Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

Plot synopsis:
In 1850, backwoodsman Adam Pontipee comes into a town in the Oregon Territory to search for a bride. Met with ridicule by some locals, he comes upon the local tavern where he meets Milly. Convinced of her worth by the quality of her cooking and her insistence on finishing her chores before she would leave with him, he proposes and she accepts despite knowing each other for only a few hours.
On the journey home Milly talks about how she is excited to be cooking and taking care of only one man, visibly upsetting Adam. When they arrive at his cabin in the mountains, Milly is surprised to learn that Adam is one of seven brothers living under the same roof. The brothers have been named alphabetically from the Old Testament in order of birth: Adam, Benjamin, Caleb, Daniel, Ephraim, Frank (short for frankincense, the Old Testament having no names beginning with F), and Gideon. All of the brothers have red hair and all but Gideon are well over six feet tall. Understandably sad about having to tend to the needs of not one, but seven men, and with an idea to solve the situation, a smart and reasonable Milly decides to marry Adam's brothers off to some girls from the town.
During an attempt to accomplish this, Milly teaches Adam's rowdy, ill-behaved younger brothers some manners and social mores. She also shows them how to dance. At first, the brothers have a hard time changing from their "mountain man" ways, but eventually each comes to see that the only way he will get a woman of his own is to do things Milly's way. They try out their new manners and make an attempt to begin courting the girls. This takes place at a social gathering in the town (dance + barn-raising) , where they meet six women they like — Dorcas, Ruth, Martha, Liza, Sarah, and Alice. The girls take a fancy to the brothers as well. However, they already have suitors among the young men of the town, who jealously taunt the brothers into fighting during the barn-raising. At first the six brothers remember Milly's teaching and try to resist being drawn into a fight by accepting physical indignities. Adam refuses to let himself be pushed around by the rival suitors and calls his younger brothers cowards for letting them get away with their behavior. The girls' suitors from the town finally go too far when they attack Adam, provoking Gideon into fighting back. A free-for-all ensues in which the brothers dominate their physically weaker townie rivals. Although the Pontipees did not start the fight, they are banished from the town after demolishing the barn they were raising in the course of the brawl.
Winter finds the six younger brothers pining for the girls for whom they had fallen fast and hard. Milly asks Adam to talk to the brothers as she fears they will want to leave because of missing the girls. Adam reads his brothers the story of "The Sobbin' Women" (taken from Plutarch's story of the Sabine Women), one of the books Milly brought to the homestead. He tells them that they should stop moping around and take whatever action is necessary to get their women. Aided by Adam, the brothers kidnap the six girls, then cause an avalanche in Echo Pass so that they cannot be followed by the townspeople. The only problem: they forgot to bring the parson to perform the marriages.
Milly is furious with Adam, as are the six kidnapped women. Milly consigns the brothers to the barn "with the rest of the livestock" while the women live in the house. Adam, feeling betrayed by Milly's reaction, leaves for the trapping cabin farther up the mountain to live out the winter by himself, unknowingly hurting Milly's feelings. Soon after, Milly realizes that she is pregnant by Adam.
The winter months slowly pass. The women vent their frustration and resentment by playing pranks on the brothers, such as hitting them with rock-filled snowballs and dumping basins of wash water on them. By spring, the women have forgiven their "kidnappers" and fallen in love with the brothers, who are now allowed to court them. Milly gives birth to a daughter, Hannah. Gideon rides to the cabin to inform Adam of his daughter's arrival and asks him to come home. Adam refuses, saying that he had said he would return home only when the snow had melted enough that the pass was open to traffic.
Having time to think about his baby daughter, Adam returns home in the spring just as Echo Pass is opening and reconciles with Milly. As a newly responsible father, he has become aware of how worried the townspeople would be about what has happened to the six abducted girls. Adam realizes he was wrong to tell his brothers to kidnap them. He tells his brothers they need to take the women back to their homes in town, but his brothers are unwilling. The six women also do not want to return to their homes; they all want to stay at the farm with their new suitors and hide so they will not be taken back home. When Milly discovers that the women are not in the house, Adam tells his brothers to go after them and bring them back.
