Seven Brides for Seven Brothers Reviews

I’m on the fence about this one. Stanley Donen’s direction is effervescent, Michael Kidd’s choreography is unique and lively, the score is pleasant if unmemorable, but that story is just so aggressively archaic. I suppose the sexist overtones of the film’s second half could be overcome with more distinct characters, but both the brides and the brothers are largely shades of beige with no discerning traits or personalities to speak of.

 

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers exists more as eminently watchable than as a must-see classic for me. It’s missing a distinct sense of something more that is easily identifiable in more obvious musical classics like Singin’ in the Rain or A Star Is Born. It’s main distinguishing feature is Michael Kidd’s choreography, which is a flurry of high-kicks, spinning torsos, and piston-pumping knees.

 

It takes the lived-in experiences of frontier and country life and uses them as excuses for exceedingly complicated dance numbers. I suppose a better description for them would be hoedowns. The barn dance is the most famous, and with justifiable reason. It begins simple enough, and keeps expanding and growing. The brothers begin by peacocking for the prospective brides, then engage in macho one-upmanship, before turning into a hand-clapping, foot-stomping flurry of body parts and flouncy skirts. It’s a showstopper of the best kind, but nothing else comes close to matching it in terms of songs or performances.

 

Despite a lively ensemble, only Howard Keel, Jane Powell, Russ Tamblyn, and Julie Newmar make any lasting impression. Keel and Powell are the leads, so they obviously get the lions-share of screen time to develop their characters, with Powell emerging as the more sympathetic and well-rounded of the two. Tamblyn’s not quite the actor he would blossom into in a few years with much better performances in West Side Story or Peyton Place, but at least his brother gets something more to play. And Newmar’s already in full sex-kitten swagger here, a little over a decade before her career-defining role as Catwoman in Batman ’66. Her memorable performance boils down to one scene in which the kidnapped prospective brides discuss their dreams of being June brides, and she purrs out questions about who’s bed she’s been sleeping in.

 

Yet it’s that entire kidnapping scenario which my brain can’t quite wrap itself around. Just when I thought Powell and the girls would give the boys a taste of revenge, the girls demure and don’t want to leave. For all of the feisty displays, for all of Powell’s verbal smackdowns and motherly protesting, a happily-ever-after by way of shotgun weddings still happens. It’s ludicrously sexist, to the point where it plays like knowing camp, like a self-mocking acknowledgement that kidnapping your sweethearts like the Ancient Romans did to the Sabines was probably not the best idea.

 

The arch symmetry of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is probably best viewed as an exceedingly giddy hoedown, with a cast populated mostly by dancers and not actors. A raccoon cap wearing farce, it’s enjoyable but don’t count me in as one of the people proclaiming this one a classic. If we’re basing a musical’s merits entirely on its choreography, this is one for the ages. But dancing alone does not a musical make, and this is substitutes exuberance for craft in far too many places. 

A backwoodsman named Adam Pontipee and his new bride Milly agreed to marry despite only knowing each other for only a few hours. On returning to 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 and in chronological order are: 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 are well over six feet tall, except Gideon, who is younger and shorter than his brothers.

Milly teaches Adam's rowdy, ill-behaved younger brothers 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 girl of his own is to do things Milly's way.

They are able to test their new manners at a barn-raising, where they meet six girls they like — Dorcas, Ruth, Martha, Liza, Sarah and Alice — and, fortunately, the girls take a fancy to the brothers as well. However, the girls already have suitors from the town, who jealously taunt the brothers into fighting during the barn-raising. At first the brothers try to resist and remember Milly's teaching, but Adam refuses to let himself be pushed around by the rival suitors, who he sees as cowards taking advantage of his younger brothers. The rival suitors finally go too far when they attack Adam, which provokes his younger brothers into fighting back and a fierce brawl ensues wherein the brothers dominate their physically weaker rivals. Although the brothers do not start the fight, they are banished from the town after destroying the barn in the process.

Winter arrives, with the six younger brothers pining for their girls. Adam reads his brothers the story of "Sobbin' Women" (taken from Plutarch's story of the Sabine Women) and tells them that they should stop moping around and take whatever action is necessary to get their women back.

Aided by Adam, the brothers kidnap the girls, then cause an avalanche so that they cannot be followed by the townspeople. They have, however, forgotten to kidnap a preacher. Milly is furious at Adam, as are the girls at having been kidnapped. Milly consigns the brothers to the barn "with the rest of the animals" while the girls live in the house. Adam, surprised and offended by Milly's reaction, leaves for the trapping cabin further up the mountain to live out the winter by himself.

