Pennies from Heaven (1936)

Director:

Norman Z. McLeod

Writers:

Katherine Leslie Moore (novel)
William Rankin (story)
(more)

Release Date:

25 November 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Musical

Tagline:

FUN...when Crosby croons himself out of jail and lands on a merry-go-round with the meanest of brats! (original poster)

Plot:

Larry Poole, in prison on a false charge, promise an inmate that when he gets out he will look up and help out a family...

Plot Keywords:

Singer | Welfare | Street Singer | Welfare Worker | Singing

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Bing Crosby	...	Larry Poole
Madge Evans	...	Susan Sprague
Edith Fellows	...	Patsy Smith
Louis Armstrong	...	Henry
Donald Meek	...	Gramp Smith
John Gallaudet	...	J. C. Hart
William Stack	...	Clarence B. Carmichael
Nana Bryant	...	Miss Howard
Tom Dugan	...	Crowbar Miller (as Tommy Dugan)
Nydia Westman	...	Slavey - Hotel Maid
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Eugene Anderson Jr.	...	Boy (uncredited)
William Anderson	...	Western Union Messenger (uncredited)
Stanley Andrews	...	Detective Stephens (uncredited)
Frank Austin	...	Old Man (uncredited)
Georgie Billings	...	Boy (uncredited)
Stanley Blystone	...	Detective Gilroy (uncredited)
Billy Byrne	...	Boy (uncredited)
George Chandler	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Mickey Daniels	...	Hay Wagon Driver (uncredited)
Frank Darien	...	Chicken Farmer (uncredited)
Harry Depp	...	Union Costume Supply Man (uncredited)
Helen Dickson	...	Nightclub Table Extra (uncredited)
Billy Dooley	...	W.F. Arbuthnot (uncredited)
Budd Fine	...	Prison Guard (uncredited)
Lionel Hampton	...	Band Member (uncredited)
Howard C. Hickman	...	Chaplain (uncredited)
Harry Hollingsworth	...	Prison Guard (uncredited)
Arthur Hoyt	...	Collector of Taxes (uncredited)
Sheldon Jett	...	Nightclub / Dance Extra (uncredited)
Tiny Jones	...	Little Woman at Window (uncredited)
Lew Kelly	...	Sheriff (uncredited)
Gus Leonard	...	Nightclub Attendee (uncredited)
Louis Armstrong and His Band	...	Musicians (uncredited)
Margaret Mann	...	White-Haired Woman (uncredited)
Edward Peil Sr.	...	Old Man (uncredited)
Russ Powell	...	Coin Tosser (uncredited)
Syd Saylor	...	Sign Painter (uncredited)
Anne Schaefer	...	Lady (uncredited)
Brick Sullivan	...	Smiling Cop in Central Park (uncredited)
Harry Tyler	...	Carnival Concessionaire (uncredited)
Dorothy Vernon	...	Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
Morgan Wallace	...	Restaurant Partner (uncredited)
Charles C. Wilson	...	Warden (uncredited)

Directed by
Norman Z. McLeod

Writing credits
Katherine Leslie Moore		(novel "The Peacock Feather") (as Katharine Leslie Moore)
William Rankin		(story)
Jo Swerling		(screenplay)

Produced by
Emanuel Cohen	....	producer

Original Music by
William Grant Still		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Robert Pittack		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
John Rawlins

Art Direction by
Stephen Goosson

Makeup Department
Robert J. Schiffer	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Earl Rettig	....	unit manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sam Nelson	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Glenn Rominger	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Eugene Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department
George Stoll	....	musical director
John Scott Trotter	....	music arranger
Howard Jackson	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Louis Silvers	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Other crew
Norman Blackburn	....	technical advisor
Harry Cohn	....	president: Columbia Pictures Corporation of California Ltd.

Production Companies

• Emanuel Cohen Productions (as Major Pictures Corp.)

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1936) (USA) (theatrical) (as Columbia Pictures Corporation of Calif. Ltd.) (copyright owners)
• Columbia Pictures Proprietary (1936) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures Proprietary (1936) (New Zealand) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures Proprietary (1936) (Malaysia) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures Corporation (1936) (UK) (theatrical)
• Columbia Films (1936) (France) (theatrical)
• Columbia Films (1936) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Consorzio Cinematografico (1936) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Columbia Film Aktieselskap (1936) (Denmark) (theatrical)
• Kamera Film Aktieselskap (1936) (Norway) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures de Cuba (1936) (Cuba) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures (1949) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Sony Pictures Television (2004) (USA) (TV)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

81 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #2402) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

General Service Studios - 1040 N. Las Palmas, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Emanuel Cohen Productions

Trivia:

Louis Armstrong was hired for this movie at Bing Crosby's insistence. Crosby also insisted that Armstrong receive prominent billing, the first time a black actor shared top billing with white actors in a major release film.

Quotes:

Susan Sprague:Are you married?
Larry Poole:No, I'm sane!

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell (1968)

Soundtrack:

One Two Button Your Shoe

Bing Crosby brings his usual charm in the movie Pennies from Heaven

Just watched this touching and musically entertaining Bing Crosby movie on YouTube. In this one, Bing's a released prisoner who's promised a condemned man to give a note to a family named Smith. That turns out to be a grandpa (Donald Meek) with a granddaughter named Patsy (Edith Fellows). I'll stop there and just say that this movie provides both enough compelling drama and light comedy to be worthy of the length it takes to get to the fitting conclusion. And the songs are good enough to get one humming though the highlight is one done by the great Satchmo-Louis Armstrong-who provides a rollicking tune called "Skeleton in the Closet" that provides a fun thrill on its own. There's also a female orphanage rep (Madge Evans) who becomes a potential love interest for Bing. Really, Pennies from Heaven is just a dandy fine picture that should make you a fan of Crosby's music if you're not already. P.S. This movie has a couple of Our Gang/Little Rascals connections: Ms. Fellows appeared in a couple of their shorts-Birthday Blues and Mush and Milk. And while this movie was being shot, then-current members Spanky, Darla, Buckwheat, and of course Alfalfa shared a song with Crosby and Ms. Fellows on set which I found out when I saw a picture of them in the book "The Little Rascals: The Life and Times of Our Gang" by Leonard Maltin and Richard W. Bann. The other connection was Mickey Daniels-he plays a Hay Wagon Driver that takes Bing, Patsy, and her grandfather to the "haunted house"-who was one of the original members when the series started in 1922.