Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
original film poster
Directed by	Stanley Donen
Produced by	Jack Cummings
Written by	Stephen Vincent Benet (short story) Albert Hackett Frances Goodrich Dorothy Kingsley
Starring	Howard Keel Jane Powell Jeff Richards Matt Mattox Marc Platt Jacques d'Amboise Tommy Rall Russ Tamblyn Julie Newmar Ruta Lee Norma Doggett Virginia Gibson Betty Carr Nancy Kilgas Ian Wolfe Marjorie Wood Russell Simpson
Music by	Gene de Paul Saul Chaplin
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date(s)	July 22, 1954 (USA)
Running time	102 min.
Language	English
IMDb profile

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers - Movie CD cover

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is a musical film released in 1954. It was directed by Stanley Donen, with music by Saul Chaplin and Gene de Paul, and lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The script (by Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich, and Dorothy Kingsley) is based on the short story The Sobbin' Women, by Stephen Vincent Benét. The film was a 1954 Oscar nominee for Best Picture. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Stanley Donen (born April 13, 1924) is an American film director and choreographer hailed by David Quinlan as the King of the Hollywood musicals. His most famous work is Singin In The Rain, which he co-directed with Gene Kelly. ... The nephew of mogul Louis B. Mayer, film producer Jack Cummings (1900 - 1989) spent most of his career at Mayers own MGM. But while Mayer was not averse to nepotism, he also believed in the up-by-the-bootstraps work ethic; Cummings was started out as a lowly MGM... Stephen Vincent Benét (July 22, 1898–March 13, 1943) was a United States author, poet, short story writer and novelist, best known for his narrative poem of the American Civil War, John Browns Body, published in 1928. ... Albert Hackett (February 16, 1900 – March 16, 1995) was an American dramatist and screenwriter. ... Albert Hackett (February 16, 1900 – March 16, 1995) was an American dramatist and screenwriter. ... Dorothy Kingsley was one of the three co-writers of the movie script for Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. ... Howard Keel, born Harry Clifford Leek (April 13, 1919 – November 7, 2004) was an American actor who starred in many of the classic film musicals of the 1950s. ... Jane Powell (born April 1, 1929) is an American singer, entertainer and actor. ... Jeff Richards was born November 1, 1922 in Portland, Oregon, United States. ... Matt Mattox is a jazz and ballet dancer who appeared as the third oldest brother, Caleb Pontipee, in the movie Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. ... Marc Platt is an excellent Ballet dancer. ... Jacques dAmboise (born July 28, 1934) is a well-known U.S. ballet dancer and choreographer. ... Tommy Rall was born Thomas Rall on December 27 in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, but the year of birth he claims (1929) would have made him about 11 or 12 when he made his movie debut in 1942. ... Russ Tamblyn (born Russell Irving Tamblyn on December 30, 1934) is an American actor and former dancer. ... Julie Newmar as Catwoman Julie Newmar (born August 16, 1933 as Julia Charlene Newmeyer) is an American actress, dancer, and singer. ... Ruta Lee (born Ruta Mary Kilmonis on May 30, 1936 in Montreal, Canada of Lithuanian extraction) is a talented actress and dancer, who appeared as one of the brides in the movie Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. ... Virginia Gibson and Gordon MacRae Virginia Gibson (Virginia Gorski) (St. ... Composer of the songs and dances for the movie Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. ... Saul Chaplin (born February 19, 1912 - died November 15, 1997) was one of Hollywoods preeminent composers and musical directors. ... For alternate meanings of MGM, see MGM (disambiguation). ... July 22 is the 203rd day (204th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 162 days remaining. ... See also: 1953 in film 1954 1955 in film 1950s in film years in film film Events May 12 - The Marx Brothers Zeppo Marx divorces wife Marion Benda. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Image File history File links 7b47b-film-CD-cover. ... Image File history File links 7b47b-film-CD-cover. ... The musical film is a film genre in which several songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative. ... See also: 1953 in film 1954 1955 in film 1950s in film years in film film Events May 12 - The Marx Brothers Zeppo Marx divorces wife Marion Benda. ... Stanley Donen (born April 13, 1924) is an American film director and choreographer hailed by David Quinlan as the King of the Hollywood musicals. His most famous work is Singin In The Rain, which he co-directed with Gene Kelly. ... Saul Chaplin (born February 19, 1912 - died November 15, 1997) was one of Hollywoods preeminent composers and musical directors. ... Composer of the songs and dances for the movie Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. ... Johnny Mercer John Herndon Johnny Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) is regarded as one of Americas greatest songwriters. ... Albert Hackett (February 16, 1900 – March 16, 1995) was an American dramatist and screenwriter. ... Albert Hackett (February 16, 1900 – March 16, 1995) was an American dramatist and screenwriter. ... Dorothy Kingsley was one of the three co-writers of the movie script for Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. ... Stephen Vincent Benét (July 22, 1898 – March 13, 1943) was a United States author, poet, short story writer and novelist. ... Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ... // The Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Academy Awards, awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which are voted on by others within the industry. ...

