The Five Pennies 1959
7.1 / 10
The Five Pennies
Dixieland cornetist Red Nichols runs into opposition to his sound, but breaks through to success. He marries a warm, patient woman and even finds time to raise a family. Then tragedy strikes when their daughter contracts polio.
Dixieland cornetist Red Nichols runs into opposition to his sound, but breaks through to success. He marries a warm, patient woman and even finds time to raise a family. Then tragedy strikes when their daughter contracts polio.
Videos & Photos
All 1 Videos & 7 Photos
cast
Full Cast & Crew
... Red Nichols
... Wila Stutsman
... Louis Armstrong
... Tony Valani
... Wil Paradise
... Artie Schutt
User reviews
See All 2 Reviews23 Jun 2021 by John Chard
Mr. Paradise, I play New Orleans style. You know, it's the newest thing. As a matter of fact I got an arrangement right here of the very number that you're doing. The Five Pennies is a musical biopic of jazz great Red Nichols, who is here played by Danny Kaye. As the famed Dixieland cornetist, he runs into opposition to his sound, but breaks through barriers to achieve success. Upon marrying an understanding patient woman (Barbara Bel Geddes) he begins to raise a family. But when tragedy strikes the family, "Red" puts down his horn to focus on matters of the heart. Out of Paramount, The Five Pennies was released at a time when musical biopics were popular. Amazingly, as schmaltzy as the whole thing is on narrative terms, it's amazingly true to fact and and it pays to remember that when you think things are too sugary. The music positively booms with joy, none more so than when the great Louis Armstrong is involved in duets with Red (the real Nichols playing). Tuesday Weld plays the teenage Nichols daughter and she is an utter delight, where she hits all the right emotional beats as the character progresses. Kaye is in his element, a perfect piece of casting, and Geddes is the embodiment of Americana wives of stoic firm and loyal beliefs. It's a musical biopic that isn't afraid to show the main protag as a flawed individual, and that should be applauded. But as it happens, it's also a fine film all told, full of Dixieland verve and family values, and of course, the triumph of the will born about by pure love - both at home or through your art. 8/10
Release Date:
Jun 18, 1959 (United States)
Run Time:
1hr 57`
MMPA Rating:
NR
Original Language:
English
Production Countries:
United States
Status:
Released
Related Movies To
The Five Pennies
Mr. Paradise, I play New Orleans style. You know, it's the newest thing. As a matter of fact I got an arrangement right here of the very number that you're doing. The Five Pennies is a musical biopic of jazz great Red Nichols, who is here played by Danny Kaye. As the famed Dixieland cornetist, he runs into opposition to his sound, but breaks through barriers to achieve success. Upon marrying an understanding patient woman (Barbara Bel Geddes) he begins to raise a family. But when tragedy strikes the family, "Red" puts down his horn to focus on matters of the heart. Out of Paramount, The Five Pennies was released at a time when musical biopics were popular. Amazingly, as schmaltzy as the whole thing is on narrative terms, it's amazingly true to fact and and it pays to remember that when you think things are too sugary. The music positively booms with joy, none more so than when the great Louis Armstrong is involved in duets with Red (the real Nichols playing). Tuesday Weld plays the teenage Nichols daughter and she is an utter delight, where she hits all the right emotional beats as the character progresses. Kaye is in his element, a perfect piece of casting, and Geddes is the embodiment of Americana wives of stoic firm and loyal beliefs. It's a musical biopic that isn't afraid to show the main protag as a flawed individual, and that should be applauded. But as it happens, it's also a fine film all told, full of Dixieland verve and family values, and of course, the triumph of the will born about by pure love - both at home or through your art. 8/10
This one leaves a strange feeling. I look back on 'The Five Pennies' in two parts. The first half of the film is uninteresting and slow, but once the story gets set and the second half comes to fruition it turns into something rather touching - which I didn't expect at all. By the end, I felt truly attached to the characters and their story - but that feels weird, given how I didn't enjoy the early stages. Danny Kaye is very good in the lead role of Red, especially towards the end. Susan Gordon (Dorothy, as a kid) impressed me a bunch, she has one fantastic poker scene with Kaye. Barbara Bel Geddes, meanwhile, plays the role of Willa well. The film, a loose biopic on the real Red Nichols, is music-heavy. Early on I think that affects things from a film point of view, but you can at least tell the cast - particularly Kaye and Louis Armstrong (as himself) - are having a fun time. Overall, I think it's lovely - but I can't recall a film that's split my feelings from start-to-finish as much as this did.
