It’s a classic, all right, but you’ll have to get through a layer of sexism before you love it as much as I do!

In the backwoods of Oregon in 1850, Adam Pontipee (Howard Keel) rides into town lookin’ fer a wife who will set up housekeeping in his rustic mountain home. He finds her in Milly (Jane Powell), who marries him without knowing what she’s getting into, which borders on heavy labor.

And to make matters worse, Adam’s six love-starved brothers kidnap six of Milly’s friends in town, who became trapped at the Pontipee cabin in the midst of winter. But you need to watch with my assurance all seven guys learn their lesson by the end.

Seven Brides is in essence a dance musical, expertly directed by Stanley Donen and choreographed by Michael Kidd with testosterone to spare. The barn-raising sequence alone will leave you breathless (truly!) and there’s lots more dancing to savor, accompanied by a grand score by Johnny Mercer and Gene de Paul.

The film was a “sleeper” in 1954; MGM execs were convinced that the movie version of Brigadoon would grab all the attention that year. How wrong they were! Seven Brides won rave reviews and packed theaters—a triumph—and it remains so to this day. (Sexism be damned!)