by Nathaniel R
Jane Powell is no Julie Andrews but she does take a spin on a hilltop while singing in MGM's "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers"
Our film title this week on Hit Me With Your Best Shot is Seven Brides for Seven Brothers which is streaming on HBOMax. We knew we'd need to chase The Godfather with something lighter so we opted for a musical. So saddle up, and ride into this absurdly problematic but bouncy and colorful comedy after the jump...
Let us begin with an important truth that is far from universally acknowledged: It's unwise to look at anything older than the moment we're in only through the lens of the now. It's destroying cultural criticism and appreciations of the classics... and it's lazy, too. Context is key. Times always change. Perceptions shift. Social mores shift. Gender and Sexuality evolve. Etcetera. An absolute guarantee: 68 years from now in 2090 there's no way any art produced in 2023 isn't going to get the same kind of lazy smug side-eye that people have been giving older films (or anything pre-now), unless people wise up by then about the importance of art and history and their own fallibility.
While it's true that Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is derived from the Roman myth of the "Rape of the Sabine Women", it's absolutely worth noting that it's actually a musical riff on a parody of that story. The distinction is important even it's hard not to cringe.
So my "bronze medalist" for Best Shot is actually this corny double take at the beginning of the movie. We already know that Adam Pontipee (50s musical mainstay Howard Keel) is on a mission to find a wife (mostly for unpaid domestic labor) when he checks out a shapely figure in front of him and then laughs at himself when he realizes it's a mannequin. But given his exceedingly limited views of women, the new wife might as well be! Seven Brides... isn't without some self-awareness even though its broad comedy about relationships and dating is very "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" which, it's worth noting, was a massive bestseller a full four decades later so mass enlightenment doesn't exactly happen overnight.
Keep in mind that in 1954 we're still DECADES away from even the invention of the phrase "Stockholm Syndrome" let alone the ubiquitous 2020s talking points of "Toxic Masculinity" and "Rape Culture". In 1954 this movie about bride-kidnapping is wholesome family entertainment! It was a big hit, and received five Oscar nominations including Best Cinematography and Best Picture
One thing that's interesting about the movie in terms of its visual read on Men and Women is that though the Brides and Brothers are equal in number, director Stanley Donen (Singin' in the Rain) and cinematographer George J Folsey usually shoot them as one living multi-headed entity given the CinemaScope wide shots. The men are individualized more, though, their ABCDEFG naming explained in dialogue. They each get brightly colored individualized costumes once they're cleaned up.
Ryan's Choice on Twitter (thread)
Cláudio's choice at The Film Experience (article)
But even in group shots the men are seen with more variety, often spaced apart in chaotic, individualized or geometric formations. This is true in the dance numbers as well as the "book" scenes. Even their underwear has more variation as you can see in Ryan's choice. (And, for what it's worth Seven Brides for Seven Brothers was probably porn to gay fans of gingers in the 1950s)
Cláudio focused on one of the musical numbers "Lament (Lonesome Polecat)" and that scene also demonstrates how the men are one unit but also separate. It's a great example of the movie's much-lauded inventive musical staging and dance choreography if not in other cinematic ways. Of course dance isn't quite ideal for this series since it requires movement and we're just showing stills.
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers' indisputable claim-to-fame is its long centerpiece Barn Dance in which the Brothers first begin their courting of the eager but not yet kidnapped Brides. It's not surprising that it would come up in the bulk of the choices from our Best Shot Club (please join us next time!). Consider...
Alexander Georgakis choice on twitter (thread)
Keisha at Cinema Cities (article)
Ben Miller at Ice Cream For Freaks (article)
Those are perfect choices as they reflect the movie's true greatness. The six and a half minute setpiece is rambunctious, charming, multi-parted, exciting, and even great storytelling. There isn't much editing since Hollywood had many professional dancers back then but these brothers could well double as gymnasts or stuntmen. Baby Russ Tamblyn (West Side Story, Peyton Place) is particularly incredible flipping around.
My favourite beat within that long sequence -- let's call it my silver medalist -- is when three of the brothers slide suddenly and roughly under the future brides, who are facing other men, to pop up between their rivals and brides to steal them away. It's dynamic choreography and also a mini visualization of what's just around the corner plot-wise.
BEST SHOT
Despite being a romantic comedy at heart, the most satisfying arc within the movie isn't Adam and Milly's leading romance, or the titular group coursthip. Instead it's Milly's relationship with her Brother-in-Laws. She is rightly furious at her husband Adam after their eager elopement but her natural domestic and maternal instincts take over. Still, she's not a pushover and quickly whips this testostorne packed house into shape.
Nathaniel's Choice for Best ShotThe best single image pre Barn Dance is when Millie peaks into the brothers bedroom to ask for their laundry and demands they strip. Their reaction is so outsized, they're essentially infantilized, little boys who make a lot of noise in protest but quickly collapse into obedience. The red of the longjohns, the weird fear and shame about stripping, and the physical rush to one side of the frame to shut new mommy out are a triple amusement.
Naturally Milly wins this war and soon the Brothers are cleaned up, presentable, and well-mannered, paving the way for the group wedding to come. The first bride beams with pride. This one problematic battle of the sexes trope is still popular and persavive today; "I CAN FIX HIM!"
Next Episode
Thursday April 21st The Last Picture Show (1971) streaming on Criterion Channel. Get your choices in before Thursday evening. If you've never seen it now's a perfect time. It's a great great movie.