The Five Pennies

The Five Pennies is Worth Its Weight in Gold
Times change. Stars fall and are forgotten. Even worse, an actor is remembered for only one type of role and his unique work is pushed to the background. It is our good fortune to finally have one of Danny Kaye's finest performances on DVD. The Five Pennies is now available on a barebones release.

Kaye is known for some brilliant comedies including The Court Jester, and for some more subtle performances like Hans Christian Anderson, but here he combines the best of the two. In what purports to be the life story of famous cornet player, Loring "Red" Nichols, Kaye is wonderful. Along for the ride is Barbara Bel Geddes (Broadway's Maggie the cat) as wife Bobbie. With her close, squinty eyes and squat shape, she is not exactly a movie babe, but she is terrific actress and great acting partner for Kaye.

Three things up the ante of this film to excellent: the Oscar-nominated color photography in VistaVision by Daniel L. Fapp, the music performed by Louis...

The Greatest Single Movie Ever Made in the World
Words cannot describe how wonderful this movie is. My grandma got me this movie when I was 9 years old, and this enspired me to take up the cornet. This movie will make you cry with tears of joy. I takes you to the life of Loring "Red" Nichols and how he struggled to make it big. His Dixiland arrangements were looked down upon at first, until his "five pennies" which included such people as Jimmy Dorsey, and Benny Goodman were known nation wide. No other acter more perfectly fits the shoes of Red Nichols than Danny Kaye. Once you get into the first five minutes or so, pressing stop will be the hardest thing you've ever done. So if Louis Armstrong's bright golden tone sends shivers up your spine and the sound Big Band music makes you tap your feet, buy this movie as soon as you can. You'll wonder why you didn't sooner.

Thoroughly delightful - Danny Kaye's best!
A funny, warm, and perfectly wonderful musical -- the best kind of family entertainment. Danny Kaye is simply perfect as Red Nichols, the great jazzman of the 20's, and the bonus is the terrific music (many of which, I was surprised to discover later, were all Nichols' own songs). Wonderful work by Barbara Bel Geddes and the other featured players, especially the adorable little girl who plays Kaye's daughter. I've watched it again and again -- I think you will too.

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