Pennies from Heaven (1981)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Herbert Ross

Writers:

Dennis Potter (written for the screen by)
Dennis Potter (miniseries)

Release Date:

11 December 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

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

Plot:

In Chicago during the depression, sheet music salesman, Arthur Parker, is trying to sell his products...

Plot Keywords:

Sheet Music | Teacher | Dancer | Great Depression | Song

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Steve Martin	...	Arthur
Bernadette Peters	...	Eileen
Christopher Walken	...	Tom
Jessica Harper	...	Joan
Vernel Bagneris	...	The Accordion Man
John McMartin	...	Mr. Warner
John Karlen	...	The Detective
Jay Garner	...	The Banker
Robert Fitch	...	Al
Tommy Rall	...	Ed
Eliska Krupka	...	The Blind Girl
Francis X. McCarthy	...	The Bartender (as Frank McCarthy)
Raleigh Bond	...	Mr. Barrett
Gloria LeRoy	...	A Prostitute
Nancy Parsons	...	The Old Whore
Toni Kaye	...	Tart
Shirley Kirkes	...	Tart
Jack Fletcher	...	Elevator Operator
Hunter Watkins	...	Boy
Arell Blanton	...	Motorcycle Police
M.C. Gainey	...	Young Policeman
George P. Wilbur	...	Motorcycle Police
Mark Campbell	...	Newsboy
Mark Martinez	...	Schoolboy
Duke Stroud	...	Counterman
Joseph G. Medalis	...	Counterman (as Joe Medalis)
Richard Blum	...	Pool Player
William Frankfather	...	Pool Player
James Mendenhall	...	Warden
Jim Boeke	...	Hangman
Robert Lee Jarvis	...	Policeman
Luke Andreas	...	Customer
Will Hare	...	Father Everson
Joshua Cadman	...	Jumbo
Paul Valentine	...	Bar Patron
Bill Richards	...	Bar Patron
John Craig	...	Bar Patron
Alton Ruff	...	Bar Patron
Karla Bush	...	Bank Secretary
Robin Hoff	...	Bank Secretary
Linda Montana	...	Bank Secretary
Dorothy Cronin	...	Bank Secretary
Twink Caplan	...	Bank Customer
Lillian D'Honau	...	Bank Customer
Barbara Nordella	...	Bank Customer
Dean Taliaferro	...	Bank Customer
Wayne Storm	...	Bank Guard
Gene Ross	...	Bank Teller
Edward J. Heim	...	Bank Teller
Dave Adams	...	Bank Teller
Greg Finley	...	Bank Teller
Paul Michael	...	Bank Teller
Joe Ross	...	Bank Teller
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Conrad Bachmann	...	(uncredited)
Dolly Dawn	...	Singer (uncredited)
Robin DiMaggio	...	Drummer Boy / Tap Dancer (uncredited)
Tanya Fenmore	...	Dancer / Schoolgirl (uncredited)
Darren Frank	...	Chorus boy (uncredited)
Aaron Hamilton	...	Dancer / Schoolboy (uncredited)
Melissa Hayden	...	(uncredited)
Helen Kelly	...	Bank Customer (uncredited)
Jenifer Newman	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Tammy O'Rourke	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Leigh Webster	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Tom Willett	...	Man in Diner (uncredited)

Directed by
Herbert Ross

Writing credits
Dennis Potter		(written for the screen by)
Dennis Potter		(miniseries)

Produced by
Ken Adam	....	associate producer
Nora Kaye	....	producer
Rick McCallum	....	executive producer (as Richard McCallum)
Herbert Ross	....	producer

Original Music by
Ralph Burns
Marvin Hamlisch
Billy May

Cinematography by
Gordon Willis		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Richard Marks

Casting by
Ross Brown
Hank McCann

Production Design by
Philip Harrison

Art Direction by
Bernie Cutler
Fred Tuch

Set Decoration by
Garrett Lewis

Costume Design by
Bob Mackie

Makeup Department
Frank Griffin	....	makeup supervisor
Barbara Lampson	....	hairdresser
Connie Nichols	....	hairdresser
Ric Sagliani	....	makeup artist
Daniel C. Striepeke	....	makeup artist (as Dan Striepeke)
Allen Payne	....	hair stylist (uncredited)

