Pennies from Heaven 1981
6.5 / 10
Pennies from Heaven
During the Great Depression, a sheet music salesman seeks to escape his dreary life through popular music and a love affair with an innocent school teacher.
During the Great Depression, a sheet music salesman seeks to escape his dreary life through popular music and a love affair with an innocent school teacher.
Videos & Photos
All 2 Videos & 14 Photos
cast
Full Cast & Crew
... Arthur
... Eileen
... Joan
... The Accordion Man
... Mr. Warner
... The Detective
User reviews
See All 1 Reviews23 Jun 2021 by Wuchak
***Imagination helps endure the harsh realities of the Depression*** In the 1930s a struggling sheet music salesman (Steve Martin) tries to escape his dreary existence with his prudish wife (Jessica Harper) to pursue his dream and a cute schoolmarm (Bernadette Peters). The imaginations of the characters help them deal with the harsh realities of the Great Depression. Vernel Bagneris plays a homeless accordion player while Christopher Walken is on hand as a pimp. “Pennies from Heaven” (1981) is a drama/musical based on the 1978 British mini-series and written by the same guy. The song & dance routines occur about every 7 minutes and are an amusingly kinetic counterpoint to the sad Depression-era dramatics. Martin is his usual comical self, but the drama is definitely not a comedy and contains some seriously unsavory moments. “Pennies from Heaven” was the precursor to musicals like “Chicago” (2002) and “Nine” (2009), but those films have superior reality-based stories and far better women, especially “Chicago” as far as the women go. But Bernadette is a joy to behold as usual; and Martin is charismatic despite playing a man of dubious character. The movie runs 1 hour, 48 minutes and was shot in Illinois (Chicago & Galena) and Southern Cal (the Los Angeles area & Wasco). GRADE: C
Release Date:
Dec 11, 1981 (United States)
Run Time:
1hr 48`
MMPA Rating:
R
Original Language:
English
Production Countries:
United States
Status:
Released
Plot Keywords:
Related Movies To
Pennies from Heaven
***Imagination helps endure the harsh realities of the Depression*** In the 1930s a struggling sheet music salesman (Steve Martin) tries to escape his dreary existence with his prudish wife (Jessica Harper) to pursue his dream and a cute schoolmarm (Bernadette Peters). The imaginations of the characters help them deal with the harsh realities of the Great Depression. Vernel Bagneris plays a homeless accordion player while Christopher Walken is on hand as a pimp. “Pennies from Heaven” (1981) is a drama/musical based on the 1978 British mini-series and written by the same guy. The song & dance routines occur about every 7 minutes and are an amusingly kinetic counterpoint to the sad Depression-era dramatics. Martin is his usual comical self, but the drama is definitely not a comedy and contains some seriously unsavory moments. “Pennies from Heaven” was the precursor to musicals like “Chicago” (2002) and “Nine” (2009), but those films have superior reality-based stories and far better women, especially “Chicago” as far as the women go. But Bernadette is a joy to behold as usual; and Martin is charismatic despite playing a man of dubious character. The movie runs 1 hour, 48 minutes and was shot in Illinois (Chicago & Galena) and Southern Cal (the Los Angeles area & Wasco). GRADE: C
Cast & Crew of
Pennies from Heaven
Directors & Credit Writers
HB
Hal Bell... Second Assistant Director
... Second Assistant Director
LAS
L. Andrew Stone... First Assistant Director
Cast
... Arthur
... Eileen
... Joan
... The Accordion Man
... Mr. Warner
... The Detective
... The Banker
RF
Robert Fitch... Al
... Ed
... The Blind Girl
... Tom
... The Bartender
RB
Raleigh Bond... Mr. Barrett
... A Prostitute
... The Old Whore
TK
Toni Kaye... Tart
... Tart
... Elevator Operator
... Boy
... Motorcycle Police
Produced By
Videos & Photos of
Pennies from Heaven
Videos ( 2)
Pennies From Heaven - Trailer
YouTube
Photos ( 14 )
Related Movies To
Pennies from Heaven
Gladiator II (2024)
0 /10
Years after witnessing the death of the revered hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who now lead Rome with an iron fist. With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius must look to his past to find strength and honor to return the glory of Rome to its people.
Run Time: 2hr 28` . MMPA: R / PG-13 . Release: 05 Nov 2024
Director: Conor Flannery , Vanluke Watson , Oana Ene
Producer: Darren Chesney , Aidan Elliott , Yann Mari Faget
Stars: Paul Mescal , Fred Hechinger , Denzel Washington , Connie Nielsen , Joseph Quinn , Pedro Pascal
Wicked (2024)
0 /10
In the land of Oz, ostracized and misunderstood green-skinned Elphaba is forced to share a room with the popular aristocrat Glinda at Shiz University, and the two's unlikely friendship is tested as they begin to fulfill their respective destinies as Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.
Run Time: 2hr 42` . MMPA: PG . Release: 20 Nov 2024
Director: Jon M. Chu , Lisa Vick
Producer: Dana Gaier , Carly Schoepflin , Jared LeBoff
Stars: Cynthia Erivo , Ariana Grande , Jonathan Bailey , Jeff Goldblum , Michelle Yeoh , Ethan Slater
Dirty Angels (2024)
0 /10
During the United States' 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, a group of female soldiers posing as medical relief are sent back in to rescue a group of kidnapped teenagers caught between ISIS and the Taliban.
