I am interspersing musicals slowly and carefully into my list so as not to scare off my non-musical audience, but this 1954 release is just too good/too fun to pass up. Adam (Howard Keel - oh my god, what a voice) needs a wife and zeros in on Milly (Jane Powell) to drag back to his Oregon Territory farm and six unruly brothers. The tiny beauty has a backbone and rises to the challenge. Milly makes believers out of them. The brothers decide they want wives of their own and kidnap more cuties from town. Whoops, they forgot to drag the preacher along too and the pass gets snowed-in for winter.
The songs are lovely, the story charming, but it's the dance choreography that brings me back again and again. There are two numbers in particular which showcase the brothers' dance skills, and they are outstanding. Julie Newmar of Catwoman fame is one of the kidnapped cuties. They stick her in the back or whisk her out completely for the more involved dance routines, but who cares, it's Julie Newmar!
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