The Five Pennies

Director: Melville Shavelson Melville Shavelson

Overview

The Five Pennies is the life story of influential jazz cornetist Red Nichols, played here by a remarkably straight-faced Danny Kaye. The somewhat romanticized screenplay chronicles Nichols' rise from obscurity, annotates the many future bandleaders who would play with Nichols' "Five Pennies," and details his self-destructive streak and (seeming) inability to conform to changing musical tastes. Weaving in and out of the main story is a sentimental subplot concerning Nichols' physically impaired daughter Dorothy, played by Susan Gordon as a child and by Tuesday Weld (in her movie debut) as a young woman. Nichols's long-suffering wife is portrayed by Barbara Bel Geddes. The storyline occasionally lapses into sappiness and the ending is almost impossibly lachrymose, but the musical highlights save the day. Especially memorable is Danny Kaye's duet with Louis Armstrong. Among the real-life musicians who grace the supporting cast of The Five Pennies are Bob Crosby, Ray Anthony, Shelly Manne, and, as Jimmy Dorsey, Bobby Troup.

Product Details

Release Date:	12/22/2020
UPC:	0032429353627
Original Release:	1959
Rating:	NR
Source:	ALLIED VAUGHN
Language:	English
Time:	1:57:00
Sales rank:	21,519

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Danny Kaye	'Red' Nichols
Barbara Bel Geddes	Willa Stutsman
Bob Crosby	Wil Paradise
Louis Armstrong	Himself
Harry Guardino	Tony Valani
Susan Gordon	Dorothy Nichols at 6
Tuesday Weld	Dorothy at 12 to 14
Valerie Allen	Tommye Eden
Ray Anthony	Jimmy Dorsey
Shelly Manne	Dave Tough
Bobby Troup	Arthur Schutt
Ray Daley	Glenn Miller
Ray Daly	Glenn Miller
Earl Barton	Choreographer
Ned Glass	Murray
Bob Hope	Himself
Richard Shavelson	Party
Blanche Sweet	Bit

Technical Credits

Jack Rose

Melville Shavelson

John P. Fulton	Special Effects
Danny Kaye	Executive Producer
Jack Rose	Producer,Screenwriter
Melville Shavelson	Director,Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

Undeniably schmaltzy, The Five Pennies still has a certain pull. Most viewers will wince and groan at its soap operatics every five minutes or so, and will probably find themselves saying, "That's enough." Yet they probably won't change the channel until the ridiculously over-the-top finale, and by then the whole picture will have passed anyway. Despite its heavy-handedness, Five Pennies is enjoyable and engrossing enough to keep one's attention. It is immeasurably aided by the generous helping of musical numbers that pervade the film; when one has Louis Armstrong on hand to perform "Bill Bailey Won't You Please Come Home" and "When the Saints Go Marching In," it's hard to complain too much about the scenes that frame them. Add in some expert horn work from the real Red Nichols, a couple of Danny Kaye "specialty" numbers, and a few smooth vocals from Bob Crosby and the strengths become clearer. Kaye's overall performance is quite good -- even managing to make use of the old cliché that a character's impotence is revealed through problems with his musicianship -- and Barbara Bel Geddes is warm and winning throughout. If viewers are prepared to make allowances for the blatant "tugging at the heartstrings" approach of the script, they'll probably have a pretty decent time.

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler