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IMDbPro

The Five Pennies

  • 19591959
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 1h 57m
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
2K
YOUR RATING
The Five Pennies (1959)
Danny Kaye cuts loose with his trademark musical clowning. Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong plays his horn and croons in that famed gargling-granite voice. Big Band icons Bob Crosby, Ray Anthony and Shelly Manne join the fun.
Play trailer1:02
1 Video
75 Photos
BiographyDramaMusic
Danny Kaye cuts loose with his trademark musical clowning. Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong plays his horn and croons in that famed gargling-granite voice. Big Band icons Bob Crosby, Ray Anthony an... Read allDanny Kaye cuts loose with his trademark musical clowning. Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong plays his horn and croons in that famed gargling-granite voice. Big Band icons Bob Crosby, Ray Anthony and Shelly Manne join the fun.Danny Kaye cuts loose with his trademark musical clowning. Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong plays his horn and croons in that famed gargling-granite voice. Big Band icons Bob Crosby, Ray Anthony and Shelly Manne join the fun.
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
2K
YOUR RATING
    • Melville Shavelson
  • Writers
    • Jack Rose(screenplay)
    • Melville Shavelson(screenplay)
    • Robert Smith(story)
  • Stars
    • Danny Kaye
    • Barbara Bel Geddes
    • Louis Armstrong
    • Melville Shavelson
  • Writers
    • Jack Rose(screenplay)
    • Melville Shavelson(screenplay)
    • Robert Smith(story)
  • Stars
    • Danny Kaye
    • Barbara Bel Geddes
    • Louis Armstrong
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 31User reviews
    • 18Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 4 Oscars

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 1:02
    Watch Trailer

    Photos75

    The Five Pennies (1959)
    The Five Pennies (1959)
    The Five Pennies (1959)
    The Five Pennies (1959)
    The Five Pennies (1959)
    Barbara Bel Geddes and Danny Kaye in The Five Pennies (1959)
    Danny Kaye and Louis Armstrong in The Five Pennies (1959)
    Barbara Bel Geddes, Danny Kaye, and Tuesday Weld in The Five Pennies (1959)
    Tuesday Weld in The Five Pennies (1959)
    Barbara Bel Geddes, Danny Kaye, and Tuesday Weld in The Five Pennies (1959)
    Barbara Bel Geddes and Danny Kaye in The Five Pennies (1959)
    Barbara Bel Geddes, Danny Kaye, and Tuesday Weld in The Five Pennies (1959)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Danny Kaye
    Danny Kaye
    • 'Red' Nichols
    Barbara Bel Geddes
    Barbara Bel Geddes
    • Willa Stutsman
    Louis Armstrong
    Louis Armstrong
    • Louis Armstrong
    Harry Guardino
    Harry Guardino
    • Tony Valani
    Bob Crosby
    Bob Crosby
    • Wil Paradise
    Bobby Troup
    Bobby Troup
    • Artie Schutt
    Susan Gordon
    Susan Gordon
    • Dorothy Nichols - Ages 6 to 8
    Tuesday Weld
    Tuesday Weld
    • Dorothy Nichols - Age 13
    Ray Anthony
    Ray Anthony
    • Jimmy Dorsey
    Shelly Manne
    Shelly Manne
    • Dave Tough
    Ray Daley
    • Glenn Miller
    Valerie Allen
    Valerie Allen
    • Tommye Eden
    Eric Alden
    Eric Alden
    • Musician
    • (uncredited)
    Babette Bain
    • Rehabilitation Patient
    • (uncredited)
    Bill Baldwin
    Bill Baldwin
    • Announcer
    • (uncredited)
    Sheryn Banks
    • Girl at Birthday Party
    • (uncredited)
    Earl Barton
    Earl Barton
    • Choreographer
    • (uncredited)
    Henry Beau
    • Undetermined Secondary Role
    • (uncredited)
      • Melville Shavelson
    • Writers
      • Jack Rose(screenplay)
      • Melville Shavelson(screenplay)
      • Robert Smith(story)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      While Danny Kaye worked hard to be able to accurately fake playing cornet (he practiced for months learning the fingering of the instrument), it was the real Red Nichols who provided all of the cornet playing for Kaye in this movie.
    • Goofs
      After Red and Willa have left the club and are traveling home, the cars seen through the rear window of the taxicab are distinctly 1940's to 1950's vehicles which were nonexistent in 1924.
    • Quotes

      'Red' Nichols: Mr. Paradise, I play New Orleans style. You know, it's the newest thing. As a matter of fact I got an arrangement right here of the very number that you're doing.

      Wil Paradise: Put that think away. Sit down.

      'Red' Nichols: Can't you take a little friendly advice?

      Wil Paradise: Put that horn in your big mouth and blow.

      Tony Valani: Welcome to Paradise.

    • Connections
      Featured in American Masters: Danny Kaye: A Legacy of Laughter (1996)
    • Soundtracks
      The Five Pennies
      (1959)

      Words and Music by Sylvia Fine

      Sung by Danny Kaye (uncredited) to Dorothy

      Performed by Eileen Wilson (uncredited) at the comeback show

    User reviews31

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    9/10
    A Powerful and Compelling Work of Art
    Danny Kaye is known for his comic roles; for his laughter, his singing, his dancing, his light-hearted humor. But this movie presents a different Danny Kaye - serious, brooding, consumed with guilt, confronted by really serious problems - and here Danny Kaye shines. This movie is proof that if he had to, Danny Kaye could have been one of the greatest dramatic actors in the history of motion pictures. There is no question about that. In this movie, Kaye puts aside the clowning to play a subdued, moody and introspective character who nevertheless is still likable and worthy of attention. And it works! In the movie he wins over the audience, he wins over his family, he wins over his friends. And who can ever forget the scene with Louis Armstrong? Kaye's character overcomes all obstacles to triumph and to be loved. Only a highly skilled and sensitive actor could have done the job, and in this movie Danny Kaye proved that he had the requisite qualities to transform what could have been little more than a sudsy soap opera into a powerful statement about a man who, along with his family, not only survives but sets an example for others. For this reason, this movie is a powerful and compelling work of art.
    helpful•31
    5
    • PWNYCNY
    • Jul 27, 2005

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 1959 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Dena Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 57 minutes

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