Hindsight

Classic Kids, or 100 films that the kids in your life have to see by 13 or else!

Day 63  Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)

The dancing and singing is the reason to see this film.  The voices of Jane Powell and Howard Keel are magnificent, while the dancing, based on the choreography of Michael Kidd, is sublime.  Look for the 'Cat-Woman' Julie Newmar, and the most acrobatic dancer of them all- Russ Tamblyn.  The barn-raising sequence is such a hoot!  Shot in CinemaScope, so be sure to watch it in Letterbox.  It is a shame that the film was not shot outdoors, but director Stanley Donen says that at the time MGM was putting all of its money into Brigadoon.

Media Literacy Questions for Kids:  How can you tell this is an MGM musical?  What places this film within the canon of other post-war musicals?  How are gender roles portrayed?  What are key values within the story?
Themes:  Courtship, labor, Working the land, Class, Religion