1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die- Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

#294- Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
Starring: Howard Keel, Jane Powell, Jeff Richards
Directed by: Stanley Donen


Plot Summary: In 1850 Oregon, Adam Pontipee comes to town searching for a bride. He finds and marries Milly and brings her home to take care of him and his six brothers, Benjamin, Caleb, Daniel, Ephraim, Frank, and Gideon. Milly teaches Adam's brothers how to be civilized and how to earn a lady's heart. When they're tested in public, their rugged nature shines through, ruining their attempts to find wives of their own. Adam steps in and tells his brothers to take what is theirs, and they go back into town, kidnap the women they love and head off to their cabin in the mountains, waiting for winter to pass so they can all wed in the spring.


Musical Month continues with one of the films that I was most curious about, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Reading the title alone, I knew what this movie should be, a character piece. Set in an 1850's frontier environment, it certainly offers a contrast in styles for the concept of a musical to be incorporated into. The idea of a western musical is certainly different from a 1930's silent era based musical like Singin' in the Rain. To my surprise, there was a lot of stuff in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers that I did enjoy, but also a lot of problems that made it difficult to fully enjoy.

Adam Pontipee is played by Howard Keel. Keel's voice is powerful enough to perform one of the film's bigger numbers, "Bless Your Beautiful Hide," but doesn't offer much as a protagonist. He's gruff and commanding, but there isn't much else with his character. In fact, he kinda drops out of the picture every once in a while, and it isn't really noticeable in terms of the film's plot.

The more important role in the main couple is Milly, played by Jane Powell. Milly's goal in the film is to civilize her husband and his brothers so they can find wives of their own. Milly has a no nonsense attitude, as right off the bat she berates her new husband for looking for a cook and a cleaning lady, rather than a wife. Milly fits into the family right away, and once she starts tending to the brothers, they look to her for advice and support more than their eldest brother Adam.

Adam's brothers are Benjamin, Caleb, Daniel, Ephraim, Frank, and Gideon, played by Jeff Richards, Matt Mattox, Marc Platt, Jacques d'Amboise, Tommy Rall, and Russ Tamblyn respectively. The brothers don't stand out a whole lot. The only brother that really stood out was Gideon, because he was the youngest and also the character that looked up to both Adam and Millie the most. Benjamin and Frank also stand out, but only by smaller and more materialistic qualities. For example, Frank only stands out to me because he's one of the better dancers and singers in the brothers.

The brides are Dorcas, Ruth, Martha, Liza, Sarah and Alice, played by Julie Newmar, Ruta Kilmonis, Norma Doggett, Virginia Gibson, Betty Carr, and Nancy Kilgas respectively. The brides don't stand out a whole lot. There are few distinguished personalities between them, even less than the brothers. The only one I could distinguish was Dorcas and that's only because she was played by Julie Newmar (one of the Catwoman actresses from the old Batman TV show).

Apart from "Bless Your Beautiful Hide," there aren't many songs in the film that are memorable to me. However, the film does offer other musical qualities that stand out and make up for the music. The dances and the fights throughout the movie are so grand and pristine that it is impossible not to be impressed by the choreography. The film's dance scenes are also accentuated through a large scale of colors. One of the ways you can tell the brothers apart is through the bright colored shirts they begin to wear after Milly has civilized them. Throw them in a dance sequence with women in equally bright and colorful dresses, and the dancing becomes this elegant display of movement and color, making these scenes the biggest contribution to Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.


Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers does offer something unique through its choreography and vibrant colors, but not much else. I only advise die-hard musical lovers to check this one out, and even then, it should probably just be a DVD rental.

Comment below to share your thoughts on the movie or to discuss a topic that I left out of my review

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and movie images are copyrighted by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer