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You are here: Home / Howard Keel / Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Clean, Crazy Fun – Arguably the Best Kind)

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Clean, Crazy Fun – Arguably the Best Kind)

April 14, 2017 By Joi

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

Yesterday, in spite of the fact I was recovering from a terrible cold and should’ve never left the house, I spent the afternoon out with my youngest daughter running errands and shopping. By the time we got back home, all I wanted to do was throw my pajamas on and COLLAPSE with an iced raspberry tea. After crawling into the PJs and pouring the tea, I headed for my favorite swivel rocker, with every intention of popping in a Rita Hayworth or Lucille Ball movie to make me feel better.

I decided to check TCM first, in case something irresistible was coming on.

Was it ever?! The redheads would have to wait.

An all-time favorite musical/movie, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Amazon), happened to just be coming on, which made me smile ear to ear – in between sneezes that threatened to shake my teeth loose.

The ridiculously fun 1956 musical stars Jane Powell (Milly), Howard Keel (Adam), and Russ Tamblyn at his scene-stealing best as the youngest son, Gideon. Although it’s a smaller role, gorgeous Julie Newmar stars as Dorcas (one of the “Seven Brides”). Although she was an accomplished dancer, she was unable to fully showcase her talent in Seven Brides because her “Brother” (Benjamin) was played by Jeff Richards, an ex-baseball player with zero dancing skills.

Benjamin seldom dances in the movie and if you ever wondered why, it’s simple, he’d have been more at home on a baseball field!

In fact, after doing a little research, it turns out that only four of the “brothers” were considered dancers. You’d never really know from watching the movie – everyone seems loaded with talent.

Heck, they all dance better than me… including the baseball player.

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers Trivia

  • For the beautiful dresses worn by the Seven Brides, costume designer Walter Plunkett went to the local Salvation Army, bought old quilts and turned them into dresses! Not only do they make beautiful dresses, it rings more authentic than snazzier dresses would.
  • One of the first things that jumps out at viewers is the fact that all 7 of the brothers are red-heads. This was a decision made in an effort to more easily distinguish between the brothers and the townsmen. The brothers also dress very differently.
  • The movie was shot in 48 days!
  • The women in the general store at the first of the movie will go on to become Adam’s sisters-in-law: Ruth (bonnet with blue ribbons), Sarah (hat with black band), Liza (bonnet with pink ribbon), and Dorcas (hat with brown band).
  • Howard Keel (Adam) called Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, “one of my happiest filmmaking experiences at Metro Goldwyn Mayer… The cast was magnificent, and the chemistry irresistible. Jack Cummings had his stamp on the whole picture. Jane Powell, as Milly, was perfect, and I loved working with her. She was cute and persnickety and a multi-talented pro… It truly was one big happy family.”
  • 6’4″ Howard Keel is considered the Errol Flynn and Clark Gable of  musicals in the 1950’s. However, a lot of people will remember him best as Clayton Farlow in the legendary series Dallas.

The seven brothers & brides couples are:

  1. Adam & Milly
  2. Benjamin & Dorcas
  3. Caleb & Ruth
  4. Daniel & Martha
  5. Ephraim & Liza
  6. Frank & Sarah
  7. Gideon & Alice

If you’ve never seen Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Amazon dvd link), I highly recommend it. Heck, I highly recommend it if you’ve seen it a hundred times. You’ll enjoy one hundred and one just as much…. trust me, I’d know.

This movie is from a time when fun was the name of the game. No one worried about political correctness (don’t even get me started) – all they worried about was having a great time and giving the audience a fun ride.

Mission beautifully accomplished.

Julie Newmar and Jeff Richards - Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

Julie Newmar and Jeff Richards – Seven Brides for Seven Brothers


Filed Under: Howard Keel, Jane Powell, Julie Newmar, Movie Reviews, Musicals, Old Movies, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers Tagged With: classic musicals, musical dvds, musicals, old Hollywood movies, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers review

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Comments have been temporarily disabled, spam was completely out of hand! I am looking for a better plugin than the one I had and hope to have comments back soon. If you have something you want to say in the meantime, my e-mail address is available on the blog. Thanks!~ Joi ("Joy")

Welcome to Hollywood Yesterday!

Ann Sheridan, It All Came True

Ann Sheridan
My name is Joi (“Joy”) and I created Hollywood Yesterday as my personal tribute to Old Hollywood. It’s my effort to help keep the stars from Old Hollywood, Classic Television, and Old Radio Shows alive and shining forever. Old Hollywood was positively magical and I see no reason for the magic to ever die.

Be warned, I am (by nature) overtly positive, I never take anything too seriously, I say extraordinary so often you’d think I invented the word, and I overuse exclamation points to distraction. I’m perpetually over-caffeinated.. we’ll blame that.

Read more about Hollywood Yesterday (and see my personal favorites) here!

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See the Old Hollywood Actresses page for the index of Classic Hollywood Actresses and Classic TV Actresses.

Old Hollywood Actors

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See the Old Hollywood Actors page for the index of Old Hollywood and Classic TV actors.

Old Hollywood Book Reviews

Ann Dvorak: Hollywood's Forgotten Rebel by Christina Rice

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The Naked Spur (James Stewart, Janet Leigh)

The Prince and the Showgirl (Marilyn Monroe, Laurence Olivier)

The White Sister (Helen Hayes, Clark Gable)

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Howard Keel, Jane Powell, Russ Tamblyn, Julie Newmar)

Rio Bravo (John Wayne, Dean Martin, Angie Dickinson, Ricky Nelson, Walter Brennan)

El Dorado (John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, James Caan, Charlene Holt, Michele Carey)

Rio Grande (John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara)

Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein (What is it With Me and These Movies??)

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Critic’s Choice (Hilarious movie starring Bob Hope and Lucille Ball)

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