lasttimeisaw A critical box-office fiasco directed by Herbert Ross (THE GOODBYE GIRL 1977, California SUITE 1978), PENNIES FROM HEAVEN is a Depression-era musical, alternates between a harsh reality and the dreamlike musical numbers of fantasy, it stars Steve Martin as a Chicago sheet- music salesman Arthur Parker, who is frustrated with his frigid wife Joan (Harper) and the failing business and gets smitten with a young school teacher Eileen (Peters) at his first glance. The affair costs Eileen her job and she deign to become a street hustler while Arthur returns to Joan, but eventually the two reunite and decide to start a new life together, but who will expect, Arthur's one-time Good Samaritan deed to a homeless man who plays an accordion (Bagneris), will lead him to his doom as a scapegoat of a murder in this unjust, bleak world.The plot is a continuum of despondency and dissatisfaction, and overtly sexually aggressive, devoid of any limerent whitewashing to appease its viewers, Arthur, is a undisguised lustful husband from the very beginning and Eileen is not a shrinking violet either in that aspect (nudge nudge), in a frank manner, she confesses that she is grateful to Arthur that she is able to be liberated from her prudish facade.By sheer contrast, the imaginary sequences of dancing and lip-syncing with oldie tunes are glamorous to the hilt. The titular song is firstly mimed and danced by Bagneris in a showering of golden coins, and later poignantly used as an epilogue sung by Arthur with a noose nearby. A show-stopping Christopher Walken tap-dances in Cole Porter's LET'S MISBEHAVE is an incredible boon to remind us that he can be deadly charming and dangerous within the same take. Martin, in his second leading film role and long before his trademark white hair begin to sprout, excels in his burlesque deftness and dramatic expertise. The Broadway diva Bernadette Peters, extracts a profound ambivalence of good-girl-gone-bad transmogrification with her sultry body language and a baby-like poker face and last but not the least, Jessica Harper will be forever remembered for the lipsticks on her nipples.PENNIES FROM HEAVEN is the last hurrah of the musical genre which had reigned Hollywood over 60 years, its unconventional tact of juggling with reality and escapism is ahead of its time and Dennis Potter's pedestrian script cannot help it either, but in retrospect, it deserves a revitalisation of BluRay treatment, even just for the sake of those sumptuous and consummate dancing-and- singing parodies.

Irishchatter I normally see Steve Martin involved with rather goofy movies like 'Father of the Bride', 'Looney Tunes:Back in Action' or 'The Three Amigos' but I hadn't seen him before in more serious roles as this! The music was quite good but was rather disappointed. Since this is suppose to be a musical, they just lip synced the old songs then use their original voice. Sure Steve Martin has a good voice like why hide it, yknow?The choreography was brilliant, every single actor danced so brilliantly that I forgot they were actors, lol! I thought the storyline was really good but depressing. Steve Martin's character should've left his wife for the ex school teacher. The amount of love they had for each other was great, they needed to run away and not come back! It's too bad they didn't do it from the beginning and that way, things will be better for the couple! It's not a great movie but it's good enough. I give this 8/10!

Jimmy L. Although the movie as a whole doesn't quite come together, PENNIES FROM HEAVEN (1981) is a unique film with a lot to like about it. It's a Depression-era period piece, which is cool. Steve Martin plays a struggling sheet music peddler. Bright and happy fantasy musical numbers are juxtaposed with the harsh realities of the Depression, highlighting the escapist value of music and movies.I love how the vintage 1930s recordings are used in the musical numbers, with the actors lip-synching to wonderful effect. It often gives the sequences a comedic edge. The larger-than-life fantasy numbers are inspired, one would assume, by Busby Berkeley's choreography in the 1930s Warner Bros. "Gold Diggers" films. And there's a great scene where Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters dance in-sync with Fred and Ginger in a scene from FOLLOW THE FLEET (1936).Steve Martin's character is a cad, but he almost makes you sympathize with him. Almost. And then his true colors shine through. Bernadette Peters is adorable in a challenging, heartbreaking role. Christopher Walken has one dynamite scene where he tap dances in a bar room.PENNIES FROM HEAVEN is not a comedy, as one might expect. It's dark, depressing, tragic, vulgar. But it is buoyed by fantastically upbeat musical numbers. It's a strange and intriguing mix. Ultimately the film is a cynical look at life. Just when you think things are bad enough for Martin's character, life gets even worse in the final act. All the while the troubles of reality are swept under the glittery musical fantasies, a sort of defense mechanism for the characters. Life should be like the songs, Martin thinks. But the film makes it clear that life is not.The movie has a lot going for it. The musical numbers are impressive, the vintage tunes are great, Peters and Walken in particular give standout performances, and director Herbert Ross stylishly quotes famous urban paintings like Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks". It's a flawed film in many ways, but there's plenty for viewers to grab onto, particularly if they're fans of the 1930s era.

ackstasis Christopher Walken dancing. Why this three-word pitch should compel me to look up 'Pennies from Heaven (1981),' I'm not sure, but there's no doubt that his mimed performance of "Let's Misbehave" is the film's show-stopper. Indeed, the film is full of surprises. Who, for example, could have gauged that not only is Steve Martin a competent dancer, but he's actually quite excellent? This musical, directed by Herbert Ross, was adapted by Dennis Potter from his own 1978 BBC miniseries, which I haven't yet seen. Set in Depression-era Chicago, this MGM production follows a sex-obsessed sheet music salesman who falls on hard financial times, relying on his music to remain optimistic in the face of injustice. It's an exceedingly grim tale, and the frothy musical numbers clash horribly with the murky narrative, but I nonetheless admire the filmmakers and the cast {Martin's previous starring role was in the goofball comedy 'The Jerk (1979)'} for taking part in such an audacious, offbeat project. In any case, the gamble didn't pay off, and 'Pennies from Heaven' flopped.Having seen a fair amount of 1930s musicals myself, I've come to understand how, in the midst of the Great Depression, it was endless optimism that ensured financial success. Audiences came to the cinema, not to be reminded of their financial woes, but to escape into a fantastic, glittering world of wealth and lighthearted romantic frivolity. To watch 'Top Hat (1935)' or 'Swing Time (1936),' for example, you'd never know that millions of Americans were out of work. As a counterpoint, the only vaguely-serious Astaire/Rogers musical, 'The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939),' did poorly at the box-office. This is what 'Pennies from Heaven' is all about. Rather than being about how ordinary people use fantasy to escape from their daily anguish, Ross' film more specifically examines, both affectionately and critically, the vital role of art (encompassing both music and cinema) in maintaining one's hope and sanity, similar Woody Allen's 'The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)' {both films notably utilised scenes from an Astaire/Rogers film}.What is the appeal of the Hollywood musical, anyway? Why must songs and dances be scattered regularly throughout the drama, and why would the film simply feel empty without them? The musical numbers are an emotional outlet for the film's characters, a voice-piece through which they can express feelings that they would otherwise be unable to put into words. Indeed, in this case, the songs are not even being sung by the actors themselves, but by Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Helen Kane and Irving Aaronson, musical performers who sing for an entire nation; they give voice to the emotions that the ordinary folk are experiencing. Every musical number in 'Pennies from Heaven' takes place in a setting somewhat displaced from reality, on the edge of the characters' tongues but never quite in the open. It's the sort of ineffectual daydream that gets nothing done, but if you can take refuge in this dreamworld, and acquire solace from a world otherwise devoid of comfort, then it's all right. If nothing else, our fantasies will always have a happy ending.