The townspeople arrive with the intention of lynching the Pontipee brothers for the kidnappings. Upon finding the brothers trying to force the women to return, the fathers believe their daughters are being assaulted and charge to their rescue. Alice's father (Ian Wolfe), a preacher, hears baby Hannah cry in the distance, and worries that the baby might belong to one of the kidnapped girls. The fathers and other townsmen round up the Pontipees and announce they intend to hang them.
Alice's father, the Reverend Alcott, asks the women whose baby he had heard. They all decide, simultaneously, to claim the baby as their own. This misinformation gives the women and the brothers their wish: the townspeople, including the girls' fathers, insist that all six couples marry at once in a shotgun wedding, performed by the parson while Adam and Milly watch and the fathers stand behind their daughters' grooms, shotguns over their arms.

Tags: romantic

Review:
As good as Brigadoon was, it is outclassed by this, for me, the greatest musical of them all.Howard Keel stars with Jane Powell but for me I cannot look beyond the awesome dancing talent of Matt Mattox as Caleb.
A permanent place in the history of film musicals is obviously the fate of 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers' the minute Howard Keel begins to sing 'Bless Your Beautiful Hide'.
I truly enjoyed seeing someone masculine (gay or straight doesn't matter) move in a skilled manner, and disprove the stereotypes of "White Men Can't Dance." Seven Brides for Seven Brothers has the great Howard Keel (the John Wayne of Musicals), supported by a cast of 6 men (some actors, some dancers and some acrobats) and the outcome is nothing short of spectacular.
Mercers music, especially "Bless Your Beautiful" and "Lonesome Polecat" is simply awesome and are in my head for days every time I watch it.
Credit director Stanley Donen, choreographer Michael Kidd, cinematographer George Folsey, and a perfect cast led by Howard Keel and Jane Powell for creating one of the all time great musicals and an unforgettable motion picture experience even 50 years after its release.
Prior to one song/dance number, bride Julie Newmarr poses on a bed in a position clearly representing "missionary position" sex, legs up and astride an imaginary lover's back.Though the brides don't get as much screen time or individuality as the brothers, each looks as if she would be a great partner.
This film boasts an attractive frontier setting, famously excellent dance numbers choreographed by Michael Kidd, powerful Howard Keel as the head of the Pontifee clan and Jane Powell as the lovely girl who is swept off her feet by his charms.
Howard Petrie, Ian Wolfe and such lovelies as Ruta Lee, Julie Newmar and Virginia Gibson contribute to the fun as the girls; the brothers include Russ Tamblyn, non-dancer Jeff Richards and some of the best dancers on the planet.
The movie also presents some famous songs including, "Wonderful Day", "I'm a Lonesome Polecat", "June Bride" and, "When You're in Love" as well as "Goin' Courtin'", among others.
They are, however, anxious to get wives of their own.After Adam reads about Roman capturing of Sabine women, he hatches a plan for his brothers - kidnap whoever they want to marry and bring them back to the cabin."Seven Bridges for Seven Brothers" is, today, somewhat of a classic; Stanley Donen adapts the screenplay by Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich and Dorothy Kingsley; their combined efforts are superb.I have grown up on this film and was surprised at the fact that, after having seen it very recently, it continues to hold up as well as it did when I was younger.
I liked it more then I thought I would.Now, that still doesn't mean that this is my favorite musical but it is a pretty darn good one and appears to have a somewhat timeless quality  to-the characters are sometimes zany and full of fun, the story is a clever one and it is the rare moment when your bored.
(help me here music experts) The choreography too, is just excellent- the men really stand out as athletic, as is typical in many cultures such as Indian & Hawaiian dances.I was again struck by how awful crazy the story line is, but how easily it's vindicated by Keel's character explaining how tough life is for mountain settlers.
