Penelope (1966)Comedy about a flighty, bored, kleptomaniac wife of a banker who robs her husband's bank of $60,000. Director:Arthur Hiller |
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Penelope (1966)Comedy about a flighty, bored, kleptomaniac wife of a banker who robs her husband's bank of $60,000. Director:Arthur Hiller |
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| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Natalie Wood | ... | ||
| Ian Bannen | ... |
James B. Elcott
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| Dick Shawn | ... |
Dr. Gregory Mannix
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| Peter Falk | ... |
Lieutenant Horatio Bixbee
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| Jonathan Winters | ... |
Professor Klobb
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Lila Kedrova | ... |
Princess Sadaba
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Lou Jacobi | ... |
Ducky
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| Norma Crane | ... |
Mildred Halliday
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| Arthur Malet | ... |
Salvation Army Major Higgins
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Jerome Cowan | ... |
Bank Manager
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| Arlene Golonka | ... |
Honeysuckle Rose
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Amzie Strickland | ... |
Miss Serena
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Bill Gunn | ... |
Sergeant Rothschild
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| Carl Ballantine | ... |
Boom Boom
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Iggie Wolfington | ... |
Store Owner
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When James met Penelope at a club, it took all of three weeks before they were married. But after the marriage, other women became attracted to James and he kept getting promoted, which took him away from Penelope. So Penelope puts on a disguise and robs her husband's bank. Her psychiatrist, Greg, believes that this condition is caused by James being over worked and under romantic with Penelope. She also tells Greg that she robs the business associates of James. But Greg is in love with Penelope - in fact everyone likes her. The problem is when she confesses to her crimes, no one believes her. Written by Tony Fontana <tony.fontana@spacebbs.com>
Pretty dumb comedy about neglected wife Natalie Wood becoming a kleptomaniac to get her husband's (Ian Bannen's) attention. She even sees a psychiatrist (a very annoying Dick Shawn) to try to be cured. Then she robs her husband's bank and things just get sillier...
This isn't a total bomb. It's beautifully photographed--I've never seen NYC look like this; the settings and costumes are incredible; Wood is just gorgeous and Bannen is handsome and actually quite amusing as her husband. But two things destroy this--the script and Shawn. Shawn is WAY over the top in his performance--he's not funny just annoying. The script is pretty poor--there are a few good parts here and there but most of the comedy is just BAD!!! Wood and Bannen give it their all but the material just isn't there. The rest of the cast just overacts (horribly). It leads to a "happy" ending which had me rolling my eyes.
So it's worth seeing for Wood, Bannen, the cinematography (letter boxing is a must) and some mildly humorous material. Otherwise--forget it. I give it a 6.