The Five Pennies (1959)

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 »

Director:

Melville Shavelson

Writers:

Jack Rose (screenplay), Melville Shavelson (screenplay),

Stars:

Danny Kaye, Barbara Bel Geddes, Louis Armstrong

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Danny Kaye	...	'Red' Nichols
Barbara Bel Geddes	...	Willa Stutsman
Louis Armstrong	...	Louis Armstrong
Harry Guardino	...	Tony Valani
Bob Crosby	...	Wil Paradise
Bobby Troup	...	Artie Schutt
Susan Gordon	...	Dorothy Nichols - Ages 6 to 8
Tuesday Weld	...	Dorothy Nichols - Age 13
Ray Anthony	...	Jimmy Dorsey
Shelly Manne	...	Dave Tough
Ray Daley	...	Glenn Miller
Valerie Allen	...	Tommye Eden

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

band | jazz | nightclub | fame | father daughter relationship | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Music

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

August 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Lágrima que Faltou

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dena Productions, Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

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.

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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.

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Connections

Featured in American Masters: Danny Kaye: A Legacy of Laughter (1996)

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Soundtracks

"Carnival of Venice"
(ca 1829) (uncredited)
Music by Niccolò Paganini
Hummed by Danny Kaye in the taxi

User Reviews

Nice Sounds In This Classic Film

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.