User Reviews

Here's another one of those 'Million Dollar Movies' that I would watch when it was shown every night for a week back when I was a kid growing up in the Fifties. Of course then, the only way to see it was in black and white, so to catch it in color today for the first time was a nice treat. For a kid, I guess you could say that the stars of the picture were the seven Foy siblings, but of course it was Bob Hope who brought the picture to life as talented song and dance man Eddie Foy. It's quite a unique story, at times heartbreaking and sentimental, but rising to the occasion with family warmth and solidarity when the situation requires it.

The family act notwithstanding, one of the standout scenes features that old Yankee Doodle Dandy himself, Jimmy Cagney, reprising his 1942 movie role as George M. Cohan The setting is the legendary Friars Club Outstanding Father of the Year Award for which Foy Sr. is being honored. Cagney and Hope lay it on very nicely in a well choreographed routine, and I was actually quite surprised to see Hope's performance as a hoofer. I don't recall ever seeing him go at it so effectively in any of his TV specials or overseas tours. It helps one appreciate just how talented the man really was.

It was a tragedy of course that mother Madeleine Foy passed away so young, and one wonders how history might have been entirely different had that event not provided the catalyst for Eddie to take his kids in as part of the act. For one, this movie might never have been made, as Eddie always considered himself a solo act. In which instance, a parental hearing on his fitness as a father might have gone an entirely different way. Interesting how life works out sometimes.

You can pick this film up as part of a nicely packaged five DVD, ten movie 'Hollywood Legends' collection. This one in particular features Bob Hope in a nice assortment of films spanning his career, including a couple of the 'Road' pictures. The latter have been remastered, and along with "The Seven Little Foys", have exceptional viewing quality. The color films especially, are particularly crisp and bright.

"The Seven Little Foys" stars Bob Hope as legendary vaudeville comedian Eddie Foy. As with many bio-pics, great liberties are taken with the truth here...you may want to go to Wikipedia to read about the real story of Foy's romantic life and courtship...which is at variance with what is presented here...although it is entertaining. Once married, the Foys begin a family -- 7 in all -- but then Foy's wife dies while he is on the road. The film does cover the infamous Iroquois Theater Fire, where Foy was considered a hero. The movie is mostly about the ups and downs of taking a family act on the road.

I sort of felt that Bob Hope was "walking through" this part...not his best role, but he does okay. The highlight of the film is the legendary dance routine with Hope (as Foy) and James Cagney, who reprises his role as George M. Cohan. Most of the film is very watchable, but not great. But this dance routine is a must-see.

The supporting cast is not very notable, although George Tobias is very good as the agent, and its nice to see Billy Gray (Bud on "Father Knows Best") as one of the sons.

I remembered this film as being better than when I recently viewed it. Very watchable, though not memorable...except for the dance routine. Probably not one for the DVD shelf unless you're a big fan of Bob Hope.

Everyone from Vaudeville is now gone. The only reason I remember it is from the memories of performers like W C Fields, George Burns & Gracie Allen, Henny Youngman, Jack Benny and others I saw in movies when I was a kid and the film Yankee Doodle Dandy. Still, the Vaudeville entertainers I saw when I was a child made me realize what a golden era it was.

Bob Hope playing Eddie Foy here gives a warm memory to that era. Vaudeville is very well portrayed here and Hope has one of his better roles. Hope, known more for punch lines than acting proved a few times in his career that he could act. This is one of them.

While Vaudeville is gone the memories of it live on in films like this one. While You Tube might become the Vaudeville of the electronic era as home videos create a new frontier of entertainment, Vaudeville which lived from the post Civil War era until the 1930's will always be the most fruitful ground of entertainment in that era.

Movies took over when Vaudeville died, then came radio and music on records where some vaudevillians took over and dominated early on. Then came Television and now the Internet. With each progression we get farther from the roots of theater which date back to Shakespeare. This film recreates one of these important steps. Without, we would not understand how we got here.

This movie is a nostalgic trip worth taking with Cagney & Hope together in one number a major bonus.

