Overview
In the Oregon Territory, mountain man Adam Pontipee (Howard Keel, acting and singing with gusto) comes to town to sell his crops and woo a woman to be his wife, succeeding with spirited Milly (Jane Powell), who is tired of feeding and waiting on so many men at the local inn. Her dreams of keeping house for just one man are shattered when she discovers that Adam shares his pigsty cabin with six brawling brothers. Milly's good cooking and stubborn nature whip the young men into shape and inspire them to seek women of their own. But after a disastrous barn raising during which the brothers snare the attention of the town girls only to be taunted into fighting with the town men, Adam suggests his brothers forget gentle methods of love and follow the actions of the Roman with the Sabine ("Sobbin'") women. The kidnapping of their six sweethearts spurs Milly to throw the men out of the house, but enforced proximity caused by winter and the brothers' good intentions just might help love bloom again.
Awards:
1954 - Academy Awards - Best Adapted or Musical Song/Score - Winner
Main Cast & Crew:
Stanley Donen - Director
Jane Powell
Howard Keel
Julie Newmar
Jeff Richards
Russ Tamblyn
Tommy Rall
Matt Mattox
Nancy Kilgas
Marc Platt
Virginia Gibson
Details
- Format: DVD (Full Frame, Eco Amaray Case, Repackaged)
- Run Time: 103
- Color Format: Color
- UPC: 883929152575
- Genre: MUSICALS & CAST RECORDINGS
- Rating: G (MPAA)
- Release Date: February 2011
Movie Reviews
Synopsis:
Manly Adam and dainty but stubborn Milly find love in the Oregon Territory, prompting yearnings in Adam's six brothers for their own women. Milly teaches the brothers manners and introduces them to the town girls, but a fight with the local men inspires the brothers to stop wooing and start kidnapping. Stuck all winter by an avalanche with Milly and the seven brothers, the abducted girls' thoughts turn to weddings as spring approaches. Filled with lively dancing, comic songs, and the heartache of love, SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS is a delightful and fun musical from director Stanley Donen.
Notes:
The film's plot is based on Vincent Benet's story "Sobbin' Women," which itself is derived from the Greek myth of the rape of the Sabines.
Reviews:
"...[A] rambunctious paean to the Oregon prairies of the 1850s..." - 06/01/2001 Sight and Sound, p.62
"[With a] magnificent barn-raising dance..." - 10/15/2004 Entertainment Weekly, p.59
"Energy, humour and Coplandesque scoring mark Donen's celebrated musical..." - 07/01/2005 Sight and Sound, p.86