Penny Serenade (1941)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

George Stevens

Writers:

Martha Cheavens (story)
Morrie Ryskind (screenplay)

Release Date:

24 April 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Excitingly Re-united! Your favorites of "THE AWFUL TRUTH" in the kind of love story you have been waiting to see!

Plot:

A couple's big dreams give way to a life full of unexpected sadness and unexpected joy.

Plot Keywords:

Marriage | Recording | Music Store | Grief | Husband Wife Relationship

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Irene Dunne	...	Julie Gardiner Adams
Cary Grant	...	Roger Adams
Beulah Bondi	...	Miss Oliver
Edgar Buchanan	...	Applejack Carney
Ann Doran	...	Dotty 'Dot'
Eva Lee Kuney	...	Trina (at the Age of 6 Years)
Leonard Willey	...	Doctor Hartley
Wallis Clark	...	Judge
Walter Soderling	...	Billings
Jane Biffle	...	Trina (at the Age of 1 Year) (as Baby Biffle)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Stanley Brown	...	Man (scenes deleted)
Jack Buchanan	...	Bit Part (scenes deleted)
Bess Flowers	...	Mother (scenes deleted)
Eddie Laughton	...	Cab Driver (scenes deleted)
Adrian Morris	...	Bill Collector (scenes deleted)
Edward Peil Sr.	...	Train Conductor (scenes deleted)
Grady Sutton	...	Man (scenes deleted)

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Australia:G | Canada:G (Ontario) | UK:PG (re-rating) (2005) | UK:U (original rating) (1941-2005) | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:Approved (PCA #6848)

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Irene Dunne often said that this was her favorite film because it reminded her of her own adopted daughter.

Quotes:

Judge: [Judge firmly addressing two unseen attorneys] I'll give you an opportunity to better prepare your facts.
Man: [Hands Judge some papers] Adoption proceedings, the Adams case.
Judge: What?
Man: The Adams case.
Judge: [Looks disturbed] Oh yes, yes. Uh...
[turns back to attorneys]
Judge: if either one or both of you gentlemen conduct yourselves like you've been doing today I'll hold you in contempt, the both of ya!
Judge: [Walks into chambers, sees Roger, Miss Oliver, and the baby all seated. Sits at desk] Uh, oh this is the child in question. Ahem, let me see. Yes, I recall looking over these adoption papers. I see you have no income at present.
[Looks at Roger]
Judge: Is that correct?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in Se, jie (2007)

Soundtrack:

Three O'Clock in the Morning

A Beauty

One of the best films made. 1941 was a phenomenal year, not least for this film and Grant's marvelous performance. Call it melodrama, but it's the stuff of life, heartbreak and love and helpless vulnerability. How unfashionable.

I could watch Edgar Buchanan wash that baby a thousand times. Find me one actor with enough life experience today to do that scene. Just one.

Independent films today often seem to strive to make the point that human drama is about the struggles and relationships of private life. We call it "sentiment" when studios made films about this sort of drama and what's ultimately important on the most private level.