I'm puzzled why a number of reviewers here call this a wonderful family film. I like a lot of Bob Hope films, but I found this one generally unpleasant. I have little idea how the storyline compares to the life of the real Eddie Foy, but what we see on the screen doesn't always make sense. At the beginning, Hope plays Foy as a seemingly asexual loner, anxious to build his vaudeville career as a solo act that he wants eventually to take to Broadway. He shuns women until he encounters an Italian ballerina who is part of a sister act. Acting like a buffoon, he imposes himself in their act on stage. An impresario thinks the combination of crude slapstick and classical ballet is a winner and wants to sign Foy and the sisters and take their act to Broadway. Modern audiences may see the act differently, but that's beside the point. For no discernible reason, the ballerina falls in love with Foy. When he fails to reciprocate her affection, she and her sister return to Italy. Eventually Foy follows her there and proposes. From that moment, their relationship seems to deteriorate. It's difficult not to side with the sister who can't understand what her sister sees in Foy. Meanwhile, Foy's wife bears child after child, while Foy is off on the road, pursuing his career and paying no attention to her or his children. The children are well provided for and are well looked after by their mother and aunt, but they have no relationship with their father. So far, not much of a family film.

***Spoiler*** Eventually, Foy returns home to find his wife has just died. He doesn't even know she had been ill for months. He expresses remorse and appears ready to become a better parent. Instead, he simply stops working, stays at home and drinks, while his children run wild, to his sister-in-law's despair. Later, Foy's manager persuades him to go back to work--and to include all seven of his children i his act. The children are uniformly so untalented that Foy fears preparing a professional act will be impossible. To his surprise, however, the family act is well received, despite the children's many gaffes, and they gradually improve.

With the family now constantly on the road, the sister-in-law begs Foy to take the children home for Christmas. He agrees but later reneges on his promise when the family is booked for a prestigious Christmas Day performance. The sister-in-law is so angry she leaves the family and threatens to take the children away. Still not much of a warm family film thus far.

The climax of the film comes in a court scene, after the sister-in-law gets a New York City government agency to investigate whether Foy is breaking the law by forcing his children to work. For the first time, Foy demonstrates some remorse. He offers to plead guilty so the children can be cared for in a more suitable environment. It appears that the sister-in-law has finally won. However, just as the judge is about to make a ruling, the children themselves come to their father's defense by proclaiming they actually like being in show business and that they want to keep their family act together. Where does this sudden change of heart come from? Until this scene, there is scarcely a moment in the entire film in which Foy and his children appear even to like each other.

Leaving aside the question of whether this surprising ending reflects what really happened in Foy's life, it's a very unconvincing moment. The judge dismisses the case against Foy, and even the sister-in-law seems to be smiling. In the next scene, Foy wakes up in his bed at home on a Sunday morning and asks where everyone has gone. The answer, of course, is to church. Foy then rushes to get dressed so he can join his family at church, where he apparently has never gone before. The film ends with him and his sister-in-law walking arm-in-arm into a church after the children.

This is what passes for a warm family film? Even a Disney film isn't this bad.

Wish I had more information on how the screen play stacks up compared to the real story of Eddie Foy and family. Wikipedia provides some, but frustratingly insufficient, info on the details. From the info I have gathered, I suspect the majority of details are fictional. Actually, Foy's third wife, the one dramatized here, had 11 children, but 4 didn't make it through early childhood. Unlike the story told here, wife Madeline died 5 or more years after the children were incorporated into Foy's vaudeville act, the youngest being 10 years old when she died.

The Iroquois Theater fire, featured here, was far more devastating than dramatized, with 600 deaths and repercussions around the US and elsewhere on built-in fire safety measures in theaters.

There is some understandable disagreement between reviewers on whether this should be labeled a family film or anti-family film. Although their points are well taken, I disagree with the anti-family label. We have 2 issues here that children of a certain age should be exposed to. Firstly, marriage at a young age is not a good idea for everyone, more relevant for men than women, at least until recent decades. Often, a woman wants a man who is reasonably well established in a profession or trade, and has some savings or real property. In Foy's case, in the film, he had a severe conflict as to whether marriage and children were at all compatible with the vagabond life of practitioners of his profession. Eventually, he found a woman he couldn't say no to. Second is the conflict between compulsory or voluntary formal education on the one hand, and the need to help support the family or the desirability of getting a head start in a profession or trade. Of course, farmer's children of that time were able to go to school and help on the farm, as well. Expect to hear Hope's usual quota of one liners and other jokes, which partially compensates for the frequent friction between him and the rest of his family. Milly Vitale, as Foy's wife, with her beauty and warm personality, also provides a calming influence during the portion where her character is present. George Tobias appears frequently as Foy's agent and friend.

