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:

Recording | Marriage | Music Store | Inheritance | Christmas

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
Baby 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.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Squeeze (1987)

Soundtrack:

The Prisoner's Song

A Generally Effective Bittersweet Story

With sympathetic main characters and an approach that is usually understated enough to avoid over-sentimentality, this bittersweet story works reasonably well most of the time. Irene Dunne plays this kind of role well, handling a wide range of material while keeping her emotions and reactions restrained enough to be believable. Cary Grant is better than one might expect him to be in this kind of role. It's possible that Edgar Buchanan's performance might be the most important of all in holding it together, since he is ideal in providing some down-to-earth balance, whether his character is repairing printing presses or giving the young couple some tips on taking care of their baby.

Director George Stevens does a good job with the pacing, and the story-framing technique with the various songs works pretty well. While there may be a few moments when the sentimentality gets dangerously high, most of the time it remains balanced, and certainly more so than is the case with present-day movies of this kind. It's far from flawless, but it is generally effective in telling the kind of story that takes a combination of sensitivity and restraint to tell believably.