I am not a great lover of Musicals, but "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers' is a major exception - it is a joy from the opening scene to the very end, with great songs, and the highlight of magnificent dance sequences, with the "building" of the barn a real showstopper.
As Adam, Howard Keel has his best ever role with songs like "Bless Your Beautiful Hide", and "Sobbin' Women" just great standouts.
This is one of the finest directed by Stanley Donen with great stars like Howard Keel, Jane Powell with wonderful dances.
"Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" is a delightfully funny and entertaining musical, with a pleasant feel-good story, wonderful performances and awesome choreographies.
Stanley Donen directs this unforgettable and awarded family entertaining with the remarkable support of the choreographer Michael Kidd, and the cinematographer George Folsey and a wonderful cast highlighting Jane Powell with a magnificent performance in the role of a strong young woman.
Among the highlights to be seen are Keel's lively rendition of "Bless Yore Beautiful Hide", Powell's "Goin' Cotin'" sung with the men, and of course the famous barn raising dance sequence, which is truly a sight to behold; a visual feast for the eyes.
I love this Movie, Even though it was made 23 yrs before I was Born it Is A timeless Classic, Honestly After you Watch it you'll be Signing the Sobbin women Song and Bless that Beautiful hide song for days!
In his memoirs Howard Keel said he had a rollicking good time making Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and the results certainly do show.
She's lucky she didn't run into that family of inbreds that Randolph Scott and Joel McCrea rescued Mariette Hartley from in Ride the High Country, they would have expected a lot more.Those six other brothers see what benefits from married life Keel is enjoying with Powell and decide to take matters into their own hands with a little help from Keel in that Sobbin' Women number.
Gene DePaul and Johnny Mercer wrote the music and lyrics for Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, the following year they would collaborate on Lil Abner on Broadway which would eventually come to Hollywood.Curiously enough three songs entitled When You're In Love came out at the same time.
A few years later, I was shocked to see an extensive clip from it (the barn raising dance, of course) featured in the documentary "That's Entertainment," which showcased all the great old MGM musicals.
The dancing in this film is so athletic and manly and spirited -- unlike the dancing in almost any other film from that era.On top of that, you have the power of Howard Keel's bass voice and sturdy frame, the absolute loveliness of Jane Powell in voice, looks and personality, and the impish charm and amazing athleticism of Russ Tamblyn as Gideon, the youngest of the seven brothers.
I would hesitate to place SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS on the same level of greatness as classic film musicals like SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, but it does manage to come very close.
There's nothing that isn't charming about this film, from the seven red-headed, all singing, all dancing Pontipee brothers, through to the feel-good songs including (but not limited to) 'Wonderful Wonderful Day', 'When You're In Love', and 'Go'in' Co'tin'.
My favourite song is probably Howard Keel's opening number, 'Bless Yore Beautiful Hide'--incredibly catchy and a great introduction to the character and the film.One of the best reasons to catch this film is probably the energetic barn dance between the six Pontipee boys (Ben, Caleb, Daniel, Ephraim, Frankincense, Gideon), their six girls, and the town suitors.
After 50 years, this movie musical still warms the heart and the senses.It has been alluded to, revived somehow, often imitated but never duplicated.The songs, the scenery, the dances are the frosting on the cake.Although by today's standards SB4SB is dated, it nevertheless remains an industry and studio standard.A great way to chart the early appearances of Ruta Lee and Julie Newmar, who at the time were using their original respective surnames of Kilmonis and Newmeyer.
This movie is one of those movies that you plug into the VCR when you need a lift.I have seen this movie more times than I remember, yet every time I watch it again I see some other wonderful scene,song or dance that takes my breath away.This is a movie for every member of the family to see.
In every shot with the 7 brothers and brides, you'll only see 3 or 4 in full frame.The story is simple but the performances are terrific, the dancing is fantastic, with few edits, it makes the whole thing so much more rewarding to watch.The photography is good, but some of the sets just look like, er, sets!
