Seven Sweethearts (1942)

Seven Sweethearts has Van Heflin as a news reporter sent on a puff assignment to cover the famous Tulip Festival in Delft, Michigan. Then as now Michigan has a large Dutch population, at the time it was represented in the US Senate by Arthur Vandenberg. But this particular town has turned into a veritable Dutch Theme Park.All presided over by the local innkeeper S.Z. Sakall whose hotel staff includes his seven lovely daughters and Louise Beavers. All have some kind of talent, but Sakall wants to keep them near. The oldest daughter is Marsha Hunt and Sakall if he has to lose them wants them married off in descending order. He pushes Heflin and Hunt together who just wants to get out of Delft and go on the stage.But Heflin has eyes for Kathryn Grayson. The plot premise is the same as in the Fred Astaire/Rita Hayworth classic You Were Never Lovelier being done the same year at Columbia. It's a much better film than Seven Sweethearts, having those two as leads and a Jerome Kern score give it an insurmountable boost over this film.Not that Seven Sweethearts isn't bad. It's the kind of romantic tale that Frank Borzage loved and while this isn't one of his classics it's passable enough entertainment. Kathryn Grayson sings some nice melodies nothing special though. And Van Heflin is a favorite.Seven Sweethearts is old fashioned, but still good entertainment.

An American man from NYC arrives in a small town where Dutch people live.This is a very strange place to be ,predating Minnelli's "Brigadoon" .A place where time stood still:you do not pay when you are staying at the hotel,the girls all bear boys' name -cause dad wanted boys-and they can 't get married till the eldest does.By no means one of multi-talented Borzage's greatest achievements (most of them were behind him at the time),his movie retains freshness , a "Carpe Diem" spirit ,a good antidote to stress .My favorite scene takes place in the church.Good performances by the whole cast,particularly Van Heflin who learns to like another way of life.

This is one of those films that is best enjoyed by just turning off your brain and letting yourself get into the film despite a very silly and impossible plot. Considering the film has considerable charm (and Cuddles Sakal), I could do this quite easily--at least until Kathryn Grayson sang too many songs that it spoiled mood! While I am not a huge fan of musicals, this isn't exactly a musical as all the numbers are strictly Grayson singing in a very operatic style that you either love or hate--guess which category I fell into! The silly plot is about the fictional town of New Delph, Michigan--and I assume it's a thinly disguised version of Holland, Michigan, as this town is famous for their bulbs and Dutch heritage. The town is like a little piece of Holland transported to America, as the homes look very Dutch and they keep alive their heritage through cultural festivals.Van Heflin is a reporter and arrives for the annual Tulip Festival. The first person he meets is the odd but very sweet Cuddle Sakal who runs the local hotel. The hotel is staffed by his seven daughters--all who have boys' names! And, of course, all are very beautiful and charming (with one exception). Van falls for the youngest one (Grayson) but the family tradition is that none of them can marry until the oldest marries (Marsha Hunt). Unfortunately, Hunt is a rather vain and obnoxious lady and Heflin is stuck because he wants to wed Grayson and break the very strong family tradition.The whole contrived plot works because of the charming nature of the film. Sakal, as usual, is a cute and endearing character and the film is well-written (at least when it comes to dialog). About the only deficits are the silliness of the plot and the over-abundance of singing by Grayson. Without the singing, this film would have earned at least a 7!

I just saw this movie a few days ago on TCM (Turner Classic Movies), and I was not disappointed. I wasn't expecting much so I was pleasantly surprised to come away from this film with a smile on my face. The acting was even good for the type of film it was, I have not been the biggest Van Heflin fan but he is actually very likeable in this film, so much so that I think I may be a fan of his now. ;-)The stand-out performances came from Heflin, Hunt, and Sakall but Grayson was very cute, although I am not a fan of her singing it wasn't THAT bad this time. Although still a little too high and chirpy sounding for me.I must praise Marsha Hunt though, she seems to be good in every film she's in, even when the role doesn't call for her to do much of anything. In this role she really gets to show a comedic side that I've never seen from her before, and it gave me even more respect for her. It's such a pity she didn't become a bigger star cause she had the beauty and the talent for it. I recommend this film if you're in the mood for some light entertainment, Toots. ;-)