Pennies from Heaven (1936 film)
| Pennies from Heaven | |
|---|---|
DVD cover
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| Directed by | Norman Z. McLeod |
| Produced by | Emanuel Cohen |
| Screenplay by | Jo Swerling |
| Story by | William Rankin |
| Based on |
The Peacock Feather by Leslie Moore |
| Starring |
Bing Crosby Madge Evans Louis Armstrong Edith Fellows |
| Music by |
William Grant Still (uncredited) Georgie Stoll (Music Director) Arrangements by John Scott Trotter |
| Cinematography | Robert Pittack |
| Edited by | John Rawlins |
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Production
company |
Emanuel Cohen Productions
|
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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81 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Pennies From Heaven is a 1936 American musical comedy film directed by Norman Z. McLeod and starring Bing Crosby, Madge Evans, and Edith Fellows.
Based on the novel The Peacock Feather by Leslie Moore and a screenplay by Jo Swerling, the film is about a singer wrongly imprisoned who promises a condemned fellow inmate that he will help the family of his victim when he is released. The singer delays his dream of becoming a gondolier in Venice and becomes a street singer in order to help the young girl and her elderly grandfather. His life is further complicated when he meets a beautiful welfare worker who takes a dim view of the young girl's welfare and initiates proceedings to have her put in an orphanage.
Pennies From Heaven remains most noteworthy for Crosby's introduction of the titular song, a Depression-era favorite, since recorded by numerous singers. The film features Louis Armstrong in a supporting role. In 1937, the film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song (Arthur Johnston and Johnny Burke).
This was Crosby’s first independent production jointly with Emanuel Cohen’s Major Pictures and he had a share in the profits. The film was distributed by Columbia Pictures.
In prison, Larry Poole (Bing Crosby), 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.
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