The film is particularly known for the unusual choreography by Michael Kidd, which makes dance numbers out of such mundane frontier pursuits as chopping wood and (most famously) raising a barn. Michael Kidd (born Milton Greenwald 12 August 1919) is an Jewish-American film and stage choreographer. ... // United States In the United States, the frontier was the term applied to the zone of unsettled land outside the region of existing settlements of Americans. ... Barn raising, DeKalb County, Indiana, USA, about 1900 A Barn raising is an event during which a community comes together to assemble a barn for one of its households, particularly in 18th- and 19th-century rural North America. ...

Plot summary

The film's story is about a backwoodsman named Adam and his new bride Milly, who marries him after knowing him for only a few hours. On returning with him to his cabin in the mountains, Milly is surprised to learn that Adam is one of seven brothers living in the same cabin. The brothers have been named alphabetically with names from the Bible: Adam, Benjamin, Caleb, Daniel, Ephraim, Frank (short for Frankincense, the Bible supposedly having no names beginning with F), and Gideon.

Milly teaches Adam's younger brothers manners and social mores, including how to dance. At first, the brothers have a hard time changing from their "mountain man" ways, but eventually they come to see that the only way they will get a girl of their own is if they 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 like the brothers too. However, the girls already have suitors who jealously taunt the brothers into fighting during the barn-raising, and, although the brothers do not start the fight, they are banished from the town by the townspeople because of it. // The Unobservable Although the term social is a crucial category in social science and often used in public discourse, its meaning is often vague, suggesting that it is a fuzzy concept. ... Mores are strongly held norms or customs. ... For other uses, see Dance (disambiguation). ... Barn raising, DeKalb County, Indiana, USA, about 1900 A Barn raising is an event during which a community comes together to assemble a barn for one of its households, particularly in 18th- and 19th-century rural North America. ...

Winter arrives, and the six younger brothers mope for their girls. Adam reads his brothers the story of "Sobbin' Women" (a pun on the Sabine Women) and tells them that they should stop moping around and go get their girls. After getting their girls, the brothers cause an avalanche so that they can't be followed by the townspeople. The girls are upset at being kidnapped, and Milly is furious at Adam. She consigns the brothers to the barn while the girls are living in the house. Adam, who is also furious, leaves for the family's cabin to live out the winter by himself. It has been suggested that dajare be merged into this article or section. ... Facsimile of the sculpture in the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence. ...

Months pass, and eventually it is spring. The girls have now fallen in love with the brothers, who are now allowed to court the girls. Milly gives birth to a daughter, Hannah (picking up the Biblical-alphabetical pattern). Gideon rides to the cabin to inform Adam about his daughter's arrival and asks Adam to come home, but Adam refuses to do so, saying that he would return home when the pass was open once more to traffic.

Adam, who has had time to think about his baby daughter, returns home in the spring. As a newly responsible father, he has become aware of how worried the townspeople would be about what has happened to the girls. Adam intends that the girls be taken back to their homes in the town by his brothers, but his brothers don't want to do so. The girls don't want to return to their homes, either — they all want to stay at the farm with their boyfriends. When Milly discovers that the girls are not in the house, she mentions this to Adam, and he tells his brothers to go after the girls and bring them back.

