Pennies from Heaven Movie Review 1981

Underrated, one-of-a-kind musical about a horny sheet-music salesman in Chicago and his escapades during the Depression. Extraordinary musical sequences have stars lip-synching to great effect. Martin is only somewhat acceptable as the hapless salesman, but Peters and Harper deliver powerful performances as the women whose lives he ruins. Walken brings down the house in a stunning song-and-dance sequence. Adapted by Dennis Potter from his British TV series.

Distribution

Facets Multimedia, Inc., 1517 W. Fullerton Ave., Chicago, IL 60614, Phone: (773)281-9075, Toll-free: 800-331-6197, Fax: (773)929-5437, Email: sales@facets.org, URL: http://www.facets.org

Available on VHS
Running time 107 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Musical Drama, Adapted from Television, Great Depression, Dance Fever, Salespeople, Marriage, Oldest Profession, Tragedy

Screenplay

Dennis Potter

Cast

Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters, Christopher Walken, Jessica Harper, Vernel Bagneris

Cinematography

Gordon Willis

Director

Herbert Ross

Music

Ralph Burns, Marvin Hamlisch

Producer

MGM

Awards

Golden Globes 1982: Actress--Mus./Comedy (Peters); Natl. Soc. Film Critics 1981: Cinematog.