Pennies from Heaven

12/11/19811h 48m

Theatrical (limited) Release (US)

~ There's a world on both sides of the rainbow where songs come true and every time it rains, it rains Pennies from Heaven. ~

Overview:

During the Great Depression, a sheet music salesman seeks to escape his dreary life through popular music and a love affair with an innocent school teacher.

Director:

Herbert Ross

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$22,000,000.00

Revenue:

$9,171,289.00

Key words:

chicago, illinois
marriage
musical
great depression
teacher
traveling salesman
1930s

Cast

Steve Martin

~ as ~

Arthur

Bernadette Peters

~ as ~

Eileen

Jessica Harper

~ as ~

Joan

Vernel Bagneris

~ as ~

The Accordion Man

John McMartin

~ as ~

Mr. Warner

John Karlen

~ as ~

The Detective

Jay Garner

~ as ~

The Banker

Robert Fitch

~ as ~

Tommy Rall

~ as ~

Eliska Krupka

~ as ~

The Blind Girl

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

Wuchak
Written 6 year(s) ago
5
Imagination helps endure the harsh realities of the Depression

In the 1930s a struggling sheet music salesman (Steve Martin) tries to escape his dreary existence with his prudish wife (Jessica Harper) to pursue his dream and a cute schoolmarm (Bernadette Peters). The imaginations of the characters help them deal with the harsh realities of the Great Depression. Vernel Bagneris plays a homeless accordion player while Christopher Walken is on hand as a pimp.

“Pennies from Heaven” (1981) is a drama/musical based on the 1978 British mini-series and written by the same guy. The song & dance routines occur about every 7 minutes and are an amusingly kinetic counterpoint to the sad Depression-era dramatics. Martin is his usual comical self, but the drama is definitely not a comedy and contains some seriously unsavory moments.

“Pennies from Heaven” was the precursor to musicals like “Chicago” (2002) and “Nine” (2009), but those films have superior reality-based stories and far better women, especially “Chicago” as far as the women go. But Bernadette is a joy to behold as usual; and Martin is charismatic despite playing a man of dubious character.

The movie runs 1 hour, 48 minutes and was shot in Illinois (Chicago & Galena) and Southern Cal (the Los Angeles area & Wasco).

GRADE: C