Penelope (1966)

Comedy about a flighty, bored, kleptomaniac wife of a banker who robs her husband's bank of sixty thousand dollars.

Director:

Arthur Hiller

Writers:

George Wells (screenplay), Howard Fast (novel) (as E.V. Cunningham)

Stars:

Natalie Wood, Ian Bannen, Dick Shawn

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Natalie Wood	...	Penelope
Ian Bannen	...	James B. Elcott
Dick Shawn	...	Dr. Gregory Mannix
Peter Falk	...	Lt. Bixbee
Jonathan Winters	...	Professor Klobb
Lila Kedrova	...	Sadaba
Lou Jacobi	...	Ducky
Norma Crane	...	Mildred
Arthur Malet	...	Major Higgins
Jerome Cowan	...	Bank Manager
Arlene Golonka	...	Honeysuckle Rose
Amzie Strickland	...	Miss Serena
Bill Gunn	...	Sgt. Rothschild
Carl Ballantine	...	Boom Boom
Iggie Wolfington	...	Store Owner

Storyline

When James met Penelope at a club, it took all of three weeks before they were married. But after the marriage, other women became attracted to James and he kept getting promoted, which took him away from Penelope. So Penelope puts on a disguise and robs her husband's bank. Her psychiatrist, Greg, believes that this condition is caused by James being over worked and under romantic with Penelope. She also tells Greg that she robs the business associates of James. But Greg is in love with Penelope - in fact everyone likes her. The problem is when she confesses to her crimes, no one believes her.

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Plot Keywords:

kleptomaniac | breaking eggs | psychiatrist | white bra and panties | white panties | 

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Taglines:

The worlds most beautiful bank-robber

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 November 1966 (USA)

Also Known As:

Penelope

Filming Locations:

Museum of Modern Art, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Euterpe

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Three years earlier, Dick Shawn, Jonathan Winters, and Peter Falk all starred together in "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World".

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Goofs

Early in the film, after the bank robbery and her visit to Bergdorf's, Penelope enters James' (Dick Shawn) office and tosses her mink on to a chair and it promptly slides off. After an immediate cut to where she is lying on the shrink's couch, in the back ground, the fur is draped over the back of the chair.

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Quotes

Penelope: You're blackmailing me!
Ducky: Blackmail is a criminal offense.
Sadaba: What we're trying to do, is a $25,000..."good turn".

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits are animated. Black hands without a body steal the diamonds contained in the first letter in the first name of the actors and crew members.

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Connections

Featured in Penelope's Fashion Show (1966)

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Soundtracks

Penelope
Words by Leslie Bricusse
Music by John Williams (as Johnny Williams)

User Reviews

Worth checking out for "Johnny" Williams score!

Alright so it's not the greatest film in the world BUT I must recommend it anyway especially to those fans of the fabulously fun era of the late 60's. That 60's vibe is evident throughout the film. And I was surprised to hear "Johnny" Williams aprapos and quality score complete with Penelope theme song. Natalie Wood as Penelope is stunning and is also featured on a vocal number at the local "beatnik" club (now you don't want to miss that do you?) Peter Falk is the detective on Penelope's trail previewing his future role as Columbo and there are also many recognizable actors of that era in the film as well. Natalie Wood was very depressed over the lack of appreciation for this film but regained her career momentum with the success of "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice" 3 years later.