I love musicals. This one was one of my very favorites for a long time. Probably because of Howard Keel. Without a doubt, Keel was one of the best leading musical men of his day and that's a day that included Gene Kelly, Robert Preston, and Fred Astaire. He just has a great growly voice and he's so tall!Adam (Howard Keel) is a frontiersman living with his six brothers. As the eldest, he decides he needs a wife so he goes to town and woos Milly (Jane Powell), a hard-working but unappreciated work house cook, in a day. She gets to his cabin, realizes that the brothers are basically heathens and sets about civilizing them. Once they see how fantastic having a woman around is, the boys decide they want wives too. Adam reads about the Rape of the Sabines and gets a great idea. His brothers can just steal the women they want! They sneak into town, locate the objects of their affections, and then kidnap them. The incensed townsfolk give chase but the boys set off an avelanche, sealing the route til spring. Milly, however, furious at the felonious brothers, kicks them all out of the cabin to live in the barn. Slowly, over the winter, the brothers court their stolen ladies.
Of course there are a number of colorful dance scenes, the most notable being the Barn-Raising. I didn't even know it until I checked IMDB, but Dorcas is played by a very young Julie Newmar. Who wouldn't want to end up with Catwoman?
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