The Five Pennies (1959)

Written by: Robert Smith, Jack Rose, Melville Shavelson
Produced by: Jack Rose
Starring: Danny Kaye as Red Nichols, Barbara Bel Geddes as Bobbie Meredith, Harry Guardino as Tony Valani, Bob Crosby as Wil Paradise, Susan Gordon and Tuesday Weld as Dorothy, and Louis Armstrong as himself
Music by: Sylvia Fine


This is the biography of one of the greatest cornet players in American history - Red Nichols. Nichols worked his way up from small time to leading one of the greatest Dixieland bands in history until his daughter contracted polio and Nichols dropped his dreams of music and found a nine-to-five job so his family would have stability.

"The Five Pennies" is one of my all time favorite classic films. I love it because I love Danny Kaye's acting. I love it because it is both funny and moving. And I love it for the outstanding musical score. We get to hear Louis Armstrong on several occasions and Kaye singing as well. Be sure to watch for the darling duet sung between Nichols and his daughter, Dorothy. Danny Kaye's real life wife, Sylvia Fine, wrote many of the songs - and whenever you see Red Nichols the character playing, you can bet the real Red Nichols recorded it. But you wouldn't know it to watch Kaye as he maneuvers a cornet.

That being said, if you watch any amount of good classic movies, you'll know what an incredible actor Kaye is. This film not only includes the incomparable humor Kaye can produce, but shows us he can be a darker actor as well. He captures the depression of a father who feel guilty for his daughter's suffering and who has had his dreams stomped on by serious reality. Barbara Bel Geddes is the perfect companion for Kaye in "Pennies," her talents including singing beautifully, playing the witty towngirl, the caring mother, the smart business partner, and an overall understanding female for Kaye's emotional turmoil.

The only flaw in this film is the vague definition of how time passes. This may be intentional, but personally I don't think it works if it was intentional. Dorothy grows from baby to child and child to teen in one scene each. Not to mention the end of the film makes you believe that the concert is Nichols' first in his return instead of the last ditch effort. But despite this, and as you probably expected, I give this film five pennies out of a possible five (5/5).