The Seven Little Foys
Film poster
Directed byMelville Shavelson
Written byJack Rose
Melville Shavelson
Produced byJack Rose
StarringBob Hope
Milly Vitale
George Tobias
Narrated byCharley Foy
CinematographyJohn F. Warren
Edited byEllsworth Hoagland
Music byJoseph J. Lilley
Production
companies
Hope Enterprises
Scribe Productions
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release dates
  • June 1, 1955 (1955-06-01) (Sydney, Australia)
  • June 23, 1955 (1955-06-23) (Los Angeles)
  • June 29, 1955 (1955-06-29) (New York City)
Running time
93 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.5 million[1]
Box office$4 million (US)[2]

The Seven Little Foys is a Technicolor in VistaVision 1955 comedy film directed by Melville Shavelson starring Bob Hope as Eddie Foy. One highlight of the film is an energetic tabletop dance showdown sequence with Bob Hope as Eddie Foy and James Cagney as George M. Cohan (reprising his role from Yankee Doodle Dandy). The story of Eddie Foy Sr. and the Seven Little Foys inspired a TV version in 1964 and a stage musical version, which premiered in 2007.

Plot

Vaudeville entertainer Eddie Foy (Bob Hope), who has vowed to forever keep his act a solo, falls in love with and marries Italian ballerina Madeleine (Milly Vitale). While they continue to tour the circuit, they begin a family and before long have seven children. After the tragedy of the Iroquois Theater Fire threatens to stall Eddie's career, he comes to realize that his children are worth their weight in gold. The second eldest Foy, Charley, narrates the film.

James Cagney reprises his role as George M. Cohan from the film Yankee Doodle Dandy for an energetic tabletop dance showdown sequence.

Cast

NOTE: Mathers played Bryan Lincoln Foy as a 7-year old (Iroquois Theater Fire scene); Gray played the older Bryan Lincoln Foy in the rest of the movie.

Reception

Other versions

  • Bob Hope hosted an hour-long TV version of The Seven Little Foys on January 24, 1964, as part of the NBC series Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre. The television version featured Eddie Foy Jr. playing his father, Mickey Rooney as George Cohan, and The Osmonds as Mr. Foy's children. The junior Foy originally played his father in the Yankee Doodle Dandy film.
  • In 2007, the first stage musical version of The Seven Little Foys, written by Chip Deffaa (featuring songs made famous by the Foys, as well as originals by Deffaa), had its world premiere at Seven Angels Theater in Waterbury, Connecticut. This version was presented at the York Theater in New York City, as part of its Developmental Reading Series in July 2012.

See also

References

  1. "Every Star a 'Sellebrity'". Variety. 27 July 1955. p. 7.
  2. 'The Top Box-Office Hits of 1955', Variety Weekly, January 25, 1956


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