Production Management
Murray Schwartz	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Hal Bell	....	second assistant director
Emmitt-Leon O'Neill	....	second assistant director (as Emmitt-Leon O'Neil)
L. Andrew Stone	....	first assistant director
Thomas J. Wright	....	second unit director
Robert Engelman	....	second assistant director (uncredited)
Richard Henry	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Ken Adam	....	visual consultant
Christopher Burian-Mohr	....	set designer
John S. Karas	....	construction coordinator
C.J. Maguire	....	assistant property master
Dennis J. Parrish	....	property master
John T. Walker	....	assistant set decorator (as John Thomas Walker)
Thomas J. Wright	....	production illustrator
Martha Johnston	....	set designer (uncredited)
Scott W. Leslie	....	set dresser (uncredited)

Sound Department
Richard L. Anderson	....	sound editor
John Dunn	....	sound effects editor
Stephen Hunter Flick	....	sound editor (as Stephen H. Flick)
Warren Hamilton Jr.	....	dialogue editor (as Warren Hamilton)
Jay M. Harding	....	rerecording mixer
Michael J. Kohut	....	rerecording mixer
Mark A. Mangini	....	dialogue editor (as Mark Mangini)
Greg Morton	....	playback operator
Al Overton	....	sound mixer
Steve Purvis	....	dialogue editor (as Stephen Purvis)
Richard Tyler	....	rerecording mixer
Duncan McEwan	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Glen Robinson	....	special effects
Wayne Rose	....	special effects crew

Stunts
Bruce Paul Barbour	....	stunt double
Richard E. Butler	....	stunts
Ron Oliney	....	stunts (as Ronald G. Oliney)
Conrad E. Palmisano	....	stunts (as Conrad Palmisano)
Conrad E. Palmisano	....	stunt double: Steve Martin (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Craig Denault	....	camera operator
Alan R. Disler	....	first assistant camera (as Alan Disler)
Gene Earle	....	second assistant camera
Carl Gibson	....	key grip
Dennis Greene	....	dolly grip
Mel Traxel	....	still photographer
Don Stott	....	gaffer (uncredited)

Animation Department
Bobby Goodman	....	lip sync supervisor

Casting Department
Randee Lynne Jensen	....	casting associate (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Robert Magahay	....	wardrobe: men (as Bob Magahay)
Daniel Orlandi	....	assistant costume designer (as Dan Orlandi)
Judy Truchan	....	wardrobe: women
Julie Starr Dresner	....	costumer (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Martin Cohen	....	apprentice editor (as Marty Cohen)
Don Dittmar	....	color consultant
Jane Schwartz Jaffe	....	assistant editor
Brian Ralph	....	negative cutter
Sidney Wolinsky	....	first assistant editor
Julie Kahn Zunder	....	apprentice editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Jim Bedoian	....	music research
Con Conrad	....	composer: song "My Baby Said Yes Yes"
Leonard A. Engel	....	music restoration: original discs, Contempo Recording Co. (as Len Engel)
Greg Gormick	....	music research
Marvin Hamlisch	....	conductor
Marvin Hamlisch	....	music arranger
Louise Jaffe	....	music coordinator
Ted Keep	....	scoring mixer
George Korngold	....	music editor
Harry V. Lojewski	....	music supervisor
Harper MacKay	....	musical associate
Billy May	....	conductor
Billy May	....	music arranger
Joe Monte	....	music research
Kenith Trodd	....	music consultant
Kenneth Wannberg	....	music editor (as Ken Wannberg)
Greg Fulginiti	....	music engineer (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Tom F. Thomas	....	transportation captain (as Tom Thomas)
Alan Kaminsky	....	picture car mechanic (uncredited)
Randy Peters	....	transportation captain (uncredited)

Other crew
Danny Daniels	....	choreographer
Randy Doney	....	assistant to choreographer
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	title designer
Daniel Joseph Giaghi	....	assistant to choreographer (as Daniel Joseph Giagni)
Max Miller	....	craft service
David Oliver	....	title designer
Carolyn Poppert	....	dancer
Ronald M. Quigley	....	location manager
Ray Quiroz	....	script supervisor
Robert Werden	....	publicist (as Bob Werden)
Devron Conrad	....	stand-in: Steve Martin (uncredited)
David Hakim	....	publicity writer (uncredited)
Cathy Jung	....	assistant: Mr. Martin (uncredited)
Kevin King	....	payroll accountant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (presents) (as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
• SLM Production Group (producer) (as SLM Entertainment, Ltd.)
• Hera Productions (producer)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1981) (USA) (theatrical)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical) (35mm print)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (Canada) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Contempo Recording & Lorimar  sound restoration: original discs (as Contempo Recording Co.)
• Discontinued Records  music research
• International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE)  this picture made under the jurisdiction of (as I.A.T.S.E.®)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios  rerecorded at
• Modern Film Effects  opticals by
• Panavision  Panaflex camera and lenses by (as Panavision®)
• Warner Bros. Records  original soundtrack album available on (as Warner Brothers Records & Tapes)

