Finian's Rainbow [Blu-ray]

Director: Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola

Overview

Nearly 20 years after it opened on Broadway, the E.Y. Harburg/Fred Saidy musical Finian's Rainbow was committed to film. Set in the mythical southern state of Missitucky, the story involves the whimsical Irishman Finian (Fred Astaire) and his daughter Sharon (Petula Clark) arriving in the community carrying a crock of gold, which they've stolen in the Auld Sod from Ogg the Leprechaun (Tommy Steele). Finian believes that if he buries the crock on American soil, it will grow into an even larger treasure--just as Fort Knox did (or so he thinks). Sharon falls in love with sharecropper Woody Mahoney (Don Francks), who like everyone else in the community is being threatened by the perfidy of Senator Rawkins (Keenan Wynn). While Finian haggles over three wishes with the tricky Ogg, Sharon runs afoul of the racially bigoted Rawkins. She wishes that Rawkins would turn black so that he could walk in someone else's shoes for a change--and this, thanks to Ogg, is exactly what happens. To rescue Sharon and Woody from being burned as witches, Ogg grants a last wish, which turns him into a human being; this is not an altogether bad thing, for Ogg has fallen in love with mysterious mountain gal Susan the Silent (Barbara Hancock). The racial tolerance subtext of Finian's Rainbow, considered radical in 1948, seemed rather antiquated in 1969, though it did allow for a hilarious scene in which a white associate of Judge Rawkins attempts to instruct young black botanist Al Freeman Jr. on the proper way to "act Negro." As Finian, Fred Astaire requested that the role be expanded to allow him to dance a little (as written, the character barely even sings). Most of the original score remains intact, including the hit song "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?" Francis Ford Coppola seemed a curious choice to direct a musical, and indeed the production was a troubled one due to Coppola's inexperience in the genre.

Product Details

Release Date:	03/07/2017
UPC:	0888574474775
Original Release:	1968
Rating:	G
Source:	Warner Archives
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	2:25:00
Sales rank:	5,380

Special Features

Watch Finian's Rainbow with Francis Ford Coppola: introduction and commentary by the director; Featurette: the world premiere of Finian's Rainbow

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Fred Astaire	Finian McLonergan
Petula Clark	Sharon McLonergan
Tommy Steele	Og, the Leprechaun
Don Francks	Woody Mahoney
Keenan Wynn	Judge Rawkins
Barbara Hancock	Susan the Silent
Al Freeman Jr.	Howard
Ronald Colby	Buzz Collins
Dolph Sweet	Sheriff
Wright King	District Attorney
Louis Silas	Henry
Avon Long	Passion Pilgrim Gospeleer
Roy E. Glenn Sr.	Passion Pilgrim Gospeleer
Jester Hairston	Passion Pilgrim Gospeleer
Susan Hancock	Actor
Burton Lane	Composer
E.Y. Harburg	Composer
Ray Heindorf	Composer

Technical Credits

E.Y. Harburg

Fred Saidy

Francis Ford Coppola	Director
E.Y. Harburg	Screenwriter
Fred Saidy	Screenwriter
Joseph Landon	Producer
Joel Freeman	Producer
M.A. Merrick	Sound/Sound Designer
Dan Wallin	Sound/Sound Designer