As others have noted, the verbal ribbing back and forth between Hope and James Cagney, reprising his role as George M. Cohen, followed by their vaudeville dancing, is a high point of the film.

Yes, the courtroom scene is pretty lame. Live in sister-in-law Clara took the action of notifying child welfare authorities about the inclusion of the kids in Foy's acts. This was against the law in their home district. Tobias counters that it should be legal. Clara strongly felt that the children belonged in a grounded home, rather than traveling all over the US, being coerced into taking part in shows. The kids initially strongly agreed with this position, but gradually changed their minds as they grew more accustomed to the lifestyle. Thus, in court, they pleaded that they didn't feel abused, and in fact liked the lifestyle: "Give me liberty or give me death" piped up one kid. Hope argued that their poor performance, as demonstrated in the courtroom, couldn't be interpreted as entertainment, and the lenient judge agreed.

As time goes forward we live in an age where dysfunctional families are the norm. As for me personally it was hard being different from my three siblings. First off I'm the only male in the group. Secondly I attended a different school. The only semblance I had left was to bond with my Dad and his line of work. Fixing Boilers. I tried to emulate and was not mechanically inclined. I would botch up job after job which distanced myself from my Father. My Father labeled me as lazy when in reality I was just green with inexperience. His workers where told to make my life a living hell and never would they help me for fear of losing there jobs. I understood my place and had to bare the brunt of the hardships being the boss's son. The reason I watch Bob Hope movies is the fact that in most of them Bob turns around and talks to the audience.This movie is not one of them; instead this film is narrated throughout by the real Charley Foy one of the fore-mentioned Seven in the title. This movie is about the life and times of Vaudevillian and Broadway star Eddie Foy. Foy Senior grew up in an era when being an actor was not a prestigious occupation. Traveling from town to town out of trunks and flea bag hotels can disenfranchise yourself from mainstream life. Eddie was basically a loner doing his act when he stumbles upon an Italian Ballerina Madalaine (Milly Vitale) and her apprehensive Sister Clara (Angela Clarke). Foy and Milly put an act together and eventually get married against the wishes of angry Clara. Those two Clara and Foy Sr. will be locking horns throughout the rest of the movie. Madalaine gives birth to a son Bryan who's crib is a makeshift drawer as Foy would share a mid-night feeding with his son. Milk and Nipple for Bryan . Beer and nipple for Daddy Foy, L'chiam!! The Years role on as Foy impregnates poor Madalaine six more times. YES SEVEN KIDS TOTAL! To feed all those kids Foy moves up as a Broadway Star trying to fit in his tight schedule of baptisms and Matinee performances to the disapproval of the priests. Foy buys a home in nearby New Rochelle,New York.. On his way to Boston one evening he yells from the express train to each of his kids as the train going at top speed passes by. Meanwhile Madalaine's health is in decline and she eventually dies.Earlier on that tragic night one of my favorite scenes in the picture is James Cagney Reprises the role of George M. Cohan and Bob Hope Foy doing a dance at the Friars Club honoring Foy,( (as of all things,) "Father of the Year." Now a new dilemma has developed as Foy Quits Showbiz to watch his kids but instead lays around drinking as the kids and billy goat mess up the house. Close friend and agent Barney Green (George Tobias) begs a guilt ridden Foy to go back to show business. An idea pops into his beer filled brain and he decides to incorporate his incorrigible children into an act. They can't sing. They can't act. The acts are covered with gaffes. They can't dance but they have personality! With Little Irving at the end of the chorus line the Foy's travel from town to town warming the hearts of audiences from Oshcosh to Frisco. Love the Chinatown routine. Aunt Clara constantly begs Foy to at least take a break and have the kids come home for Christmas. Here the story gets serious as Clara seeks legal action against the Father which makes for an interesting climax. Notable cameos in the film, Dabbs Greer as the children's instructor, Joe Flynn as a priest and a very young precocious Bryan Foy played by Jerry Mathers. Great time to watch this film is during the winter holidays. I only wish that could have bonded with my Father in his business but things never worked out.