calvinnme Revisiting this film, I was immediately pulled in by Howard Keel's opening song Bless Your Beautiful Hide. Audacious even in it's day, there's a tenderness in Mercer's lyrics that makes it somewhat forgivable-remember suspending your reality for a musical? Handsome Howard Keel's virility doesn't hurt. Instead of recoiling over the idea of "finding a wife" I just rolled with it as a silly plot idea. Once I had put myself in the same fantasy mode as when watching a Busby Berkeley musical, I started enjoying it. I really paid attention to the musical numbers, most notably the Barn Dance & Lonesome Polecat. Amazing. Not too many dances in movies were designed to actually TELL a story, showing what the characters were feeling so eloquently. The Barn Dance scene is the best example I've ever seen of this. The dancing styles of townies vs mountaineers, the girl's being hoisted up in the air, the colors, the acrobatics all contribute to a very coherent "story" in dance.Lonesome Polecat is also just extraordinary. It has a low base line of something like 3/4 but the lyrics are sung in some odd time signature like 5/9. (help me here music experts) The choreography too, is just excellent- the men really stand out as athletic, as is typical in many cultures such as Indian & Hawaiian dances.I was again struck by how awful crazy the story line is, but how easily it's vindicated by Keel's character explaining how tough life is for mountain settlers. And Janie Powell was so perfect as the sweet young pretty girl who makes lemonade out of a bunch of sour lemons. The entire story is really about how she orchestrates a success out of her bad situation. I like that she's physically tiny but controls the fate of everyone in the story, not with weak conniving but with strong confident guidance.At first you think this is a terribly sexist story, but it's truly a pioneering and feminist story.

SnoopyStyle It's 1850 Oregon Territory. Adam descends from the mountain into town to look for a wife. Tavern server Milly accepts the marriage and they return to his cabin. She is overwhelmed and surprised with not only Adam but also his six equally uncouth brothers. Milly decides that the brothers need a makeover and six brides to care for them.This is gosh darn G-rated old fashion song and dance musical. The premise can be dated although I can imagine a remake with some changes. The best section is the barn rising. It is rip roaring good times. It's fun and joyous. Despite the dated story, it's still very watchable. The major issue is trying to individualize the brothers and the brides. They tend to blend together.

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.

funkyjuju It can't be denied that 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" has some... unfortunate... underlying ideas but, gosh darnnit, this film is just so fun to watch. I don't think it really condones the kidnapping of the women. In the film it's obvious that the idea is completely ridiculous but what else would you expect from a bunch of wild men who barely ever see women? And Milly is quick to chastise them and kick them out of the house. We see earlier on in the film that the ladies were already interested in the brothers so it's not completely impossible that they would forgive them and fall in love. Besides, I think that this was done to be ironic and funny rather than realistic. Also, you have to keep in mind that the 1950s were a more innocent time.One of the things I just love about 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers' is that it is genuinely funny. I found myself laughing out loud quite often during my viewing. The songs are wonderfully catchy and I had them stuck in my head for days! However 'When You're In Love' seemed to be shoved in at a really awkward time, just after Milly and Adam had fought. "Lonesome Polecat" is just beautiful to watch and hear and I was extremely impressed to see it all done in one take when there were so many things that could have messed it up.The film loses a mark for the cheap-looking sets but I understand that it didn't have a lot of funding and did the best it could with what it had.I was completely mesmerised by the dancing in the barn-raising scene. Often I put on the scene to just listen to the tune but find myself sitting slack-jawed at the grace and skill of the dancers.The plot is fast-paced so I was engaged the whole time and the characters are brilliant. Adam is hilarious and Milly is unusually and delightfully strong for a female character in a 50s film!