Loring "Red" Nichols is a cornet-playing country boy who goes to New York in the 1920s full of musical ambition and principles. He gets a job playing in Wil Paradise's band, but quits to ... See full summary »
Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends.
If your account is linked with Facebook and you have turned on sharing, this will show up in your activity feed. If not, you can turn on sharing
here
.
Loring "Red" Nichols is a cornet-playing country boy who goes to New York in the 1920s full of musical ambition and principles. He gets a job playing in Wil Paradise's band, but quits to pursue his dream of playing Dixieland jazz. He forms the "Five Pennies" which features his wife, Bobbie, as vocalist. At the peak of his fame, Red and Bobbie's daughter, Dorothy, develops polio. Red quits the music business to move to Los Angeles where the climate is better for Dorothy. As Dorothy becomes a young teen, she learns of her father's musical past, and he is persuaded to open a small nightclub which is failing until some noted names from his past come to help out. Written by
Ray Hamel <hamel@primate.wisc.edu>
While Danny Kaye worked hard to be able to accurately fake playing cornet, it was the real Red Nichols who provided all of the cornet playing for Kaye in this movie. See more »
Goofs
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. See more »
The Five Pennies Danny Kaye plays Red Nichols, a famous coronet player of yesteryear. I found this story a notch better "fair" and nicely aided by the musical talent of Louis Armstrong. Kaye and Armstrong's duet on "When The Saints Go Marching In" is the highlight of the film.
For a classic movie, the stereo in here is amazing, especially on the songs. In one instance, there are three people singing and their voices all coming out separately on different speakers. Pretty good for just the tape. Now that a DVD has been released, I wonder what the sound on that is like?
The story starts to lag a bit near the end when Kaye starts to feel sorry for himself and this goes on and on as he retires from playing. However, there is a nice, sentimental upbeat ending.
Notes: Kaye and Barbara Bel Geddes, who plays Red's wife "Bobbie," never age in the film even though it spans 15 or more years! It's interesting to see Tuesday Weld as a teenager.
14 of 18 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
The Five Pennies Danny Kaye plays Red Nichols, a famous coronet player of yesteryear. I found this story a notch better "fair" and nicely aided by the musical talent of Louis Armstrong. Kaye and Armstrong's duet on "When The Saints Go Marching In" is the highlight of the film.
For a classic movie, the stereo in here is amazing, especially on the songs. In one instance, there are three people singing and their voices all coming out separately on different speakers. Pretty good for just the tape. Now that a DVD has been released, I wonder what the sound on that is like?
The story starts to lag a bit near the end when Kaye starts to feel sorry for himself and this goes on and on as he retires from playing. However, there is a nice, sentimental upbeat ending.
Notes: Kaye and Barbara Bel Geddes, who plays Red's wife "Bobbie," never age in the film even though it spans 15 or more years! It's interesting to see Tuesday Weld as a teenager.