Cast & Crew of
The Five Pennies
Directors & Credit Writers
... Director
... Assistant Director
Cast
... Red Nichols
... Wila Stutsman
... Louis Armstrong
... Tony Valani
... Wil Paradise
... Artie Schutt
... Young Dorothy Nichols
... Teenaged Dorothy Nichols
... Jimmy Dorsey
... Dave Tough
RD
Ray Daley... Glenn Miller
... Tommye Eden
... Girl at Birthday Party
RB
Robert Banas... Dancer at College Prom
... Girl at Birthday Party
... Patient
... Musician
EB
Earl Barton... Choreographer
... Hotel Guest (uncredited)
Produced By
... Producer
HCK
Hal C. Kern... Production Assistant
Related Movies To
The Five Pennies
Ice Road: Vengeance (2025)
0 /10
Big rig ice road driver Mike McCann travels to Nepal to scatter his late brother’s ashes on Mt. Everest. While on a packed tour bus traversing the deadly 12,000 ft. terrain of the infamous Road to the Sky, McCann and his mountain guide encounter a group of mercenaries and must fight to save themselves, the busload of innocent travelers, and the local villagers’ homeland.
Run Time: 1hr 53` . MMPA: R . Release: 27 Jun 2025
Director: Jonathan Hensleigh
Producer: Stevie Ray , Bart Rosenblatt , Myles Nestel
Stars: Liam Neeson , Fan Bingbing , Mahesh Jadu , Marcus Thomas , Bernard Curry , Michala Banas
KPop Demon Hunters (2025)
0 /10
When K-pop superstars Rumi, Mira and Zoey aren't selling out stadiums, they're using their secret powers to protect their fans from supernatural threats.
Run Time: 1hr 36` . MMPA: PG . Release: 20 Jun 2025
Director: Sean Tadlock , Chris Appelhans , Elizabeth Schantz
Producer: Ted Craig , Brett Salinas , Braxton Marie Thompson
Stars: Rolando Davila-Beltran , Arden Cho , May Hong , Ji-young Yoo , Ahn Hyo-seop , Yunjin Kim
F1 (2025)
0 /10
Racing legend Sonny Hayes is coaxed out of retirement to lead a struggling Formula 1 team—and mentor a young hotshot driver—while chasing one more chance at glory.
Run Time: 2hr 36` . MMPA: PG-13 . Release: 25 Jun 2025
Director: Adam Kirley , Kailyn Dabkowski , Joseph Kosinski
Producer: Máté Gajdics , Penni Thow , Dani Lasser
Stars: Brad Pitt , Damson Idris , Kerry Condon , Tobias Menzies , Lewis Hamilton , Javier Bardem
The Twisters (2024)
0 /10
A deadly patchwork of destructive cyclones is on an apocalyptic path of convergence at a populated Midwest city center. There, the twisters will merge into one mega tornado that threatens to obliterate the cities for hundreds of miles around.
Run Time: 1hr 27` . MMPA: . Release: 28 Jun 2024
Director: Michael Su
Producer: Brendan Petrizzo , Paul Bales , Avery Guerra
Stars: Kayla Fields , Mark Justice , Paul Logan , Curtis Strong , Tiffany , Sofia Riba
Breathing In (2023)
0 /10
1901, South Africa. As the Second Anglo-Boer War rages on, a wounded General seeks refuge in the small home of a woman and her young daughter. As the hurt man settles in, he begins noticing that something is off about the two women, particularly the daughter, and before long, he’ll learn the real reason for why they’ve invited him and for how they’ve survived on their own for so long.
Run Time: 1hr 45` . MMPA: . Release: 18 Oct 2023
Director: Jaco Bouwer
Producer:
Stars: Michele Burgers , Sven Ruygrok , Jamie-Lee Money , Lionel Newton
STRAW (2025)
0 /10
What will be her last straw? A devastatingly bad day pushes a hardworking single mother to the breaking point — and into a shocking act of desperation.
