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 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.