"Pennies from Heaven" (1978) TV mini-series

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

7 March 1978 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Musical

Plot:

Arthur, a sheet music salesman, has an ear for the hit tunes, but nobody will trust it. And his imagination often bursts into full song...

Plot Keywords:

TV Mini-Series

Awards:

2 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Bob Hoskins	...	Arthur Parker (6 episodes, 1978)
Cheryl Campbell	...	Eileen (6 episodes, 1978)
Gemma Craven	...	Joan Parker (6 episodes, 1978)
Kenneth Colley	...	The Accordion Man / ... (5 episodes, 1978)
Jenny Logan	...	Irene (3 episodes, 1978)
Freddie Jones	...	Headmaster (2 episodes, 1978)
Dave King	...	Police Inspector / ... (2 episodes, 1978)
Sam Avent	...	Pianist (2 episodes, 1978)
Arnold Peters	...	Barrett (2 episodes, 1978)
Spencer Banks	...	Maurice (2 episodes, 1978)
Michael Bilton	...	Dad (2 episodes, 1978)
Philip Jackson	...	Dave (2 episodes, 1978)
Bill Dean	...	Alf (2 episodes, 1978)
Bella Emberg	...	Mrs. Corder (2 episodes, 1978)
Children From the Forest of Dean		(2 episodes, 1978)
Yolande Palfrey	...	Blind Girl (2 episodes, 1978)

Runtime:

UK:75 min (6 parts)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

The BBC original was composed of six episodes, each a bit over an hour long. Their titles are: 1: Down Sunny Side Lane 2: Love Is The Sweetest Thing 3: Easy Come, Easy Go 4: Better Think Twice 5: Painting The Clouds 6: Says My Heart

Quotes:

Arthur Parker: I'd rather be a Yank.
Eileen Everson: Pardon?
Arthur: They got the best songs.
Eileen: What's that got to do with it!
Arthur: I want to... I know it sounds daft Eileen, but I want to live in a world where the songs is...
Eileen: Where the songs come true.
Arthur: Yes.

Movie Connections:

References King Kong (1933)

Truly original

I remember seeing this on TV when it first came out. I was changing channels, and here were these woman, tap dancing on a coffin, lip syncing, "I'll be glad when you're dead, you rascal you." I was hooked.

It was the first time I ever saw Bob Hoskins, who managed to make a character who was truly awful somehow loveable.

It's a depression-era story, and while the story itself is grim, somehow the telling is joyful, with the cast breaking into "song." The songs are wonderful old songs, and they just mouth to them, and it creates a surreal feeling, but one that works, because it's as if this is what they are feeling (and could have felt at the time in the vernacular of the old songs).

The whole telling of this story is so original and vivid that you must watch it when you can.

==> Don't confuse this with the movie version, directed by Herbert Ross, with Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters has spectacular production values (unfortunately, the biggest production number was actually cut), but Steve Martin, great as he is, just doesn't make you like and feel for him the way Hoskins does. Bernadette is sufficiently waif-like, but she lacks Gemma Craven's grittiness.

Christopher Walken is the highlight of the film, doing an incredible song/dance/striptease on a bar that shows what a great dancer he is.