What do you get when you cross Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs with Oklahoma!?
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.
Like Snow White, Milly finds herself in a remote cabin with seven unkempt, ill-mannered bachelors, finds herself cleaning and cooking for them, and has to coerce them into washing and learning table manners, among other social skills.
I don't know who was dubbing Jane Powell's voice, but it sounded rather like Adriana Caselotti, who was the voice of Snow White, with a similar strong, high-pitched vibrato. When you combine this with the similarity in the story line, it suggests the singing style was a reference to that seminal animated musical. Disney kept Caselotti from appearing in subsequent movies, but I wonder if this could have been her singing voice, uncredited?
The dancing cowboys, particularly the barn raising scene, are reminiscent of Oklahoma!, which is ironic, since the movie came out a year later, although the stage musical had been on Broadway for years. Oklahoma! was the first Broadway cowboy musical, followed by the first movie cowboy musical, MGM's The Harvey Girls in 1946. Then there was MGM's Annie Get Your Gun in 1950, Warner Bros' Calamity Jane in 1953, and MGM followed that with Seven Brides in 1954.
The music in Seven Brides bears a family resemblance to some of the Calamity Jane numbers, particularly with Whip Crack Away vs. Bless Your Beautiful Hide. It's as though there was a brief sub-genre of what a cowboy song should sound like. Fortunately, the music and lyrics in Seven Brides are pretty good, and fit the storyline well.
This movie is very 50s, and was above average for its time. The story line is still entertaining, though it feels a bit dated. But what stands out is the cowboy barn-raising dance scene. It is an extraordinary combination of dancing and gymnastics, especially on the part of Russ Tamblyn. Watch closely and you will see he does his own stunts, falls and stuff that others would use a double for. If you watch him in Tom Thumb you will see him perform even more remarkable acrobatics.
Musicals like this, especially MGM musicals are fantasies that take you into an imaginary world, not unlike Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. You need to pass through that imaginary door and get into the spirit of things to enjoy them. So leave your 21st century sensibilities and political correctness behind for two hours and have a good time.
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.
Like Snow White, Milly finds herself in a remote cabin with seven unkempt, ill-mannered bachelors, finds herself cleaning and cooking for them, and has to coerce them into washing and learning table manners, among other social skills.
I don't know who was dubbing Jane Powell's voice, but it sounded rather like Adriana Caselotti, who was the voice of Snow White, with a similar strong, high-pitched vibrato. When you combine this with the similarity in the story line, it suggests the singing style was a reference to that seminal animated musical. Disney kept Caselotti from appearing in subsequent movies, but I wonder if this could have been her singing voice, uncredited?
The dancing cowboys, particularly the barn raising scene, are reminiscent of Oklahoma!, which is ironic, since the movie came out a year later, although the stage musical had been on Broadway for years. Oklahoma! was the first Broadway cowboy musical, followed by the first movie cowboy musical, MGM's The Harvey Girls in 1946. Then there was MGM's Annie Get Your Gun in 1950, Warner Bros' Calamity Jane in 1953, and MGM followed that with Seven Brides in 1954.
The music in Seven Brides bears a family resemblance to some of the Calamity Jane numbers, particularly with Whip Crack Away vs. Bless Your Beautiful Hide. It's as though there was a brief sub-genre of what a cowboy song should sound like. Fortunately, the music and lyrics in Seven Brides are pretty good, and fit the storyline well.
This movie is very 50s, and was above average for its time. The story line is still entertaining, though it feels a bit dated. But what stands out is the cowboy barn-raising dance scene. It is an extraordinary combination of dancing and gymnastics, especially on the part of Russ Tamblyn. Watch closely and you will see he does his own stunts, falls and stuff that others would use a double for. If you watch him in Tom Thumb you will see him perform even more remarkable acrobatics.
Musicals like this, especially MGM musicals are fantasies that take you into an imaginary world, not unlike Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. You need to pass through that imaginary door and get into the spirit of things to enjoy them. So leave your 21st century sensibilities and political correctness behind for two hours and have a good time.