I viewed the film on TCM and wrote the lyrics to "Pennies for Peppino" down. I also figured out the music in 5 minutes (not too difficult). I could not understand the line toward the end that goes with the number 4. They were counting. Is it "A coin for the nice Chiquita"? I collect all Oscar nominated songs and this was the only one I did not have. "Cry Freedom" is also sketchy. I met the composers Chet Forrest and Bob Wright many years ago in Miami and they did not have "Pennies for Peppino" but they did have the certificate from the Academy to prove it was nominated. They also had the Tony Award on the wall for composing "Kismet". I was thrilled to finally hear the song - it was 20 years in the search for it.
9 Reviews
Typically Ambitious Roach Streamliner
16mmRay22 February 2016
Hal Roach's musical streamliners were given plenty of production (FIESTA was even filmed in Technicolor) but were often sorely lacking in the scenario department. There's usually a comedy team of sorts - in this case it's big Ed Gargan and diminutive Jerry Bergen. Marjorie Woodworth is invariably the ingenue in these 5-reelers. I guess Roach must have seen SOMETHING in her. Oh well. The protagonist is George Givot, a longtime vaudevillian who specialized in Greek dialect. Here is plays it straight with the exception of a detour as a blackface mammy with composer Edward Ward matching his dialect on the soundtrack. Little Billy Roy apparently made a hit as a native boy in ALOMA OF THE SOUTH SEAS and he repeats the role singing the Oscar-nominated "Pennies For Peppino". This picture was directed by RKO's early turgedian George Archainbaud and all I can say is, where was Gordon Douglas when we needed him! Very few of the gags work and, in one of the strangest affronts to comedy, hilarious dialectician Benny Rubin - playing a French maitre d - had his voice looped! It's nice to see Norma Varden in an early role and there are plenty of familiar dress extras, including the ubiquitous Ellinor Vanderveer. I'm giving this a rating of 5 because it's only 5 reels. If it had been a longer picture I would have been much more severe in my critique. But it's 47 minutes of amiable entertainment. No harm done.
Average low-budget programmer with some interesting musical moments...
Doylenf27 April 2007
When I noticed that EDWARD WARD was responsible for the musical score, I had an additional reason for wanting to view FLYING WITH MUSIC, which I understood was a low-budget musical from the Hal Roach studios--without any well-known stars. Another factor was the Oscar-nominated song: "Pennies for Peppino." (Ward wrote the background scores for films like Universal's PHANTOM OF THE OPERA ('43) and THE CLIMAX ('44)).
Well, I was disappointed on both counts. The score is not that impressive and the song was unworthy of an Oscar nomination in a year when "White Christmas" and "Love Is A Song" (from BAMBI) were the front-runners.
Despite obvious drawbacks, FLYING WITH MUSIC is a better than average programmer that is like a time capsule of the '40s-era pop music scene with a Latin beat. The only charmer among the songs is the "Pennies for Peppino" number, nicely rendered by a bunch of native kids.
Other than that, the weak plot is a real hindrance. GEORGE GIVOT is a man on the lam who poses as a tour guide in Florida. He takes a group of young women on an island tour which leaves time for a few nightclub songs and some badly executed comedy routines. MARJORIE WOODWORTH is just passable in the leading femme role but is certainly photogenic.
NORMA VARDEN has a brief role as the chaperone for the girls and there's a very inept performance from handsome WILLIAM MARSHALL which shows why he never made it into star territory.
It's one of those harmless trifles that's entirely forgettable with Ward's music only occasionally making some noteworthy sounds. "Song of the Lagoon" at least gets a production number with a Caribbean touch and a pleasing, languid melody.
But the whole film is strictly small-time stuff and not diverting enough to call for any special attention. GEORGE GIVOT overdoes the mugging routines in the central role and EDWARD GARGAN does his standard schtick as a tax collector.
Summing up: A more ambitious than usual production from a Povery Row studio like Hal Roach.