Run Time: 1hr 45` . MMPA: R . Release: 05 Jun 2025
Director: Matt Hendren , Roger Berard , Tyler Perry
Producer: Nadia Brown , Angi Bones , Kim Taylor-Coleman
Stars: Taraji P. Henson , Sherri Shepherd , Teyana Taylor , Sinbad , Rockmond Dunbar , Ashley Versher
Life After Fighting (2024)
0 /10
Retired martial arts world champion Alex Faulkner has settled into a simple life, when the disappearance of two of his students leads to an unthinkable discovery close to home. Just when all hope of finding the children is lost, he locates the imprisoned girls and unsurfaces an international child trafficking operation, which draws him back into the fight of his life against those behind it.
Run Time: 2hr 6` . MMPA: . Release: 07 Jun 2024
Director: Bren Foster
Producer: Chelsea Jean Foster , Bren Foster , Navid Bahadori
Stars: Bren Foster , Cassie Howarth , Luke Ford , Annabelle Stephenson , Anthony Nassif , Arielle Jean Foster
Big City Greens the Movie: Spacecation (2024)
0 /10
When thrill-seeker Cricket tricks his family into taking a "road trip" in space, chaos in the cosmos quickly ensues. Despite growing frustrations between Cricket and his dad, Bill, the two must learn to appreciate each other's unique perspectives in order to prevent Big City from being destroyed by an interstellar disaster.
Run Time: 1hr 22` . MMPA: PG . Release: 06 Jun 2024
Director: Anna O'Brian
Producer: Abigail Swoap , Abigail Swoap , Stephen Sandoval
Stars: Chris Houghton , Artemis Pebdani , Marieve Herington , Bob Joles , Zeno Robinson , Wendi McLendon-Covey
The Secret Path (1999)
7.5 /10
14-year-old Jo Ann Foley lives in squalor in a rural Southern community during World War II. Abused by her bootlegging grandfather Hank, Jo Ann has, like her mother Marie, been forced into a life of prostitution. Periodically escaping her miserable existence, Jo Ann finds comfort, security, and genuine love with a poor but proud African American couple: Honey and Too Tall.
Run Time: 1hr 38` . MMPA: . Release: 02 Apr 1999
Director: Bruce Pittman , Patricia Joyes
Producer: Kimberly Rubin , Philip K. Kleinbart , Nicki Skinner
Stars: Della Reese , Ossie Davis , Crystal Bernard , Madeline Zima , Yvonne Zima , Ron White
Real Gangsters (2013)
7.2 /10
Real Gangsters tells the story of the Lo Giacamo family, one of the most successful crime syndicates in New York City. Run by cousins Vincent Lo Giacamo and Jack Lo Giacamo, Real Gangsters shows how these two men maintain control of their dangerous extended family and volatile business ventures by very different means.
Run Time: 1hr 28` . MMPA: . Release: 01 Jun 2013
Director: Frank D'Angelo
Producer:
Stars: Robert Loggia , John Savage , Steven Bauer , Margot Kidder , Nick Mancuso , Michael Paré
Bloomington (2010)
5.8 /10
A former child actress attends college in search of independence and ends up becoming romantically involved with a female professor. Their relationship thrives until an opportunity to return to acting forces her to make life-altering decisions.
Run Time: 1hr 23` . MMPA: . Release: 23 Jun 2010
Director: Conor Byron , Fernanda Cardoso , Rachel Rose
Producer: Holly Fraser , Beck Engle , Natalie Ballesteros
Stars: Allison McAtee , Sarah Stouffer , Katherine Ann McGregor , Ray Zupp , J. Blakemore , Erika Heidewald
Karate Kid: Legends (2025)
0 /10
After a family tragedy, kung fu prodigy Li Fong is uprooted from his home in Beijing and forced to move to New York City with his mother. When a new friend needs his help, Li enters a karate competition – but his skills alone aren't enough. Li's kung fu teacher Mr. Han enlists original Karate Kid Daniel LaRusso for help, and Li learns a new way to fight, merging their two styles into one for the ultimate martial arts showdown.
Run Time: 1hr 34` . MMPA: PG-13 . Release: 08 May 2025
Director: Shanna Roberts Salée , Jonathan Entwistle , Peng Zhang
Producer: Ralph Macchio , Karen Rosenfelt , Jenny Hinkey
Stars: Jackie Chan , Ralph Macchio , Ben Wang , Joshua Jackson , Sadie Stanley , Ming-Na Wen