Meanwhile, the townspeople arrive, with the intention of taking vengeance against the brothers for the kidnappings. Then Alice's father, who is a preacher, hears a baby cry in the distance, and worries that the baby might belong to one of the girls. When he asks the girls whose baby it is, they all decide, simultaneously, to claim the baby as their own, with this misinformation giving the girls and the brothers their greatest wish — the townspeople insisting that all six couples marry immediately in a shotgun wedding. A shotgun wedding is a type of wedding which is arranged not because of the desire of the participants, but to avoid embarrassment due to an unintentional pregnancy. ...

Production

Pan and scan technique shown as 1.33:1 aspect crop over Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, MGM,1954.

On the 2004 DVD commentary, Stanley Donen states that the film was originally shot in two versions, one widescreen and another in normal ratio, due to the fact that MGM were concerned 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. However both versions are available on the 2004 DVD release. [1]. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... A 2. ... MGM logo Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer or MGM, is a large media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of cinema and television programs. ...

Cast

Four of the actors who played the younger brothers were dancers, while another of the younger brothers was played by a champion gymnast and the remaining younger brother was played by a former professional baseball player. A contemporary dancer rehearsing in a dance studio Dance generally refers to human movement either used as a form of expression or presented in a social, spiritual or performance setting. ... Gymnasts are people who participate in the sports of either artistic gymnastics or rhythmic gymnastics. ... A view of the playing field at Busch Memorial Stadium, St. ...

Howard Keel appeared as "Adam", ex-baseball player Jeff Richards as "Benjamin", Matt Mattox as "Caleb", Marc Platt as "Daniel", Jacques d'Amboise as "Ephraim" (on loan from the New York City Ballet), Tommy Rall as "Frank", and former gymnast Russ Tamblyn as "Gideon". (Morton Downey Jr. almost had Tamblyn's part as "Gideon" in this musical.) Howard Keel, born Harry Clifford Leek (April 13, 1919 – November 7, 2004) was an American actor who starred in many of the classic film musicals of the 1950s. ... Jeff Richards was born November 1, 1922 in Portland, Oregon, United States. ... Matt Mattox is a jazz and ballet dancer who appeared as the third oldest brother, Caleb Pontipee, in the movie Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. ... Marc Platt is an excellent Ballet dancer. ... Jacques dAmboise (born July 28, 1934) is a well-known U.S. ballet dancer and choreographer. ... Logo of the New York City Ballet The New York City Ballet is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein originally known as the American Ballet. ... Tommy Rall was born Thomas Rall on December 27 in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, but the year of birth he claims (1929) would have made him about 11 or 12 when he made his movie debut in 1942. ... Russ Tamblyn (born Russell Irving Tamblyn on December 30, 1934) is an American actor and former dancer. ... Morton Downey, Jr. ...

All of the brides were played by dancers. Jane Powell appeared as "Milly", Julie Newmar (Newmeyer) as "Dorcas", Ruta Lee as "Ruth", Norma Doggett as "Martha", Virginia Gibson as "Liza", Betty Carr as "Sarah", and Nancy Kilgas as "Alice". Jane Powell (born April 1, 1929) is an American singer, entertainer and actor. ... Julie Newmar as Catwoman Julie Newmar (born August 16, 1933 as Julia Charlene Newmeyer) is an American actress, dancer, and singer. ... Ruta Lee (born Ruta Mary Kilmonis on May 30, 1936 in Montreal, Canada of Lithuanian extraction) is a talented actress and dancer, who appeared as one of the brides in the movie Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. ... Virginia Gibson and Gordon MacRae Virginia Gibson (Virginia Gorski) (St. ...

Among the best

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers came third in a BBC Radio 2 listener poll of the UK's "Number One Essential Musicals". [2] BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBCs national radio stations and is the most popular station in the UK. It broadcasts throughout the UK on FM radio between 88 and 91 MHz from its studios in Western House, adjacent to Broadcasting House in central London. ... Opinion polls are surveys of opinion using sampling. ...

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers came eighth in the top 10 MGM musicals in the book Top 10 of Film by Russell Ash.

