Finian's Rainbow (1968)

A mysterious Irishman, Finian, and his beautiful daughter Sharon, arrive one day in Rainbow Valley, a small Southern town of tobacco sharecroppers in the mythical state of Missitucky. The ... See full summary »

Director:

Francis Ford Coppola

Writers:

E.Y. Harburg (book), Fred Saidy (book),

Stars:

Fred Astaire, Petula Clark, Tommy Steele

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 7 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Fred Astaire	...	Finian McLonergan
Petula Clark	...	Sharon McLonergan
Tommy Steele	...	'Og' the Leprechaun
Don Francks	...	Woody Mahoney
Keenan Wynn	...	Senator Billboard Rawkins
Barbara Hancock	...	Susan the Silent
Al Freeman Jr.	...	Howard
Ronald Colby	...	Buzz Collins
Dolph Sweet	...	Sheriff
Wright King	...	District Attorney
Louil Silas	...	Henry

Storyline

A mysterious Irishman, Finian, and his beautiful daughter Sharon, arrive one day in Rainbow Valley, a small Southern town of tobacco sharecroppers in the mythical state of Missitucky. The town has its own resident dreamer, Woody Mahoney, who thinks that he might be able to put the town on the map by crossing mint with tobacco so that it'll grow already mentholated. Finian's come to the town because he's stolen a leprechaun's crock of gold and plans to plant it in the ground so it'll grow faster (or else why would the Americans have rushed to dig the gold out of California only to plant it back in the ground at Fort Knox?). But trouble arrives in the form of Og the leprechaun, who has followed Finian to America and is bent on retrieving his gold. Meanwhile, the bigoted Senator Billboard Rawkins, in an effort to stop progress in his state in the form of a new dam and hydroelectric system, plans to take the remaining parcel of land needed to stop the project - Woody's, which Finian has ...

---

Plot Keywords:

gold | tobacco | leprechaun | senator | wish | 

---

Taglines:

If all you want out of a movie is a great, big, wonderful time - just follow the rainbow - whistle the songs - and join in the fun.

---

Genres:

Family | Fantasy | Musical

---

Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 October 1968 (USA)

Also Known As:

La vallée du bonheur

Filming Locations:

Potrero Valley, Thousand Oaks, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Brothers/Seven Arts

Technical Specs

Runtime:

141 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (35 mm prints) 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was Fred Astaire's last (non-compilation) musical.

---

Goofs

In the scene where Finian goes into the woods to bury the crock of gold, there is a shot looking down on him while he is digging the hole. It shows quite a lot of dirt between the pile of dirt he has heaped up and the hole, enough to cover up the grass immediately around the hole on that side. But in the shot right after he places the crock in the ground, there is no dirt on the grass around the hole.

---

Quotes

Og: [singing] When I'm not near the girl I love/ I love the girl I'm near!

---

Connections

Referenced in The Muppet Show: Mummenschanz (1976)

---

Soundtracks

"Old Devil Moon"
(1946) (uncredited)
(reprise)
Lyrics by E.Y. Harburg
Music by Burton Lane
Sung by Petula Clark and Don Francks

User Reviews

Wildly Entertaining

I first saw this movie as a young girl and developed an instant crush on Tommy Steele. The storyline is very entertaining with a keen sense of humor. It was also great seeing Fred Astaire again - I'm a big fan. This movie has some of the most memorable songs which are still among my favorites, of course many of them featuring Petula Clarke. If you are a fan of musicals and enjoy a bit of the blarney - then this movie will be right up your ally.