There wasn't a whole lot of story here, not surprising as it was based upon a short story by Stephen Vincent Benet; but there sure was some excellent musical numbers, and amazing dance routines.It is a funny story and good enough that they actually made a Broadway musical out of a movie.
I was never the person for old movies until I watched 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'.
Adam (Howard Keel), the oldest of seven brothers, comes into town one day looking for some chaw and a wife.
Howard Keel starts things off by singing "Bless Your Beautiful Hide." Later on, he and the brothers have the great song "Sobbin' Women." And there's a nice double song near the end in "June Bride" fading into "Spring, Spring, Spring." My favorite, though, is "The Lonesome Polecat," which the six younger brothers sing while cutting up logs in the snow.
Every time I see it, I'm surprised by how much fun it is."Brigadoon" is good, too, but do yourself a favor, if you like musicals at all, and see "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers"..
I first saw this film when I was 9 and was captivated by it.I have seen it several times since and still find it a joy to watch.From the outset there is a "good to be alive feeling" about the film with Howard Keel's boisterous rendition of "Bless your beautiful hide" and the pace never slackens from thereon in.The music is a key feature ,of course ,with the clever yet delightful lyrics of Johnny Mercer but what really sets this film apart from other musicals is the sheer exuberance of the dancing.This is what stuck in my mind as a child of 9 even though I had no real appreciation of dancing at that time.The "Barn Raising" number is a true classic but in fact every musical number could be regarded as such and one is hardly concerned about the "cardboard mountains" of Oregon once the ensemble have launched into "Sobbin'Women".I suspect that having fallen for the charms of a film like this at the tender age of 9 its unlikely to ever be overtaken as my favourite musical as " they just don't make them like that anymore".
The association between Michael Kidd and director Stanley Donen paid off handsomely in the way this movie remains a big favorite.The story of 1850's Oregon, based in a story by Stephen Vincent Benet, is a bit dated, but one must make concessions because the times when this film was made.
Also in the cast were a few actresses that later made into the movies, notably, Julie Newmar and Ruta Lee. It was a simple time and "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" will make anyone happy by watching it..
It isn't just great dancing, but a marvelous script and songs (especially "Bless Your Beautiful Hide," "Lonesome Polecat," and "When You're In Love"), as well as a standout performance by Powell- who manages to be tough, strong, and feminine all at the same time.
For those of you who love musicals, you'll love this show.1 of 7 brothers comes to town and on seeing Jane Powell for the first time, decides she is the bride for him.
Howard Keel is at his best in songs like "Bless Your Beautiful Hide" and especially "Those Sobbin' Women".
I love musicals, and I heard a lot about Seven Brides for Seven Brothers saying it was wonderful and everything.
It was also a delight to see Russ Tamblyn again.Overall, this film is wonderful with great performances, music and choreography especially.
you cant' not love it, what with adam singing about "when you're in love" then as soon as the song is over he tells his brother that one woman "is pretty much like the next." its always going to be one of those movies with those catchy songs that i will absolutely never forget...but in a good way.
"Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" is a splendid musical with incredible dance numbers and songs.
A lovely film, full of great dancing, hilarious scenarios and dialogue, good musical numbers, a whipper-snap cast, adn even some kissin'.
Two scenes stand out: Keel trying to tell the story from Plutarch's "Lives" of "The Rape of The Sabine Women," which gets a little mixed up in his head to become the classic song "Those Women Were Sobbin'."  The second moment is the barn-raising scene, which is possibly the best danced scene in cinematic history, as Keels brothers face off against the town boys.
In the 1850s a man (Howard Keel) who lives with his six brothers out in the middle of nowhere takes a bride (Jane Powell).
So Howard tells them go off and kidnap them (!!) They do and the girls fall in love with them (!!!!!)OK--this film has good things---some absolutely beautiful, if fake, scenery; some pretty good songs; an incredible barnraising sequence (the dancing is unbelievable) and it's shot in bright color and widescreen.
