SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS.

US, 1954, 102 minutes, Colour.
Howard Keel, Jane Powell, Jeff Richards, Russ Tamblyn, Tommy Rall, Mark Platt, Jacques D'Amboise, Julie Newmar, Virginia Gibson, Ruta Lee.
Directed by Stanley Donen.

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is considered one of the major musicals from MGM during the 1950s. It is based on a short story by Stephen Vincent Benet, the adaptation of the rather barbaric story of the rape of the Sabine women in the Roman times.

The film focuses on a farmer who goes into town to court a wife (Howard Keel and Jane Powell). When she returns to the backwoods, she discovers there are six brothers and she decides to train them to some kind of elegance. They read the story of the Sabine women – and decide that they will abduct six brides for themselves. While this might seem a dubious premise, it works out very well (although not in a feminist sense).

The film is particularly colourful, has some popular songs and some very energetic dancers including Russ Tamblyn and Tommy Rall.

The film was directed by Stanley Donen who began his work as a director with Gene Kelly for On the Town and collaborated with him for Singin’ in the Rain. He made a number of musicals at MGM during the 1950s including Royal Wedding, Deep in My Heart, It’s Always Fair Weather as well as Funny Face for Paramount and The Pyjama Game and Damn Yankees for Warner Bros. His films during the 1960s tended to be elegant comedies or mysteries including The Grass is Greener, Charade, Arabesque and Two For The Road. He also directed Peter Cook and Dudley Moore in Bedazzled.

1. Was this good musical entertainment? It was a big hit of the fifties. Does it still make a good impression?

2. What were the best things about this film as musical entertainment?

3. Comment on the effect of this as a dancing musical. Comment on it as a song musical. The sobbin' women, Spring,spring,spring, Goin' courtin'. June Bride, Bless your beautiful hide, The brothers' lament. Comment on the way that many of these songs were filmed e.g. Goin' courtin' and The brothers' lament. The use of actions, rythms, mime?

4. Comment on how the American uses the old Roman story of the Romans and the Sabine women for this American saga. Was it successful?

5. This was a film about the American frontier: outposts, hard work in the west, the lack of women for the men. Even though a light musical, did it show something of the American frontier life?

6. Adam and Millie as a happy couple. Did the film show some insight into marriage and happiness?

7. The brothers, and their unruliness, their being transformed by Millie. What point was being made here?

8. Their courting of the women their rivalry with the town men; the comedy and the reality of the abduction?

9. The happy ending? Appropriate? Why was this a happy musical comedy with point?