History Film / SevenBridesForSevenBrothers

''Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'' is a 1954 [[TheWestern Western]] {{Musical}} film, directed by Stanley Donen and starring Creator/JanePowell, Howard Keel, Creator/JulieNewmar, and Jeff Richards. It was based on a [[http://www.gutenberg.ca/ebooks/benetsv-thirteen07-sobbinwomen/benetsv-thirteen07-sobbinwomen-00-h-dir/benetsv-thirteen07-sobbinwomen-00-h.html short story]] by Stephen Vincent Benet, itself a parodic takeoff on the Rape of the Sabine Women from Myth/ClassicalMythology.

* [[SheCleansUpNicely He Cleans Up Nicely]]: Milly remarks how handsome her new brother-in-laws are when she makes them all bathe and shave.

* AdultFear: The girls are abducted in the middle of the night, quite often from their own homes -- Dorcas is kidnapped from her bedroom ''while she's still in her nightgown'' -- and carried off by a group of seemingly uncivilised woodsmen, to be trapped up in the mountains for at least seven months. The Pontipees' intentions are entirely honourable, but the townsfolk don't know that. [[spoiler:And when the families come to rescue them, they hear baby Hannah crying and mistakenly assume that at least one of the girls has been forced to give birth to her abductor's child.]]

* TheKindnapper: All of the six brothers who are bachelors in the beginning. They kidnap the women with the intention of marrying them, but they do state that they want to "make them Sobbin' women smile" and they intend for the kidnappings to result in ''happy'' marriages. Seems like they were honestly fooled (by Adam) into thinking this is what the women really wanted and they clearly had no intention of harming them or forcing anything on anyone (except for the whole forcing them away from their homes part). They repent later on once they figure it out, and try to take them back home.

* BadassFamily: The Pontipee brothers are strong enough to win a barn-raising competition on a whim, and tough enough to beat the snot out of their competitors when they cheat. [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome While out-numbered three-to-one.]]

Saul Chaplin and Gene de Paul composed the songs, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer and choreography by Michael Kidd. A ScreenToStageAdaptation was produced on Broadway in 1982. There was also a TV adaptation that lasted for one season (1982–83) on Creator/{{CBS}}. The 1968–70 series ''Series/HereComeTheBrides'' was also partly inspired by this film.

* WhatTheHellHero: Milly delivers a scathing one to all the brothers when they return home with their kidnapped "brides."

* MarriageBeforeRomance: Adam convinces a townswoman named Milly to marry him, promising an idyllic life in the woods. But when he gets her home she discovers that he failed to mention his six rowdy adult brothers who are also living under the same roof. Despite her initial anger, she starts to fall in love with him, but their romance is derailed when after the barn raising Adam encourages his brothers to follow the example of the Romans and just kidnap their would-be brides. Snowed in over winter, all of the girls warm to their captors and when spring arrives and their menfolk come to rescue them, they all manage to finagle shot-gun weddings instead. [[spoiler:Adam makes things right with Milly by convincing his brothers that they he was wrong and the women have to be returned without a fight.]]

* FunnyBackgroundEvent: During the opening number, as Adam is strolling through town and surveying the women to find himself a wife, he judges one squat passing woman as having "Heavenly eyes, but oh, that size!" She looks back at him quite indignantly.

* NotSoDifferent: The girls may ''look'' genteel and retiring, but they're more than willing to pull pranks on the brothers, and at one point they get into a physical brawl with each other, very much like the one the brothers got into earlier in the film.

Saul Chaplin and Gene de Paul composed the songs, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer and choreography by Michael Kidd. A ScreenToStageAdaptation was produced on Broadway in 1982. There was also a TV adaptation that lasted for one season (1982–83) on Creator/{{CBS}}. The 1968–69 series ''Series/HereComeTheBrides'' was also partly inspired by this film.

Saul Chaplin and Gene de Paul composed the songs, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer and choreography by Michael Kidd. A ScreenToStageAdaptation was produced on Broadway in 1982. There was also a TV adaptation that lasted for one season (1982–83) on Creator/{{CBS}}. The 1968-69 series ''Series/HereComeTheBrides'' was also partly inspired by this film.

[[quoteright:275:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/seven_brides_for_seven_brothers_400.jpg]]

''Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'' is a 1954 [[TheWestern Western]] {{Musical}} film, [[ScreenToStageAdaptation later staged on Broadway in 1984]]. It was based on a [[http://www.gutenberg.ca/ebooks/benetsv-thirteen07-sobbinwomen/benetsv-thirteen07-sobbinwomen-00-h-dir/benetsv-thirteen07-sobbinwomen-00-h.html short story]] by Stephen Vincent Benet, itself a parodic takeoff on the Rape of the Sabine Women from Myth/ClassicalMythology. There was also a TV adaptation that lasted only one season in 1982-1983.

* StockholmSyndrome: An important part of the story arc, as the story of six brothers desperate for women going into the city and kidnapping several maidens in the middle of the night and taking them back to the ranch, completely isolated for six months, has very strong subtext of lust and rape even though none of them have ''any'' intention of raping ''anyone.'' Though, it's worth noting that the girls had already met the brothers previously and showed an interest in them, and thanks to Milly the brothers apparently had no direct contact with the girls until spring (and that the girls were quite happy during the winter to take various forms of revenge on the brothers, who could only grumble and take it). The brothers also, after realizing what [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone they had done]], do ''try'' to get the girls to agree to go back home when spring arrives.

* AdaptationPersonalityChange: In the story, it's Milly who suggests and masterminds the abduction. The adaptation makes her completely opposed to it, and has the brothers conceive and carry out the scheme more from stupidity than malice.