Loring "Red" Nichols is a cornet-playing country boy who goes to New York in the 1920s full of musical ambition and principles. He gets a job playing in Wil Paradise's band, but quits to ...
See full summary »
Everyone else may be watching "You" on Netflix, but star Shay Mitchell can't turn away from a different Netflix show.
Related News
-
Daily Briefing. 2011 Lists from Slant, Frieze, Ebert, MSN and More
16 December 2011 | MUBI -
Actress Gordon Dies At 62
15 December 2011 | WENN
User Lists
Related lists from IMDb users
Share this Rating
Title: The Five Pennies (1959)
Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.
Learn more
More Like This
On the Double
(1961)
Adventure
|
Comedy
|
War
Director:
Melville Shavelson
Stars:
Danny Kaye,
Dana Wynter,
Wilfrid Hyde-White
Knock on Wood
(1954)
Certificate: Passed
Comedy
Directors:
Melvin Frank,
Norman Panama
Stars:
Danny Kaye,
Mai Zetterling,
Torin Thatcher
Merry Andrew
(1958)
Certificate: Passed
Comedy
|
Musical
|
Romance
Director:
Michael Kidd
Stars:
Danny Kaye,
Pier Angeli,
Salvatore Baccaloni
On the Riviera
(1951)
Comedy
|
Musical
Director:
Walter Lang
Stars:
Danny Kaye,
Gene Tierney,
Corinne Calvet
The Inspector General
(1949)
Comedy
|
Musical
|
Romance
Director:
Henry Koster
Stars:
Danny Kaye,
Walter Slezak,
Barbara Bates
The Kid from Brooklyn
(1946)
Comedy
|
Musical
Director:
Norman Z. McLeod
Stars:
Danny Kaye,
Virginia Mayo,
Vera-Ellen
Comedy
Director:
Frank Tashlin
Stars:
Danny Kaye,
Cara Williams,
Martha Hyer
Me and the Colonel
(1958)
Comedy
|
War
Director:
Peter Glenville
Stars:
Danny Kaye,
Curd Jürgens,
Nicole Maurey
Wonder Man
(1945)
Comedy
|
Fantasy
|
Musical
Director:
H. Bruce Humberstone
Stars:
Danny Kaye,
Virginia Mayo,
Vera-Ellen
Comedy
|
Fantasy
|
Romance
Director:
Norman Z. McLeod
Stars:
Danny Kaye,
Virginia Mayo,
Boris Karloff
A Song Is Born
(1948)
Comedy
|
Music
|
Musical
Director:
Howard Hawks
Stars:
Danny Kaye,
Virginia Mayo,
Benny Goodman
Royal Wedding
(1951)
Comedy
|
Musical
|
Romance
Director:
Stanley Donen
Stars:
Fred Astaire,
Jane Powell,
Peter Lawford
Edit
Cast
| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Danny Kaye | ... | 'Red' Nichols | |
| Barbara Bel Geddes | ... | Willa Stutsman | |
| Louis Armstrong | ... | Louis Armstrong | |
| Harry Guardino | ... | Tony Valani | |
| Bob Crosby | ... | Wil Paradise | |
| Bobby Troup | ... | Artie Schutt | |
| Susan Gordon | ... | Dorothy Nichols - Ages 6 to 8 | |
| Tuesday Weld | ... | Dorothy Nichols - Age 13 | |
| Ray Anthony | ... | Jimmy Dorsey | |
| Shelly Manne | ... | Dave Tough | |
 |
Ray Daley | ... | Glenn Miller |
| Valerie Allen | ... | Tommye Eden | |
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
Storyline
Loring "Red" Nichols is a cornet-playing country boy who goes to New York in the 1920s full of musical ambition and principles. He gets a job playing in Wil Paradise's band, but quits to pursue his dream of playing Dixieland jazz. He forms the "Five Pennies" which features his wife, Bobbie, as vocalist. At the peak of his fame, Red and Bobbie's daughter, Dorothy, develops polio. Red quits the music business to move to Los Angeles where the climate is better for Dorothy. As Dorothy becomes a young teen, she learns of her father's musical past, and he is persuaded to open a small nightclub which is failing until some noted names from his past come to help out. Written by Ray Hamel <hamel@primate.wisc.edu>
Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
Edit
See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
August 1959 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Las cinco monedas See more »Filming Locations:
Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA See more »Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System)Color:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
Edit
The German lyrics were written by Fritz A. Koeniger, who was one of the most skillful writers for dubbing dialogues in Germany ever. Koeniger also provided the German dialogue book for 5 PENNIES as well as for Kaye's KNOCK ON WOOD, THE COURT JESTER and WHITE CHRISTMAS. The German song titles are:
"Der kleine Penny" ("Five Pennies") "Wiegenlied in Ragtime" ("Lullaby in Ragtime") "Gut' Nacht, schlaf sacht'" ("Good Night - Sleep Tight") "Die Musik faehrt Karussell" ("The Music goes round and around") "Klingeling, klingeling, laeutet's immerzu" ("Jingle Bells").
