Pennies from Heaven (1936 film)
Encyclopedia
Pennies from Heaven is a 1936
musical
comedy film
starring Bing Crosby
and featuring Louis Armstrong
in a supporting role. The movie was directed by Norman Z. McLeod
and the screenplay
was written by Jo Swerling
from a story by William Rankin based on the novel The Peacock Feather by Katherine Leslie Moore. The picture remains most noteworthy for Crosby's introduction of the titular song
, a Depression
era favorite since recorded by numerous singers, including Armstrong.
), a self-described troubadour, is approached by an inmate named Hart (John Gallaudet) who is on his way to the electric chair. Hart asks Larry to deliver a letter to a family called Smith near Middletown, New Jersey. After finding the family, which consists of a grandfather (Donald Meek
) and a young girl named Patsy (Edith Fellows
), Poole tells them that the letter holds a key, reveals that the condemned man had unintentionally killed Patsy's father and that he is giving the Smith family his old house and former hideout, the only thing he has to give as atonement.
Susan Sprague (Madge Evans
) represents the county welfare department and it is her job to see that Patsy is raised "properly", or the girl will go to an orphanage. A variety of misadventures befall Larry as he tries to help "Gramps" out with Patsy to save her from the orphanage, all while Susan and he are falling in love.
To get cash for a restaurant license, Larry gets a stunt job at the circus, but is injured. While he is in hospital Gramps comes to let him know that the county has taken Patsy away. Larry believes Susan went behind his back and had Patsy placed in the orphanage. It is discovered that Susan had no part in it, but she loses her job defending Larry and his care of the child.
Larry has the circus perform for the children so that he can 'break Patsy out', when Patsy lets Larry know how Susan feels about him. Their attempt to free Patsy fails. Afterwards, Larry founds out that Susan has gone to New York and he goes there to find her.
While in New York, Susan is approached by two policemen looking for Larry, not to arrest him as she suspects, but to bring him back to the head of the County Welfare Department to help deal with Patsy, who has gone on a hunger strike. The policemen are watching Susan's apartment in the hopes that Larry will show up. When he does, they make him leave with them, after he and Susan reveal their feelings for each other.
When they return to the orphanage, the head of the welfare department begs Larry to help them with Patsy. Larry agrees to adopt Patsy and raise her with the help of Susan, who agrees to marry him and be a mother to Patsy.
and Johnny Burke
were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song
for the music and lyrics respectively of "Pennies from Heaven
".
Although this was not the first time that a black performer was given prominent billing in a major Hollywood release (Paul Robeson
had been billed fourth in that same year's Show Boat
), special billing was given to Armstrong at the insistence of Bing Crosby, who also insisted on Armstrong being hired for the movie.
Lyrics by Johnny Burke
; Played during the opening credits and often as background music; Sung by Bing Crosby
Danced by Edith Fellows; Reprised by Crosby at the orphanage and in the New York City montage
1936 in film
The year 1936 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 29 - Fritz Lang's first Hollywood film Fury, starring Spencer Tracy and Bruce Cabot, is released.*November 6 - first Porky Pig animated cartoon...
musical
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
starring Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
and featuring Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
in a supporting role. The movie was directed by Norman Z. McLeod
Norman Z. McLeod
Norman Zenos McLeod was an American film director, cartoonist and writer...
and the screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
was written by Jo Swerling
Jo Swerling
Jo Swerling was an American theatre writer and lyricist and a screenwriter.Born in Berdichev, Russian Empire, Swerling was a refugee of the Czarist regime who grew up on New York City's lower East Side, where he sold newspapers to help support his family...
from a story by William Rankin based on the novel The Peacock Feather by Katherine Leslie Moore. The picture remains most noteworthy for Crosby's introduction of the titular song
Pennies from Heaven (song)
"Pennies from Heaven" is a 1936 American popular song with music by Arthur Johnston and words by Johnny Burke. It was introduced by Bing Crosby in the 1936 film of the same name...
, a Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
era favorite since recorded by numerous singers, including Armstrong.
Plot
In prison, Larry Poole (Bing CrosbyBing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
), a self-described troubadour, is approached by an inmate named Hart (John Gallaudet) who is on his way to the electric chair. Hart asks Larry to deliver a letter to a family called Smith near Middletown, New Jersey. After finding the family, which consists of a grandfather (Donald Meek
Donald Meek
Donald Meek was a Scottish-born American character actor. He first worked as a stage actor and later became a film actor, starring in several movies including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Little Miss Broadway, and State Fair. Before becoming an actor, he fought in the Spanish-American War and...
) and a young girl named Patsy (Edith Fellows
Edith Fellows
Edith Marilyn Fellows was an American actress who began her professional career at age 6.-Personal life:When she was a year old, she and her father and grandmother moved to Charlotte, North Carolina...
), Poole tells them that the letter holds a key, reveals that the condemned man had unintentionally killed Patsy's father and that he is giving the Smith family his old house and former hideout, the only thing he has to give as atonement.
Susan Sprague (Madge Evans
Madge Evans
Madge Evans was an American stage and film actress. She began her career as a child performer and model.-Child model and stage actress:...
) represents the county welfare department and it is her job to see that Patsy is raised "properly", or the girl will go to an orphanage. A variety of misadventures befall Larry as he tries to help "Gramps" out with Patsy to save her from the orphanage, all while Susan and he are falling in love.
