Seven Sweethearts

This wartime musical comedy is very charming, in part due to its unusual story line. Credit to director Frank Borzage and the writers for including many whimsical elements.

Songstress Kathryn Grayson plays the youngest daughter (Billie) of a Michigan family and carries the biggest load due to her vocalizing. When a New York photojournalist (Van Heflin as Henry Taggart) comes to their small town to cover the local tulip festival, he is caught off guard by the innkeeper's seven daughters, each a stunning beauty.

"Cuddles" Sakall is the father who runs his inn in an unconventional manner, but still clings to traditions. He is a lovable character with plenty of personality.

Though the story has its conflicts, it never feels heavy. This is a quirky film that is fun to watch.

If I called 'Seven Sweethearts' not a bad little film I would be damning it with faint praise and that is not my intention. It is a nice film. It is slow and enjoyable, a pleasant fantasy for wartime with a happy ending for everyone. On the other hand: Kathryn Grayson is no Deanna Durbin, not by a long chalk. Her soprano is too thin for my taste; I could have done with less of her singing. Van Heflin tries too hard to be the tough newspaper man; as a result he comes across as distinctly unlikeable. Then again, S. Z. Sakall gives a convincing anxious father. On balance, there are more up- than downsides to this film - but only just.

A wonderful film to sit back and simply ENJOY---no pretense, no attempts at greatness...just a chance to escape and enjoy the world as it was once-upon-a-time in Hollywood.

This despite a few references to WWII and even the term "goosestep" used in the lyrics to "You and the Waltz", sung by Kathryn Grayson and accompanied on the piano by Carl Esmond's character. And HEY---why were those five strapping young male suitors always hanging around the hotel, instead of off fighting the war?? But...as one reviewer said, this film was meant to take the viewer away from the overseas hostilities during the very dark and turbulent year of 1942.

I would agree that Miss Grayson's singing can be a distraction, but her light, rather quivery ("tremolo" as it's called in the film), somewhat shrill and brittle sound was the taste of the day....and she WAS in fact a very capable coloratura soprano. I wish she would have sung something other than the big "Mignon" aria at the Festival's concert scene...something more in tune with the film itself, more folksy and romantic. Loved the big outdoor Festival scene (the kind which MGM always did so well), the kitschy all-girl orchestra number as dinner music, and the singing of the moving hymn "We Gather Together" in the church; it's so refreshing and touching to see the sincerity of a scene like that appearing in a mainstream film of that bygone era.

SK Szakall is wonderful in this film; a first-rate, substantial performance, requiring lots of humor, split-second timing, and some very tender pathos. Marsha Hunt is stunningly gorgeous as always, even though her role requires that she play a pain-in-the-neck.

And where did the main pair of lovers decide to settle down? One would hope that they chose to stay right there in Tulip Town.

A delightful precursor to "Brigadoon", with certain similarities to "Seven Brides", both of which MGM would be hard at work on a decade later, during the sad decline of the Hollywood musical.

Reporter Henry Taggart (Van Heflin) arrives in Little Delft, Michigan to write about the tulip festival. He encounters Mr. Van Maaster (S. Z. Sakall) who runs the local hotel with his seven beautiful male-named daughters. He falls for the youngest daughter Billie (Kathryn Grayson), but family tradition prevents her marrying until all the other sisters marry before her.

These are beautiful babes. This premise never made that much sense to me especially with so many daughters. I guess it's screwball fun, but it could be better with only one other sister aka Taming of the Shrew. The singing is not my style, but it doesn't detract. This is light entertainment which is good escapism for its time.

Reporter Van Heflin travels to a small town to write about their annual tulip festival, but as soon as he gets there, he's greeted with nothing but strangeness from the town's residents. First, the head honcho, S.Z. Sakall, sits in the middle of the square and plays the oboe, the local hotel is full of colorful characters, and S.Z's seven daughters all have boys' names!

Since all seven daughters are beautiful, Van has a difficult choice on his hands. The oldest, Marsha Hunt, and the youngest, Kathryn Grayson, are the highest contenders for his affections, and it isn't long before the audience finds out the reason for Marsha's heavy come-on. According to tradition, the oldest daughter has to get married before any of the others can-and S.Z.'s very old fashioned!

Most people probably aren't going to choose to sit down and watch this obscure old movie, but for the few of you out there who remember Kathryn Grayson and love listening to her beautiful voice, she's given plenty of songs to show it off. Her beautiful coloratura soprano voice shines, but if you don't like opera singing, this movie will probably drive you up the wall.

I'm the first to admit I don't usually like Van Heflin, and I usually get him confused with Van Johnson and Arthur Kennedy, but in this movie he's actually a lot more likable than he usually is! I've never seen him in a romantic comedy before, and when he smiles and jokes around, he doesn't seem as grumpy as he normally does. Kathryn is also very sweet and likable, so once again, if you're looking for a film of hers to watch-she didn't make too many unfortunately-you could do a lot worse than Seven Sweethearts.

One more compliment for this light-hearted B movie: S.Z. Sakall, usually cast as a laughable foreigner, was given the opportunity to actually act in this movie, and he did a very good job. As a father terribly attached to his daughters, when he learns they're considering marrying and leaving him, he gets very hurt. If you watch this movie, you'll find out how effective his pouts can be.