the year: 1954
the genre: musical
the cast: Howard Keel (Adam Pontipee); Jane Powell (Milly); Russ Tamblyn (Gideon Pontipee); Jeff Richards (Benjamin Pontipee); Julie Newmar (Dorcas Gailen); Ruta Lee (Ruth Jebson)
the plot: Adam Pontipee goes to town to get a wife. He convinces Milly to marry him that same day and they return to his backwoods home. Only then does she discover he has six brothers - all living in his cabin. Milly sets out to reform the uncouth siblings, who are anxious to get wives of their own. Then, after reading about the Roman capture of the Sabine women, Adam develops an inspired solution to his brothers' loneliness.
count: the number of brothers. Now add the number of brides. Subtract the number of times the townsfolk clang the bell to note that the pass is open and multiply by the number of times Gideon jumps over the ax handle. Divide that by the number of snowballs with rocks in them and you’ll have: a number.
don’t miss: the barnraising dance. Rehearsals for it took 3 weeks. (The entire film was shot in 48 days.)
listen for: “There were no F names in the Bible so Ma named him Frankincense because he smelled so sweet.”
check out: the June Brides. It’s Blaine’s favorite part. No wait – that would be the Lonesome Polecat scene. Sorry.
also listen for: “If you'll just follow me." “To the ends of the earth.”
did you know: Only four of the brothers were dancers. You’ll notice that Benjamin doesn’t really ever dance in the movie.
