Seven Brides For Seven Brothers Details

Rightly a sensational commercial success in its day, especially in Britain, this joyous romp remains one of the freshest and most satisfying of movie musicals. A screen original, based on Stephen Vincent Benet's verse play updating The Rape of the Sabine Women (“Tell ya 'bout them sobbin' women… ”), it was fashioned by director Stanley Donen and choreographer Michael Kidd into an exciting, heart-warming and technically accomplished (though perhaps a shade politically incorrect) musical. The central barn dance is magnificent, and the early use of CinemaScope is as exquisite as the beautifully stylised MGM interiors. Although generally cleverly cast, the movie gains strength from the two leading performances, and, as Adam Pontipee and Milly, Howard Keel and Jane Powell could not be bettered; Keel, in particular, brings variety to what could have been a boorish role.

Disappointingly studio-bound Western musical, distinguished by an excellent score and some brilliant dancing, notably the barn-raising sequence.