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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Robert Smith (story)
Jack Rose (writer) ...
more
Release Date:
August 1959 (USA) more
Plot:
Loring "Red" Nichols is a cornet-playing country boy who goes to New York in the 1920s full of musical ambition and principles... more | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 2 nominations more
User Comments:
The loveliest biopic more (17 total)
Cast
(Credited cast) | Danny Kaye | ... | 'Red' Nichols |
 | Barbara Bel Geddes | ... | Willa Stutsman |
 | Louis Armstrong | ... | Himself |
 | Harry Guardino | ... | Tony Valani |
| Bob Crosby | ... | Wil Paradise |
| Bobby Troup | ... | Arthur Schutt |
| Susan Gordon | ... | Dorothy Nichols, ages 6 to 8 |
 | Tuesday Weld | ... | Dorothy Nichols, age 12 to 14 |
| Ray Anthony | ... | Jimmy Dorsey |
| Shelly Manne | ... | Dave Tough |
| Ray Daley | ... | Glenn Miller |
| Valerie Allen | ... | Tommye |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Henry Beau | ||
| Ned Glass | ... | Murray |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
117 min | Germany:112 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System)
Certification:
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The exaggerated tango Danny Kaye did with the blonde Charleston dancer (Lizanne Truex) in the nightclub scene was not scripted. The rehearsals only called for her to do the Charleston, then flit offstage. During one of them Danny suddenly grabbed her and began hamming it up, with Lizanne quickly ad-libbing. Director Melville Shavelson liked it and added it to the routine. more
Goofs:
Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Red leaves the club with Willa (after seeing Louis Armstrong the first time), he takes his cornet with him but has neglected to put it back in its case. more
Movie Connections:
Featured in "American Masters: Danny Kaye: A Legacy of Laughter" (1996) more
Soundtrack:
Goodnight - Sleep Tight more
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (17 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Five Pennies (1959) moreRecommendations
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Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb Biography section | IMDb USA section |
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There are just few really well-produced film biographies. This is one of them. The story never gets boring, though sentimental at times. There's a lot of music to be heard and the film helped to get a musician of way back then into people's minds again - Red Nichols. Danny Kaye is the perfect cast for this role - funny and pensive ... and as a great jazz enthusiast credible and true. The final showdown with Louis Armstrong is both a thrilling proof of effective dramaturgy and musical bravura. Red's cornet - actually played by himself - really shines! Altogether a lovely piece of celluloid and a must for traditional jazz fans.