Run Time: 1hr 44` . MMPA: R . Release: 11 Dec 2024
Director: Teodora Petrova , Antony Tanev , Martin Campbell
Producer: Rob Van Norden , Les Weldon , Gabrielle Whyte Hart
Stars: Eva Green , Ruby Rose , Maria Bakalova , Reza Brojerdi , Christopher Backus , Jojo T. Gibbs
Nosferatu (2024)
0 /10
A gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake.
Run Time: 2hr 13` . MMPA: R . Release: 25 Dec 2024
Director: Jan Cajzl , Giulia Patanè , Robert Eggers
Producer: Bernard Bellew , Marie Veverková , David Minkowski
Stars: Bill Skarsgård , Lily-Rose Depp , Nicholas Hoult , Aaron Taylor-Johnson , Emma Corrin , Willem Dafoe
Memoir of a Snail (2024)
0 /10
Forcibly separated from her twin brother when they are orphaned, a melancholic misfit learns how to find confidence within herself amid the clutter of misfortunes and everyday life.
Run Time: 1hr 34` . MMPA: R . Release: 17 Oct 2024
Director: Adam Elliot
Producer: Ricci Swart , Braiden Asciak , Ricky Taing
Stars: Eric Bana , Sarah Snook , Jacki Weaver , Kodi Smit-McPhee , Dominique Pinon , Magda Szubanski
Interstellar (2014)
8.7 /10
The adventures of a group of explorers who make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage.
Run Time: 2hr 49` . MMPA: PG-13 . Release: 05 Nov 2014
Director: Valgeir Gunnlaugsson , Jason Z. Kemp , Brandon Lambdin
Producer: Nolan B. Medrano , Jill Hahn , Brandon Stewart
Stars: Matthew McConaughey , Anne Hathaway , Jessica Chastain , Bill Irwin , Ellen Burstyn , Michael Caine
Wicked Minds (2003)
5.3 /10
Holden returns home from college and is surprised to find his overpowering competitive father married to a much younger woman Lana. Holden quickly falls for the beauty and charisma of his step mother. A passionate affair begins between son and stepmother.
Run Time: 1hr 33` . MMPA: PG-13 . Release: 01 Mar 2003
Director: Jason Hreno
Producer: Vera Miller , Josée Mauffette , Nadia Rona
Stars: Angie Everhart , Andrew W. Walker , Winston Rekert , Amy Sloan , Frank Schorpion , Ellen David
Anora (2024)
0 /10
A young sex worker from Brooklyn gets her chance at a Cinderella story when she meets and impulsively marries the son of an oligarch. Once the news reaches Russia, her fairytale is threatened as his parents set out to get the marriage annulled.
Run Time: 2hr 19` . MMPA: R . Release: 14 Oct 2024
Director: Sofía Blanco , Liza Mann , Sean Baker
Producer: Milan Popelka , Ross Brodar , Glen Basner
Stars: Ivy Wolk , Mark Eydelstein , Mikey Madison , Yuriy Borisov , Karren Karagulian , Vache Tovmasyan
Sidelined: The QB and Me (2024)
0 /10
Dallas, a burdened but headstrong dancer, is determined to get into the best dance school in the country—her late mother’s alma mater. However, that dream is suddenly derailed when the cheeky yet secretly grieving football star, Drayton, crashes into her life with a unique story of his own. Will the two of them be able to grow into their dreams together, or will their dreams be sidelined?
Run Time: 1hr 39` . MMPA: . Release: 29 Nov 2024
Director: Justin Wu
Producer: Lindsay MacAdam , Maxwell Mitcheson , McKenna Marshall
Stars: Noah Beck , Siena Agudong , Drew Ray Tanner , Deborah Cox , Jake Foy , Asia Lizardo
The Moor (2024)
0 /10
Claire is approached by the father of her murdered childhood friend to help investigate the haunted moor he believes is his son's final resting place.
Run Time: 2hr . MMPA: . Release: 14 Jun 2024
Director: Lisa Collins , Chris Cronin , Kaitlin Michaels
Producer: Benjamin Newsome , Jordan Fleming , Georgia Padfield
Stars: Sophia La Porta , David Edward-Robertson , Elizabeth Dormer-Phillips , Mark Peachey , Vicki Hackett , Bernard Hill
Queer (2024)
0 /10
1950. William Lee, an American expat in Mexico City, spends his days almost entirely alone, except for a few contacts with other members of the small American community. His encounter with Eugene Allerton, an expat former soldier, new to the city, shows him, for the first time, that it might be finally possible to establish an intimate connection with somebody.
Run Time: 2hr 16` . MMPA: R . Release: 27 Nov 2024
Director: Daniel Bedusa , Aldo Verde , Greta Silvestri
Producer: William Ferrero , Sophie Laura Peretz , Emanuela Matranga
Stars: Daniel Craig , Daan de Wit , Drew Starkey , Lesley Manville , Jason Schwartzman , Henry Zaga
A Real Pain (2024)
0 /10
Mismatched cousins David and Benji reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the pair's old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history.
Run Time: 1hr 30` . MMPA: R . Release: 01 Nov 2024
Director: Mieszko Falana , Jesse Eisenberg , Gniewko Falana
Producer: Michael Bloom , Laura Feldman , Jennifer Westin
Stars: Jesse Eisenberg , Kieran Culkin , Ellora Torchia , Will Sharpe , Jennifer Grey , Kurt Egyiawan