| Pennies from Heaven | |
|---|---|
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Pennies_from_Heaven_VideoCover.jpeg) DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Norman Z. McLeod |
| Screenplay by | Jo Swerling |
| Story by | William Rankin |
| Based on | The Peacock Feather 1913 novel by Leslie Moore |
| Produced by | Emanuel Cohen |
| Starring | Bing Crosby Madge Evans Louis Armstrong Edith Fellows |
| Cinematography | Robert Pittack |
| Edited by | John Rawlins |
| Music by | William Grant Still (uncredited) Georgie Stoll (Music Director) Arrangements by John Scott Trotter |
Production company | Emanuel Cohen Productions |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 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.[1]
Jo Swerling's screenplay was based on the novel The Peacock Feather by Leslie Moore. 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 Oscar nomination for Best Original Song (Arthur Johnston and Johnny Burke).[2]
This was Crosby's first independent production jointly with Emanuel Cohen's Major Pictures and he had a share in the profits.[3] The film was distributed by Columbia Pictures.
- ^ "Pennies from Heaven". IMDb. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
imdbawardswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Giddins, Gary (2001). A Pocketful of Dreams. New York: Little, Brown and Company. pp. 418–419. ISBN 0-316-88188-0.