Well, I was disappointed on both counts. The score is not that impressive and the song was unworthy of an Oscar nomination in a year when "White Christmas" and "Love Is A Song" (from BAMBI) were the front-runners.
Despite obvious drawbacks, FLYING WITH MUSIC is a better than average programmer that is like a time capsule of the '40s-era pop music scene with a Latin beat. The only charmer among the songs is the "Pennies for Peppino" number, nicely rendered by a bunch of native kids.
Other than that, the weak plot is a real hindrance. GEORGE GIVOT is a man on the lam who poses as a tour guide in Florida. He takes a group of young women on an island tour which leaves time for a few nightclub songs and some badly executed comedy routines. MARJORIE WOODWORTH is just passable in the leading femme role but is certainly photogenic.
NORMA VARDEN has a brief role as the chaperone for the girls and there's a very inept performance from handsome WILLIAM MARSHALL which shows why he never made it into star territory.
It's one of those harmless trifles that's entirely forgettable with Ward's music only occasionally making some noteworthy sounds. "Song of the Lagoon" at least gets a production number with a Caribbean touch and a pleasing, languid melody.
But the whole film is strictly small-time stuff and not diverting enough to call for any special attention. GEORGE GIVOT overdoes the mugging routines in the central role and EDWARD GARGAN does his standard schtick as a tax collector.
Summing up: A more ambitious than usual production from a Povery Row studio like Hal Roach.
Grade B programmer musical - minor in every way
arneblaze19 March 2004
A private collector has finally allowed me to see this almost forgotten musical -and it deserves to be forgotten. It is a 50 minute Hal Roach musical programmer that is grade B in every way - there is an erroneous official timing of 71 minutes that proliferates but I am trying to get that removed.
The plot is almost non-existant. The characters are thinly drawn and the direction, acting and production values are beneath contempt.
George Givot plays a man on the lam from a divorce and alimony. He disguises himself as a tour guide for five young socialites. The lead socialite, Marjorie Woodworth, is looking for love from a latin singer she idolizes - the reason for the trip - but is romanced by a pilot. Eventually all things end happily. The only bright spot is a midget, Jerry Bergen, who plays the comic foil for the detective who is trying to nail Givot.
The score (five forgettable numbers) and the song PENNIES FOR PEPPINO earned Oscar noms - totally and irrevocably undeserved - these were the days when every studio could submit its "best" as nominees in the categories of sound, score, scoring, song and special effects.
It took me over forty years to find this turkey and the result was not worth the effort. Note that lyricists Chet Forrest and Bob Wright went on to create SONG OF NORWAY and KISMET on Broadway.
The plot is almost non-existant. The characters are thinly drawn and the direction, acting and production values are beneath contempt.
George Givot plays a man on the lam from a divorce and alimony. He disguises himself as a tour guide for five young socialites. The lead socialite, Marjorie Woodworth, is looking for love from a latin singer she idolizes - the reason for the trip - but is romanced by a pilot. Eventually all things end happily. The only bright spot is a midget, Jerry Bergen, who plays the comic foil for the detective who is trying to nail Givot.
The score (five forgettable numbers) and the song PENNIES FOR PEPPINO earned Oscar noms - totally and irrevocably undeserved - these were the days when every studio could submit its "best" as nominees in the categories of sound, score, scoring, song and special effects.
It took me over forty years to find this turkey and the result was not worth the effort. Note that lyricists Chet Forrest and Bob Wright went on to create SONG OF NORWAY and KISMET on Broadway.