In 2006 Seven Brides for Seven Brothers ranked #21 on the American Film Institute's list of best musicals. The American Film Institute (AFI) is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act. ... Part of the AFI 100 Years. ...

Stage version

London stage production (CD cover)

7B47B stage highlights (CD cover)

During 1979, Jane Powell and Howard Keel reprised their roles of "Milly" and "Adam" for an off-Broadway stage production of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Image File history File links 7b47b-London-stage. ... Image File history File links 7b47b-London-stage. ... Image File history File links 7b47b-stage-highlights. ... Image File history File links 7b47b-stage-highlights. ... Interior of the 1928 B. F. Keith Memorial Theatre, Boston, Massachusetts. ...

Some claim to enjoy the stage version better because of the skill of the dancers and the thrill of seeing so much talent live. Many community theatres have performed "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" with much success.

The first Broadway stage production of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers was in 1982. Broadway theatre[1] is often considered the highest professional form of theatre in the United States. ...

In the original film, Daniel marries Martha and Ephraim marries Liza. But in the end credits of the film, Daniel is incorrectly "paired" with Liza, and Ephraim with Martha. The end credits were subsequently used as the basis for the pairings of these two couples during the stage musical version.

Television version

A television series Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, based very loosely on the film, ran on CBS from September 19, 1982 to July 2, 1983. The series told the adventures of a parentless family of rowdy brothers trying to run the family ranch in northern California. Into the chaos came feisty Hannah, who married Adam and took on the task of bringing order to the household. The series contained about one musical number per episode. Despite a small but dedicated fan following, the series was cancelled after one season.
CBS is one of the largest radio and television networks in the United States. ... September 19 is the 262nd day of the year (263rd in leap years). ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... July 2 is the 183rd day of the year (184th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 182 days remaining. ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ...

Television cast list

• Richard Dean Anderson as Adam McFadden
• Drake Hogestyn as Brian McFadden
• Peter Horton as Crane McFadden
• Roger Wilson as Daniel McFadden
• Tim Topper as Evan McFadden
• Brian Utman as Ford McFadden
• River Phoenix as Guthrie McFadden
• Terri Treas as Hannah McFadden

Richard Dean Anderson as Colonel Jack ONeill in Stargate SG-1 Richard Dean Anderson (born January 23, 1950 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American actor, possibly best known for his role in the tv-series MacGyver // Biography Early Life Anderson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Stuart Jay Anderson... Donald Drake Hogestyn (born September 29, 1953 in Fort Wayne, Indiana) is an American soap opera actor. ... Peter Horton (born August 20, 1953) is an American actor and director. ... Roger Wilson (born 1958) is a an American actor in movies and television. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Terri Treas (b. ...

Television series source

Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earl, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946 - Present, Balantine, New York, 2003.

Non-English Language Titles

• French: "Les sept femmes de Barbe-Rousse"
• German: "Eine Braut für Sieben Brüder"
• Hungarian: "Hét menyasszony hét fivérnek"
• Hebrew: "שבע כלות לשבעה אחים"
• Italian: "Sette Spose per Sette Fratelli"
• Scots Gaelic: "Seachd bean na bainnse ri seachd bràthair"
• Polish: "Siedem Narzeczonych dla Siedem Braci"
• Portuguese: "Sete Noivas para Sete Irmãos"
• Spanish: "Siete Novias para Siete Hermanos"
• Turkish: "Yedi Kardeşe Yedi Gelin"

A popular Bollywood movie, Satte Pe Satta, was based on this film. This movie's plotline also has seven brothers, with the elder brother getting married much before the others. But apart from that, the movie deviated significantly from the original Hollywood version. Bollywood (Hindi: }}, Urdu: ) is the informal name given to the popular Mumbai-based Hindustani language film industry in India. ... Satte Pe Satta is a 1983 Hindi film that stars Amitabh Bachchan as the eldest of seven brothers. ...

See also

• Sabine

The Rape of the Sabine Women by Giambologna The tribe of the Sabines (Latin Sabini - singular Sabinus) was an Italic tribe of ancient Italy. ...

External links

• Seven Brides for Seven Brothers at the Internet Movie Database
• "Satte Pe Satta" Movie Review