Based on a true story that eldest Sager daughter played in the film by Debbie Van Orden and narrated in flashback by Anne Seymour, the film is the true account of a family of seven orphans who keep going for Oregon after their parents, Dewey Martin and Anne Collings, both die on the trail, he from blood poisoning and she in childbirth. The baby made seven Sager children and oldest boy Stewart Petersen leads the rest to the Willamette Valley of Oregon.The Sager's own personal journey is set against the background of the adventures of some other real pioneers and frontier characters such as Kit Carson and missionaries Dr. Marcus Whitman and his wife Narcissa Whitman. After the action of Seven Alone is finished, Marcus and Narcissa Whitman were later murdered and their mission destroyed in the Oregon territory. As for Kit Carson his very real exploits needed no embellishing from dime novel writers. Dean Smith plays him in this film and both the Whitman and Carson stories have never really been adequately told on screen.Young Petersen had a minor career of sorts playing in films that never got any theatrical release in New York where I grew up, but certainly played in drive-ins in red state America. He was a likable young man and gave a sincere performance as the kid determined to realize the dream of his parents.Seven Alone could have used some better direction, but the Wyoming location scenery is nice and the cast does well in the parts.

Enjoyed this great 1974 family film, which was so down to earth about everything that happened to people living in the 1840's and their love of the Mid-West and the trip they were willing to take all the way to the Northwestern part of the country. This film starts out with a husband and wife who have six children and are struggling to scratch the surface of the land in Missouri and the husband grows weary of trying to settle in this part of the country. His main concern is going West like most of his neighbors. However, his wife simply does not like the idea at all. Once a decision is made, the story becomes very interesting and at times tragic; another baby is born, increasing the family to seven. This is a very down to earth depiction of how settlers traveled with their families and had great determination and faith in God to lead them to a better way of living in this great land of the United States.

The film "Seven Alone," demonstrates what happens when a few people in Hollywood fleece some investors to produce a film that ends up being a joke. And, that is rather sad given that the Sager saga was a real story. A real story that exemplified grit and courage in the face of horrible and tragic events in the lives of seven parentless children.A previous reviewer noted this. A really GOOD film could be made regarding the Sager saga. However, that would take a solid script, good production values, a talented cast, and a better singer than Pat Boone. All of that being said, don't count on a remake. The market for this kind of film evaporated with the death of Michael Landon. Which is even more sad in a way if you think about it.

This was not a Hollywood blockbuster but that's o.k. It was a film based on the lives of a group of people who travel from the Midwest to the west coast and endure the hardships that went along with that time in 1842/43. The focus is on the Sager family and their children who are forced to survive on their own after their parents perish on the journey. I would not have watched this without my 7-year-old daughter but because it is based on a true story it held my interest. There weren't any Oscar-winning performances, or even anything that would be that captivating as far as acting skill goes, but if you can overlook that then you'll enjoy the film for what it is. There are no special effects like there are today, but it is a simple movie and doesn't require any. The simplicity is probably a blessing - one of the good things about this is that it is free of any grandiose love scenes. Instead, it is a look at what it might have been like to travel across the country at a pace that is slightly faster than a walk through rain or shine with little shelter, and dealing with things like dysentery and attacks by Indians. This doesn't give a very politically correct view of the native American Indian. But then again, Indians and white men had not even begun to learn to live together in 1843. This movie depicts violent behavior and dialogue that is very condescending toward Indians but I'm sure back in those days the actual dialogue and behavior was just as bad, and probably much worse. Parents should watch this movie with their children so they can teach their children that what they see is inappropriate in our society today. One thing my daughter noticed was that these people didn't have the kind of recreational outlets that we have today and she asked a lot of questions. So while this is not a mega-movie chock full of stars and oozing with complicated effects, it is a simple and entertaining story of a real family's struggle to stay together. It can also be viewed as a teaching tool.