Cast: Jane Powell, Howard Keel, Jeff Richards, Russ Tamblyn

Directed By: Stanley Donen

Filled with lively dancing, rollicking and frolicking songs, colorful costumes and twisted with the heartache of love, this 1954 classic is a delightful musical based on Stephen Vincent Benet's story ‘Sobbin' Women’ that will give you over an hourful of entertainment.

The towering Oregon Territory, mountain man Adam (Howard Keel) lives far from town and needs someone to clean and cook for his 6 wild brothers who laze around doing nothing. He comes to town to sell his crops and woo a woman to be his wife, succeeding with Milly (Jane Powell), who is tired of feeding and waiting on so many men at the local inn. She moves out with him not knowing what is in store for her. All hell breaks loose when she arrives. The 6 brothers are rowdy, and fight over every trivial matter. They put not only their family to shame, but also embarrass Adam and his wife with their behavior. Milly is angry at all this, but there is nothing she can do. Seeing their brother with a woman, they soon decide that they too need wives who will look after them. Through Mily’s efforts the boys are tamed into proper gentlemen and learn how to respect and behave themselves.

However on a trip to town, despite Milly’s training on how to woo girls, they kidnap a batch of 6 girls beat the girls' boyfriends and hauls them to their house where they are forced to spent winter due to an avalanche. Now watch the movie to know what happens next.

Keel with his ruff baritone on ‘Bless Yore Beautiful Hide’ is the highlight on the music front and so is the plucky songbird soprano Powell. Look out for songs like ‘Wonderful Day’, ‘When You're in Love’, ‘Sobbin' Women’. Bonus material includes ‘Making of Seven Brides.’

Rating: ****

-  Reviewed by Verus Ferreira