Howard Keel is captivating as the only of the seven brothers who understands how to live in 1850's Oregon Territory society, Jane Powell is her normal, sweet self teaching the other brothers how they're expected to act.Perhaps the best part of this movie is the dancing.
Of course the women start to fall for the brothers as they begin to domesticate them, taking copious time out for great songs and showstopping dance numbers, showcasing some of the best choreography ever put to screen.Of course leave it to a dopey, escapist piece of entertainment like this to give us one of the most productive representations of gender roles in a decade known for its straight-jacket treatment of both women and men.
However, destiny brought me to Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and never before have I been so mesmerised and thrilled by an all-singing, all-dancing musical with a gripping underlying plot line.
Howard Keel and Jane Powell shine as on-screen husband and wife, with Adam's six brothers not far behind, all of whom were christened with first names from the Bible except Frank(incense - as he hates to be called!) Tommy Rall who plays him is truly an exceptional dancer who dares to act out fabulous stunts in the barn dance scene.
Stanley Donen's Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is a musical looking for an interesting story (you know, what movies generally need to make sense .
Intermingled with all this lovin' and fightin' and hintin' at bridal fornicatin', you've got, literally, what seems a dozen or more totally forgettable musical numbers, terrible sets and performances, and a complete lack of interest in whether or not the gals from town finally get hitched to the red-haired rubes in the sticks.Like Singin' in the Rain, after what seems like a lifetime, your butt will be shootin' out pain stars and you'll wonder why, oh why, this is a movie that makes middle aged single women go all squishy--like my idiot sister (before she got married to some dolt who looks suspiciously like one of Keel's brothers).Hmmm..
So it was that I watched this film only a few days after Howard Keel passed away, despite the fact that I'm not a big fan of big cheerful musicals (the South Park movie is my favourite musical  that should tell you something).
Classic Fun. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)**** (out of 4) Extremely joyous musical has woodsman Adam Pontipee (Howard Keel) going into town to find a wife and he gets on in Milly Pontipee (Jane Powell).
What works so well is that the seven brothers and seven brides are so fun to watch and they actually all give very good performances.
Great musical numbers, dancing, acting, directing, etc, and I'm trying to understand how people can forgive it and just enjoy it for what it "was once," but this one lost me the minute Howard Keel started advising his brothers to look to the story of the Sabine.
It's Oregon in 1850.Adam Pontipee goes to town to find himself a wife.And he finds one.That (un)lucky woman is Milly.He doesn't tell her that he lives with his six brothers at a cabin in the mountains.At first Milly feels more like a maid than a wife.Then he starts teaching some manners to the fighting brothers, so that they could get them some ladies too.Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) is a film by legendary Stanley Donen, who's 89 years old today.Howard Keel and Jane Powell make a very nice pair in the lead.Other actors include Julie Newmar, Russ Tamblyn and Marc Platt, a ballet dancer who just turned 100.There are a few great musical numbers in this movie.I could mention "Goin' Courtin'", which is pretty wild.The dance scene is a lot of fun.This is a movie not to be missed for all you musical lovers out there..
SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERSAnother so called classic movie I had never seen.I knew before I watched it that it was a musical but I didn't know anything else.The story is about 7 brothers who live together up in the mountains.
When red-headed Oregon farmer Howard Keel (as Adam Pontipee) comes home married to pretty Jane Powell (as Milly), his six scarlet-dyed brothers want to get into the act.
Director Stanley Donen, choreographer Michael Kidd, dancer Russ Tamblyn (as Gideon) and the barnstorming group brought down the house and saved the film.******* Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (7/22/54) Stanley Donen ~ Howard Keel, Jane Powell, Russ Tamblyn, Tommy Rall.
This is the movie that defined musicals for me.It is the story of the Pontipee brothers' search for wives in the pacific northwest, at a time when there were 7 men for every woman.
Anyone who is in for great dancing, acting, and laughter, 7 Brides for 7 Brothers is a great movie.