Vonia Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) Director: Stanley Donen Watched: May 2018 Rating: 5/10 Gorgeous set design, Fun, laughs, and catchy numbers. That was how things were, But kidnapping girls for maids? Could not get past brash sexism. Tanka, literally "short poem", is a form of poetry consisting of five lines, unrhymed, with the 5-7-5-7-7 syllable format. #Tanka #PoemReview #Musical

jacobs-greenwood I didn't know how talented Howard Keel (from TV's Dallas) was until I saw this essential Musical, a sleeper hit for MGM (the studio had thought their Gene Kelly-Van Johnson-Cyd Charisse production of Brigadoon (1954) would be their big hit that year, causing the production qualities of this one to suffer).The story is about a family of mountain men, the Pontipee's, whose eldest son Adam (Keel) determines that what they need is a woman to cook, clean, etc. while they work the farm (felling trees, clearing and fencing the land, etc.). So he goes into the nearby town to find a wife (Keel sings "Bless Your Beautiful Hide"), and does in Milly (Jane Powell). Ian Wolfe plays Reverend Elcott, her surrogate father, who reluctantly marries them. The brothers are played by Russ Tamblyn, Tommy Rall and others, each named from the Bible starting with Adam, then Benjamin (Jeff Richards), Caleb (Matt Mattox), Daniel (Marc Platt), Ephraim (Jacques d'Amboise), 'Frank' for Frankincense (Rall), and Gideon (Tamblyn). After learning that the situation she's gotten herself into is not the romantic one she'd dreamed it would be, Milly decides that she's going to tame these men by teaching them manners etc.; she quickly befriends them and then helps them to find women of their own. One of these women is played by Julie Newmar. Great COLORFUL dancing sequences (a widescreen, letterbox must), beautifully choreographed (by Michael Kidd), especially during the barn raising sequence (a hoot!), which brings tears to Milly's eyes. The 'boys' had quickly forgotten how she'd taught them to court the ladies (Powell sings "Goin' Co'tin'", going courting). However, after listening to Adam, the six single Pontipee brothers find a 'caveman-wild west' way, complete with an avalanche. In the end, I challenge you not to 'laugh out loud' at their 'solution'.It earned Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Screenplay (Albert Hackett-Frances Goodrich, Father of the Bride (1950) and Dorothy Kingsley, her only Academy recognition), George Folsey's Color Cinematography, and Ralph Winters's (King Solomon's Mine (1950)) Editing, it won for Best Musical Score and was added to the National Film Registry in 2004. Directed by Stanley Donen and based on Stephen Vincent Benet's story (The Sobbin' Women). #21 on AFI's 25 Greatest Movie Musicals list.

Hitchcoc Howard Keel, he of the great baritone, and his Neanderthal brothers, have the joy of being waited on and looked after by a beautiful woman. I really felt sorry for her because at some point I realized that for the rest of her life she was going to have to serve this guy. I know. It's her decision, of course, but there is an empty feeling in my soul. Nevertheless, this is a rollicking film with great dancing and songs that typify the setting. It is colorful and non stop in its joyfulness. There is some fun conflict as the clueless ply their trades. We never stop to ask how such dumb guys could be such great dancers. In musicals, especially the really light hearted ones, we put aside our concerns about such things and watch the spectacle. I think this is the first movie I watch when I ordered cable for the first time.

andremuller2 Howard Keel plays Adam Pontipee, he goes out to get him a wife, He gets one, it is so refreshing to see a perfect musical centered around men behaving like men, dancing fighting and at the end steal 6 girls to life with his brothers in the mountains. Their fathers and brothers chase the young men but Adam and his Brs organized an avalanche to close of the valley for the winter. When spring arrived, the girls did not want to go back and instead were forced to get married to the Brs with guns held by the girl's Fathers. Very Hilarious, really worth seeing it. I rate it 8/10. At the end they lived happily ever after. If you have not seen this version, go see it, it is truly worth watching.