Finian's Rainbow (1968)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Francis Ford Coppola

Writers:

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

Release Date:

9 October 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Fantasy | Musical

Tagline:

Let yourself glow

Plot:

A mysterious Irishman, Finian, and his beautiful daughter Sharon, arrive one day in Rainbow Valley,...

Plot Keywords:

Gold | Leprechaun | Senator | Tobacco | Wish

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 7 nominations

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

Runtime:

141 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

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

Certification:

Australia:G | Canada:PG (video rating) | UK:U | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:G | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company:

Warner Brothers/Seven Arts

Trivia:

Because of its satire on racism, this popular 1947 Broadway musical was considered such a hot potato in Hollywood that studios would not touch it unless they were allowed to change the story. Its original creators, E.Y. Harburg, Burton Lane and Fred Saidy, held out and by 1968 it was able to be filmed with very few changes.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Sharon has finished washing her father's shirt, the front of her dress is wet, but when she meets Og the Leprechaun in the well, her dress is dry.

Quotes:

Woody Mahoney: How'd you get so pretty? And so rich?
Sharon McLonergan: Well, you see, in Glocca Morra, where we come from, there's an old legend, and it says: 'You'll never grow old and you'll never grow poor, if you look to the rainbow, beyond the next moor.'
Woody Mahoney: That's a lovely legend.
Sharon McLonergan: Aye.
Woody Mahoney: I wonder who thought it up.
Sharon McLonergan: My father: Finian McLonnergan.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Monty Python's Flying Circus: It's a Living (#2.6)" (1970)

Soundtrack:

Look to the Rainbow

aw, innocence!

'Finians Rainbow' with Fred Astaire and Petulia Clark may not be in the same league as 'The Sound of Music' or 'South Pacific' but why should it matter. A movie does not need to be complicated or cost millions to be enjoyed. It has beautiful music, Fred Astaire dancing and a growing Lepricon! What more can you ask for?

I saw 'Finians Rainbow' for the first time (in the '60's) when i was a teenager. I was young and innocent and so was the movie. Now that I'm old, I love to sit back and watch 'Finians Rainbow' and other movies of this ilk ('Calamity Jane', 'Bye,Bye Birdie') and pretend i'm innocent again.