In 1850, backwoodsman Adam Pontipee comes to town in the Oregon Territory to shop and look for a bride. He eventually comes upon the ukrainian gold brides tavern, where he sees Milly chopping wood.
After being convinced of her worth by the quality of her cooking and her insistence on finishing her chores before she would leave with him, he proposes and she accepts despite knowing him for only a few hours. On the journey home, Milly talks about how she is excited to be cooking and taking care of only one man while Adam begins to look uncomfortable. When they arrive at his cabin in the mountains, Milly is surprised to learn that Adam is the eldest of seven brothers living under the same roof. The next morning, Milly decides to teach Adam and his brothers cleanliness and proper manners – especially at the table during meals.
After the brothers wash and shave, Milly is shocked at how handsome they are, and that none of them got married. It turns out that the brothers rarely saw girls and never learned how to communicate with them. Winter comes, and the six younger brothers are pining for the girls they had fallen in love with. Milly asks Adam to talk to the brothers as she fears they will want to leave because of missing the girls. Aided by Adam, the brothers kidnap the six girls, then cause an avalanche in Echo Pass so the townspeople can’t pursue them.
The Pontipee homestead is cut off from the town until the spring thaw opens Echo Pass again. The only problem: the brothers forgot to bring the parson along to perform the marriages. Winter slowly passes, and the women vent their frustrations by pulling pranks on the brothers, though there is clear attraction on both sides. After Milly announces that she’s going to have a baby, the women and the brothers come together as a family. Milly gives birth to a daughter, in the spring. The daughter is named Hannah as a continuum to the names in alphabetical order, the last one being Gideon. Adam does return home, when Echo Pass comes open, to reconcile with Milly and meet his new daughter.
As a newly responsible father, he has become aware of how worried the townspeople would be about what has happened to the six abducted girls. Milly forgives him for his past behavior. When Milly discovers that they are not in the house, Adam tells the brothers to find them and bring them back. The townspeople arrive, intent on hanging the Pontipee brothers for the kidnappings. The fathers, who find the brothers trying to force the women to return to town, misunderstand their efforts as assault, and charge to the girls’ rescue.
Hannah cry in the distance, and worries that the baby might belong to one of the kidnapped girls. Elcott asks the girls whose baby he heard, and to not be afraid to tell. To perform the dance numbers and action sequences, choreographer Michael Kidd wanted dancers to portray all six of Adam Pontipee’s brothers. Kidd said that he “had to find a way to have these backwoods men dance without looking ridiculous. And it could only have been done by superbly trained dancers.
Matt Mattox, Marc Platt, Tommy Rall, and Jacques d’Amboise. All four balanced on a beam together during their barn-raising dance. The wood-chopping scene in Lonesome Polecat was filmed in a single take. Howard Keel, a professional singer, appeared as the eldest of the seven brothers. Jeff Richards was a former professional baseball player who topped out at the AAA level of the minor leagues.
Although obviously athletic, he is noticeably in the background, seated, or standing during the dance numbers so as to not expose his lesser dancing skills. Matt Mattox, a professional dancer, appeared on stage on Broadway and also danced in many Hollywood musical films. His singing voice for the film was dubbed by Bill Lee. Dream Curly in the original 1943 Broadway production of Oklahoma! Tommy Rall, a professional dancer and singer, appeared on stage on Broadway and in many musical films.
Russ Tamblyn was cast in the role of youngest brother Gideon. Tamblyn showcased his gymnastics training throughout the action sequences. He also had a starring role in the musical West Side Story as Riff. Professional dancers played all seven of the brides. The four girls whom Adam sees in the Bixby store when he first goes into town, are Dorcas, Ruth, Liza and Sarah. Milly: Jane Powell channeled her experiences growing up in Oregon to create Milly. She and Howard Keel would later reprise their roles in a Seven Brides for Seven Brothers stage revival.