To get cash for a restaurant license, Larry gets a stunt job at the circus, but is injured. While he is in hospital Gramps comes to let him know that the county has taken Patsy away. Larry believes Susan went behind his back and had Patsy placed in the orphanage. It is discovered that Susan had no part in it, but she loses her job defending Larry and his care of the child.
Larry has the circus perform for the children so that he can 'break Patsy out', when Patsy lets Larry know how Susan feels about him. Their attempt to free Patsy fails. Afterwards, Larry founds out that Susan has gone to New York and he goes there to find her.
While in New York, Susan is approached by two policemen looking for Larry, not to arrest him as she suspects, but to bring him back to the head of the County Welfare Department to help deal with Patsy, who has gone on a hunger strike. The policemen are watching Susan's apartment in the hopes that Larry will show up. When he does, they make him leave with them, after he and Susan reveal their feelings for each other.
When they return to the orphanage, the head of the welfare department begs Larry to help them with Patsy. Larry agrees to adopt Patsy and raise her with the help of Susan, who agrees to marry him and be a mother to Patsy.
Awards
Arthur JohnstonArthur Johnston (composer)
Arthur Johnston was a composer known for such works as “Mandy, Make Up Your Mind,” "Pennies From Heaven," and many others...
and Johnny Burke
Johnny Burke (lyricist)
Johnny Burke was a lyricist, widely regarded as one of the finest writers of popular songs in America between the 1920s and 1950s.-Biography:...
were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song
Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
for the music and lyrics respectively of "Pennies from Heaven
Pennies from Heaven (song)
"Pennies from Heaven" is a 1936 American popular song with music by Arthur Johnston and words by Johnny Burke. It was introduced by Bing Crosby in the 1936 film of the same name...
".
Cast
- Bing CrosbyBing CrosbyHarry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
as Larry Poole - Madge EvansMadge EvansMadge Evans was an American stage and film actress. She began her career as a child performer and model.-Child model and stage actress:...
as Susan Sprague - Edith FellowsEdith FellowsEdith Marilyn Fellows was an American actress who began her professional career at age 6.-Personal life:When she was a year old, she and her father and grandmother moved to Charlotte, North Carolina...
as Patsy Smith - Louis ArmstrongLouis ArmstrongLouis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
as Henry - Donald MeekDonald MeekDonald Meek was a Scottish-born American character actor. He first worked as a stage actor and later became a film actor, starring in several movies including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Little Miss Broadway, and State Fair. Before becoming an actor, he fought in the Spanish-American War and...
as Gramp Smith - John Gallaudet as J. C. Hart
- William Stack as Clarence B. Carmichael
- Nana BryantNana BryantNana Bryant was an American film actress. She appeared in over 100 films between 1935 and 1955.She was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and died in Hollywood, California. Her grave is located at Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery....
as Miss Howard - Tom DuganTom DuganTom Dugan was an Irish film actor. He appeared in over 260 films between 1927 and 1955. He was born in Dublin, Ireland and died in Redlands, California....
as Crowbar Miller - Nydia WestmanNydia WestmanNydia Eileen Westman was an American actress and singer of stage, screen and television.-Career:Westman's career ranged from episodic appearances on TV sitcoms and uncredited bit roles in movies to appearances in groundbreaking films Nydia Eileen Westman (February 19, 1902 – May 23, 1970) was an...
as Slavey
Although this was not the first time that a black performer was given prominent billing in a major Hollywood release (Paul Robeson
Paul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century...
had been billed fourth in that same year's Show Boat
Show Boat (1936 film)
Show Boat is a 1936 film based on the musical play by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II , which the team adapted from the novel by Edna Ferber....
), special billing was given to Armstrong at the insistence of Bing Crosby, who also insisted on Armstrong being hired for the movie.
Soundtracks
- Pennies From Heaven (1936); Music by Arthur JohnstonArthur Johnston (composer)Arthur Johnston was a composer known for such works as “Mandy, Make Up Your Mind,” "Pennies From Heaven," and many others...
Lyrics by Johnny Burke
Johnny Burke (lyricist)
Johnny Burke was a lyricist, widely regarded as one of the finest writers of popular songs in America between the 1920s and 1950s.-Biography:...
; Played during the opening credits and often as background music; Sung by Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
- Skeleton in the Closet (1936); Music by Arthur Johnston; Lyrics by Johnny Burke; Performed by Louis ArmstrongLouis ArmstrongLouis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
with Louis Armstrong and His Band
- So Do I (1936); Music by Arthur Johnston; Lyrics by Johnny Burke; Sung by Bing Crosby and
Danced by Edith Fellows; Reprised by Crosby at the orphanage and in the New York City montage
- One Two Button Your Shoe (1936); Music by Arthur Johnston; Lyrics by Johnny Burke; Sung by Bing Crosby at the orphanage; Reprised by a marching band
- Let's Call a Heart a Heart (1936); Music by Arthur Johnston; Lyrics by Johnny Burke; Sung by Bing Crosby with Louis Armstrong and His Band; Played also as background music
- Old MacDonald Had a Farm (uncredited); Traditional children's song; Sung by Bing Crosby, Edith Fellows and Donald MeekDonald MeekDonald Meek was a Scottish-born American character actor. He first worked as a stage actor and later became a film actor, starring in several movies including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Little Miss Broadway, and State Fair. Before becoming an actor, he fought in the Spanish-American War and...
on the hay wagon