Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is a romantic, comedy, musical set in Oregon in the 1850s. Vaguely based on the story "The Sobbin' Women" by Stephen Vincent Benet, it stars Howard Keel as Adam Pontabee and Jane Powell as Milly. It was nominated for five Academy Awards: Best Cinematography, Color; Best Film Editing; Best Picture; Best Film Editing, Best Picture; Best Writing, Screenplay. It was the Oscar winner for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047472/

The eldest of seven brothers, Adam Pontabee (Howard Keel), brings home his pretty new bride Milly (Jane Powell) to the family ranch. Milly is appalled by the mens' living conditions and sets about to make some changes in not only her new husband but also in her six brothers-in-law. They take their well groomed and polite selves to a barn-raising where they meet six girls that they are attracted to and the girls seem to like them, too. Unfortunately, the girls already have men who are attracted to them and the suitors get mad at the brothers' advances. A fight ensues and the brothers are banned from town.

As winter grows colder, the brothers find themselves pining for the girls from the barnraising. The brothers agree that they want brides like their older brother. They ask Adam for some tips on how to woo a woman. Unfortunately, he as been reading about the Romans' abduction of the Sobbin' Women (Sabine Women). He explains that his brothers should kidnap a woman for each of them and then block the only access to their ranch by causing an avalanche. They sneak in to town and they each kidnap their respective woman and, after reaching the narrow pass, they cause an avalanche.

The girls are angry for being kidnapped and their families and town friends are furious, but they can't get through the pass to rescue them til the spring thaw. Milly is furious with Adam for giving his brothers such horrible advice. She then banishes all the men to live in the barn while she and the girls live in the house. Adam, annoyed with Milly's attitude, takes off for the family's cabin to spend the winter by himself, leaving his brothers in the barn through the coldest winter in memory. The boys promise to make no advances towards the women they have abducted. The women have, over time ,fallen in love with the men, but spring is coming and there are consequences to pay when the town folks get through the pass.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047472/synopsis

"Based extremely loosely on the Stephen Vincent Benet story Sobbin' Women, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is one of the best MGM musicals of the 1950s."—Tommy Rall, The New York Times http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/43833/Seven-Brides-For-Seven-Brothers/overview

"This is a happy, hand-clapping, foot-stomping country type of musical with all the slickness of a Broadway show. Johnny Mercer and Gene de Paul provide the slick, showy production with eight songs, all of which jibe perfectly with the folksy, hillbilly air maintained in the picture. Howard Keel's robust baritone and Jane Powell's lilting soprano make their songs extremely listenable."—Varietyhttp://www.variety.com/review/VE1117794765.html?categoryid=31&cs=1