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Australia:M | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:11 | USA:R (#26127) | Singapore:NC-16

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

At least four paintings are recreated as "tableaux vivants" in the film: "Hudson Bay Fur Company" (1932) and "20 Cent Movie" (1936), both by Reginald Marsh, and "New York Movie" (1939) and "Nighthawks" (1942), both by Edward Hopper. Three of the four were painted after 1934, when the movie takes place, and all depict scenes in New York, not Chicago, the setting of the movie. Turner Classic Movies uses the "Fur Company" and "Nighthawks" shots in their "Open All Night" interstitial.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the classroom, a modern Canadian flag can be seen. It wasn't designed until 1964.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Arthur Parker: Joan... Joanie? Sugar? C'mon, Joan... sugar... wake up, baby.
Joan Parker: No, Arthur, don't.
Arthur Parker: Oh, baby... come on, sugar.
Joan Parker: No, it's too early, Arthur.
Arthur Parker: Oh, Joan.
Joan Parker: Arthur, there isn't time.
Arthur Parker: Oh, there's always time for this. Joan, come on.
Joan Parker: Stop it, Arthur! No, don't!
Joan Parker: [getting out of bed] No... I said no!
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Chicago (2002)

Soundtrack:

LOVE IS GOOD FOR ANYTHING THAT AILS YOU

The state of the movie musical: All is not lost!

Has it been over a decade since a really good movie musical has come out? "Evita" is an extended music video; and "The Bodyguard" is a stale idea from the seventies that Whitney Houston was expected to salvage with her singing. When you look back, the movie musical of recent note has taken shelter in the imagination of the animated film industry. (Disney put out almost all of the them.) But for a good musical with real actors, I can only remember movies like Jonathan Demme's "Stop Making Sense" which is more a concert movie than a musical; "Bizet's Carmen" which is more filmed opera; and "Amadeus," and that's going back more than fifteen years.

Where are the talents that could create new musical happenings in the movies? I'm not a fan of hip-hop or rap, and there's probably enough music videos playing the stuff to fill miles of film. But its place in big screen movies is ancillary--part of the score, or a director's afterthought. If there is a movie musical that suggests what possibilities the right people with a good idea and the talent can draw from the tradition, it's "Pennies from Heaven."

This is a stunning work of movie art. To find musical numbers this evocative, you need to go back to something like "Top Hat." It's a supernal pleasure just recalling Vernel Bagneris slow-dancing in a shower of scintillating tokens or how surprised I was at the dexterity of Christopher Walken's hoofing or how close to Steve Martin's Arthur I felt when he opens his mouth and out pops Connie Boswell's haunting refrain.

I cannot deny that I find the "reality" Dennis Potter has created jarring, and by the time, Arthur paints rings around his revolted wife Joan's nipples, you feel director Herbert Ross ("Goodbye, Mr. Chips") should have spared Joan--and us--this indignity with a more discreet camera setup. If their point is to slap us back to reality after a wonderful flight of fancy, it needs to be more pointed and funnier. It's not, and some people find the lurid aspects of Potter's creations insulting. It may explain why this movie was a flop at the box office. Maybe it was too coarse and too precious all at once.

But when Ken Adams can pull together some of the most serviceably beautiful sets ever to grace a movie; when Bob Mackie pulls out all reserves and furnishes the cast with some of the most sumptuous costumes they'll ever wear; when Marvin Hamlisch makes bright, smart choices of music memorabilia; when the incomparable Gordon Willis creates the kinds of visions that leave you glued to the screen; why quibble? The state of the musical may be to some on its last breath, but with "Pennies from Heaven" to look back on, it seems to be saying "All is not lost." If the right people come together, there are wonderful things to imagine on the horizon.