoon (1954) - films that never matched this film's commercial and critical success.
  
  
• Reportedly Howard Keel's personal favorite of his movies.
  
  

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