If there's a plotline, I must have blinked when it occured!
mark.waltz27 March 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Ninety percent of this abbreviated Hal Roach feature (double the size of one of his shorts) is a plethora of bizarre musical numbers, featuring Roach regular Marjorie Woodworth as an American hoping to bag a Latin American singer as a husband, and thinking that George Givot, in disguise, is the perfect candidate. He's trying to hide from an unseen ex-wife and must deal with a bevy of beauties who are trying to trap him into some sort of commitment. Throughout the film, Keith keeps getting don't buy the diminutive Edward Gargan who for some reason keeps pushing his head underwater with his foot, supposedly hiding him from the men seeking him to collect the alimony. Some of his disguises are in truly bad taste, especially a black Mammy type that he disguises himself in a Caribbean setting.
This somehow managed to get nominated for an incidental song that in retrospect is cute but not memorable, and the musical numbers have no distinction theme. it is obvious that this was Rush together to take advantage of the Latin culture popular at the time, but none of the actual Latin performers have the magic of Carmen Miranda, Xavier Cugat or others who were working at the major studios in their big Technicolor Productions. This has to be seen simply for its bizarreness, reminding me of the 1934 RKO fiasco "Down to Their Last Yacht". A brief appearance by veteran character actress Norma Varden has some funny lines at her expense, but unfortunately she is only in one short scene.
This somehow managed to get nominated for an incidental song that in retrospect is cute but not memorable, and the musical numbers have no distinction theme. it is obvious that this was Rush together to take advantage of the Latin culture popular at the time, but none of the actual Latin performers have the magic of Carmen Miranda, Xavier Cugat or others who were working at the major studios in their big Technicolor Productions. This has to be seen simply for its bizarreness, reminding me of the 1934 RKO fiasco "Down to Their Last Yacht". A brief appearance by veteran character actress Norma Varden has some funny lines at her expense, but unfortunately she is only in one short scene.
Pretty lame B Musical with an Oscar nominated Score from Hal Roach
jacobs-greenwood19 December 2016
Warning: Spoilers
George Archainbaud directed this B Musical, produced by Hal Roach, which features an Oscar nominated Score from Edward Ward and the Academy Award nominated Song "Pennies for Peppino", with lyrics by Chet Forrest and Bob Wright; Louis S. Kaye and M. Coates Webster wrote the screenplay. The story (between the songs) that holds it together is pretty lame:
A debutante, played by Marjorie Woodworth, travels by clipper plane to the Caribbean with several of her comely girlfriends (Claudia Drake, Jane Kean, Jayne Hazard, and Dorothy O'Kelly aka Kelly) to find a Latin lover she'd written to that had sent her an autograph picture. Her father funded the trip because she'd convinced him that it would be strictly an education excursion; he sent a chaperon (Norma Varden) along, and hired an elderly guide to make sure. But the first person the girls meet is Harry Bernard (George Givot), a younger man with an annoying giggle who's on the run from the law (Edward Gargan) and poses as the older guide (Byron Foulger, uncredited), who'd been too afraid to fly in any case. Meanwhile, the plane's pilot (William Marshall) woos the debutante while the lawman's efforts are hindered by a half-pint shyster (Jerry Bergen).
Thankfully, the comedy's running time is barely 45 minutes.
A debutante, played by Marjorie Woodworth, travels by clipper plane to the Caribbean with several of her comely girlfriends (Claudia Drake, Jane Kean, Jayne Hazard, and Dorothy O'Kelly aka Kelly) to find a Latin lover she'd written to that had sent her an autograph picture. Her father funded the trip because she'd convinced him that it would be strictly an education excursion; he sent a chaperon (Norma Varden) along, and hired an elderly guide to make sure. But the first person the girls meet is Harry Bernard (George Givot), a younger man with an annoying giggle who's on the run from the law (Edward Gargan) and poses as the older guide (Byron Foulger, uncredited), who'd been too afraid to fly in any case. Meanwhile, the plane's pilot (William Marshall) woos the debutante while the lawman's efforts are hindered by a half-pint shyster (Jerry Bergen).
Thankfully, the comedy's running time is barely 45 minutes.