Months pass, and the girls vent their frustration and resentment by playing pranks on the brothers, such as hitting them with snowballs that have rocks in them. By spring the girls have forgiven 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 about his daughter's arrival and asks him to come home. Adam refuses to do so, saying that he would return home only when the snow had melted enough and the pass was open once more to traffic.

Having time to think about his baby daughter, Adam returns home in the spring just as the 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 girls. Realizing he was wrong to tell his brothers to kidnap the girls, Adam tells his brothers that they need to take the girls back to their homes in the town, but his brothers do not want to do so.

The girls do not want to return to their homes, either — they all want to stay at the farm with their new suitors and thus go and hide so that they will not be taken back home. When Milly discovers that the girls are not in the house, Adam tells his brothers to go after the girls and bring them back.

The townspeople arrive, with the intention of taking vengeance against the brothers for the kidnappings. Upon finding the brothers trying to force the girls to return, the fathers get the wrong impression, believing their daughters are being assaulted, and charge to their rescue. Alice's father, who is a preacher, hears baby Hannah cry in the distance, and worries that the baby might belong to one of the girls. The fighting is finally sorted out, with the fathers rounding up the brothers and announcing that they intend to hang them.

Alice's father asks the girls whose baby he heard. They all decide, simultaneously, to claim the baby as their own. This misinformation gives the girls and the brothers their fondest wish—the townspeople insist that all six couples marry immediately in a shotgun wedding.

Seven Brides For Seven Brothers is a beautiful classic musical that has touched many hearts for many years. It certainly did touch mine and it touched it hard. Everything about this musical was just too beautiful to watch. It is a very underrated musical that I personally think should be treasured and loved as much as Singin' In The Rain. Seven Brides For Seven Brothers has only one slight flaw and that it is a very predictable film. You can notice this only by seeing the film title. Despite that, it didn't affect my liking for the film. It is a film rated 'U' which makes it suitable for the family. I think that this aswell as Singin' In The Rain doesn't quite capture the "family film" so to speak feeling about them. All of the dance sequences were endlessly beautiful to watch especially when six of the seven brothers were fighting over six girls to dance with against six other men who were willing to do the same. Every single song in this film was pure magic but my favourite song has to be Sobbin' Women.


The film tells the story of a backwoodsman named Adam Pontipee and his new bride Milly, who suddenly marries him even though they hardly know each other. In fact, its only been hours seeing they've been acquainted. Just after they've married, Adam takes his new wife to his cabin in the mountains where he lives with his six brothers Benjamin, Caleb, Daniel, Ephriam, Frank and Gideon. All of the brothers have red hair and are over six feet tall. They remind me of the Weasley family in the Harry Potter series because they all have red hair. Howard Keel's performance as Adam was awesome! Howard gave Adam a lot of charm which made him a really nice guy but he also gave him a bit of possession which gave Adam a slight dark side because he sort of treats her like a worker in his house to cook and clean for them. Jane Powell was amazing in this film! I am surprised she wasn't a contender for Best Leading Actress in 1954.


Stanley Donen was an excellent director of choice for this film. It wasn't long after he directed Singin' In The Rain alongside Gene Kelly. The directing in Seven Brides For Seven Brothers is another thing that I preferred in this one over Singin' In The Rain. There were a lot of similarities but there were a lot of differences as well. The script of the film is based on the short story called The Sobbin' Women by Stephen Vincent Benét. There was a TV series released with the same name and that was loosely-based on the film. There was also Seven Brides For Seven Brothers the musical which was released in 1979 based on the film. The film won 1 Academy Awards out of 5 nominations. It won Best Music, Scoring Of A Musical Picture and was nominated for Best Cinematography Color, Best Film Editing, Best Screenplay and Best Picture (but lost to On The Waterfront).


Overall, Seven Brides For Seven Brothers is a beautiful, lovely and adventurous musical that I feel everyone would enjoy! I preferred it over the most famous musical of the 50s: Singin' In The Rain. Highly recommended!

It is a profoundly sexist musical, with splendid choreography and direction; it’s also got a great score with memorable tunes.

This is one of my favourite musicals to watch. What is it about musicals that is just so appealing? The story is, as always, unbelievable, but the music and dancing more than makes up for that.

The eldest of seven brothers heads into town one day with the intention of leaving with a bride---despite the fact that people barely know him, and despite the fact that he hasn't courted anyone. He finds a bride, but doesn't tell her about his six brothers and the load of work waiting for her at their backwoods farm.

When she finds out that the brothers are a wild pack of fighting, ill-mannered brutes, she sets out to tame them and change them into men who can court brides of their own. When that doesn't work, the eldest helps his brothers kidnap "their" girls, and they manage to cause an avalanche that keeps anyone from coming or going until spring----by which time, of course, the girls don't want to leave.

I love this movie, and, really, all classic musicals of this type and period. And, I am glad it is now part of my collection.