Sigrid Lagemann, the German voice of Barbara Bel Geddes, also joins in singing together with Danny Kaye in "Wiegenlied in Ragtime" and sings the final reprise of "Der kleine Penny" on her own. All songs Kaye does together with Louis Armstrong remain in the original English (although Armstrong was around at Berlin that time and did a guest appearance in the 1959 film LA PALOMA !). Most likely the German songs were never released commercially on record and are exclusive to the German movie track.
The dubbing was carried out at the renowned company Berliner Synchron GmbH Wenzel Luedecke, which produced the German language versions of almost every Paramount film throughout the 50s and 60s. The dubbing was directed by Volker J. Becker. In early 1960 a German movie magazine published a picture which shows Danny Kaye and his wife Sylvia Fine at the dubbing atelier of Berliner Synchron. There is also a picture of Kaye together with company owner Wenzel Luedecke taken during his recording session. See more »
(1935) (uncredited)
Music by Edward Farley and Mike Riley
Lyrics by Red Hodgson
Sung by Danny Kaye and Susan Gordon
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
The German 1959 dubbing 5 PENNIES MACHEN MUSIK (literally FIVE PENNIES MAKE MUSIC; released 29 January 1960) carries a very special secret: in the dub Danny Kaye himself sings phonetically in German. All of Kaye's dialogue was dubbed by his regular German voice Georg Thomalla. But Danny Kaye personally went to Berlin to re-dub his vocals of some of the movies' songs into German. It's very obvious that he doesn't understand a word of what he sings at all, but nevertheless does very well. His performance is charismatic, highly sympathetic and works surprisingly fine in spite of his strong accent and pronounciation.The German lyrics were written by Fritz A. Koeniger, who was one of the most skillful writers for dubbing dialogues in Germany ever. Koeniger also provided the German dialogue book for 5 PENNIES as well as for Kaye's KNOCK ON WOOD, THE COURT JESTER and WHITE CHRISTMAS. The German song titles are:
"Der kleine Penny" ("Five Pennies") "Wiegenlied in Ragtime" ("Lullaby in Ragtime") "Gut' Nacht, schlaf sacht'" ("Good Night - Sleep Tight") "Die Musik faehrt Karussell" ("The Music goes round and around") "Klingeling, klingeling, laeutet's immerzu" ("Jingle Bells").
Sigrid Lagemann, the German voice of Barbara Bel Geddes, also joins in singing together with Danny Kaye in "Wiegenlied in Ragtime" and sings the final reprise of "Der kleine Penny" on her own. All songs Kaye does together with Louis Armstrong remain in the original English (although Armstrong was around at Berlin that time and did a guest appearance in the 1959 film LA PALOMA !). Most likely the German songs were never released commercially on record and are exclusive to the German movie track.
The dubbing was carried out at the renowned company Berliner Synchron GmbH Wenzel Luedecke, which produced the German language versions of almost every Paramount film throughout the 50s and 60s. The dubbing was directed by Volker J. Becker. In early 1960 a German movie magazine published a picture which shows Danny Kaye and his wife Sylvia Fine at the dubbing atelier of Berliner Synchron. There is also a picture of Kaye together with company owner Wenzel Luedecke taken during his recording session. See more »
Goofs
When Red leaves the club with Willa (after seeing Louis Armstrong the first time), he takes his cornet with him but has neglected to put it back in its case. Presumably because he was quite drunk. See more »Soundtracks
The Music Goes Round and Round(1935) (uncredited)
Music by Edward Farley and Mike Riley
Lyrics by Red Hodgson
Sung by Danny Kaye and Susan Gordon
See more »
Frequently Asked Questions
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.Contribute to This Page
Mahershala Ali is perhaps best known for his performances in "House of Cards" and Moonlight, and has been nominated for his second Oscar for Green Book. What other roles has he played?
Explore popular action and adventure titles available to stream with Prime Video.
... but I could never see the movie yet. Still, it partly saved my life when I was dying of a very bad pneumonia and was floating in between the two worlds. I didn't yet understand English, but the soundtrack of The Five Pennies played on the vinyl record (don't ask me how my Finnish parents got to possess it) went through my conscience and kept me on the living side. I can still sing one voice of the lullaby hearing Danny Kaye and Louis Armstrong singing the other voices in my head. I'm lucky to be able to hear them without any technical device.
Now, by a coincidence I fall on this movie I never saw - so important in my life - on VHS / NTSC in Amazon. I live in Europe... No way being able to see it. Do you really mean that there's no DVD of it yet ? I seem to be not the only one wishing for it.