They don't make 'em like this any more
lagadabout9 February 2007
Okay, so it isn't Oscar material. Okay, so all the leads are completely unknown to today's audiences. Okay, so the plot is silly and laughable. But when you see the extent that was gone to, to put together this musical, with all the sets and the songs, you have to appreciate this really precious little minor musical. It's really a shame that movie makers don't have the impetus to concoct entertainment of this type any more. Commnents such as 'but it was an innocent time' don't deserve credence. It's all around us, the stuff that exists to put together something of this caliber. The girls are beautiful, the sets are interesting and colorful and the songs are a lot of fun. The musical is so reminiscent of it's era that is literally a time capsule of this nation in the grips of World War II and how it was being coped with. It's well worth the time spent viewing and should be converted to DVD to send the message.
This Movie was shown on Turner Classics today!
greeneyednj9 February 2007
This Movie, "Flying with Music" was shown on Turner Classics today! It was shown as part of "Movies nominated for Oscars" Month. My Tivo decided it was something I would want to watch...and BOY was my TIVO right! "Flying with Music" is just so bizarrely wonderful. There is something about Roach Studios Movies of the early 40s that captures an essence of the 40s that neither the Large Studios, nor the Poverty Row Studios ever really got. It is hard to put into words, but there is a "reaching" for quality above means, and from the looks of it, "Flying with Music" may have had the largest budget spent on a movie from this Studio.
Everyone sings, everyone dances...there is barely a breath taken between unfamiliar songs with a Latin Beat, or songs simply crooned in the best Bing Crosby manner. There is an endless Lagoon Number number featuring Tribal Beats and scantily clad dancers.
But what you really need to see is sequence with the Oscar nominated song "Pennies for Peppino". It comes out of nowhere, and if you didn't know that THIS is the Oscar nominated song from the movie, you may not give it much thought. A group of children see the cast in the back of a Cart being slowly pulled to town and begin to "beg" for Pennies to be thrown to them ...offering to sing, dance, stand on their heads just for "Pennies for Peppino".
There is just something about knowing that this little song, in this short sequence, in this "little " movie lost the 1942 Best Song Oscar to White Christmas gives it that tiny bit of majesty.
Everyone sings, everyone dances...there is barely a breath taken between unfamiliar songs with a Latin Beat, or songs simply crooned in the best Bing Crosby manner. There is an endless Lagoon Number number featuring Tribal Beats and scantily clad dancers.
But what you really need to see is sequence with the Oscar nominated song "Pennies for Peppino". It comes out of nowhere, and if you didn't know that THIS is the Oscar nominated song from the movie, you may not give it much thought. A group of children see the cast in the back of a Cart being slowly pulled to town and begin to "beg" for Pennies to be thrown to them ...offering to sing, dance, stand on their heads just for "Pennies for Peppino".
There is just something about knowing that this little song, in this short sequence, in this "little " movie lost the 1942 Best Song Oscar to White Christmas gives it that tiny bit of majesty.
Entertaining Hal Roach Production
mr_hunchback9 February 2007
This is a typically wacky fast-paced Hal Roach comedy padded with some laughably ridiculous musical numbers.
It has everything - coochie dancers, pan-American travelog, Latin crooners, jungle romance, buxom blondes, blackface mammies, mediums, even a midget. The only furnishing it lacks is a suitably funny leading man. George Givot's performance as the obnoxious boob running from alimony payments wont leave you begging for more. Despite the occasional cramp he puts in the fun, the rest of the cast sail through the gags effortlessly.
I hope it shows up as an extra in a DVD package in the future - a true delight.
It has everything - coochie dancers, pan-American travelog, Latin crooners, jungle romance, buxom blondes, blackface mammies, mediums, even a midget. The only furnishing it lacks is a suitably funny leading man. George Givot's performance as the obnoxious boob running from alimony payments wont leave you begging for more. Despite the occasional cramp he puts in the fun, the rest of the cast sail through the gags effortlessly.
I hope it shows up as an extra in a DVD package in the future - a true delight.
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