People are voting emotionally.

Must See Movie...

Good concept, poorly executed.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Where to start? Well, the answer to that question is usually ... The Beginning ... and that is where this film began going wrong! The opening shows stand-ins, for Fred and Petula, traveling across America on there way to Fort Knox! I have a feeling that the film cutters didn't get much schooling, because, in one shot you have them at The Golden Gate Bridge (will they ever paint it gold), in another shot you see them at Mount Rushmore, and in the very next shot they are at the Grand Canyon! Petty silly mistake that even the director never noticed! And, while mentioning the Director ... this movie could've done better with a better director ... talk about delusions of grandeur ... if it weren't for the great cast, this movie would have lost every penny that went into it! I got so tired of seeing the color of yellow everywhere! The sets ... some are good, some are pretty pathetic. At one point you can see the squares of grass used to represent a lush Irish setting! And did I see yellow daffodils growing in bushes and trees? I think I did! And what about when the pot of gold is buried, with dirt shoveled into the pot ... and when it is found, by the death mute, there is no dirt in the crock? There is also a part when Petula is laying in the grass and begins to sing, but all of the sudden she's sitting up, then she's laying down again in the next shot.By the way ... there appears to be several sexual innuendos in the movie. One in the song about the mortgage, one during the first wedding scene ... plus a couple more.Petula Clark is great in the film, and it surprises me that she didn't do much after this film ... perhaps because this movie was lacking the quality it should have had, and the actor's careers suffered do to that? Or was it a problem of not advertising the movie and its stars well enough? Because the songs, the singing, the star power, and the acting, was fabulous ... however, a major downer was the prejudice theme within the movie, which is something I have a problem with when it comes to using prejudices in any form of entertainment ... its extremely subliminal, brainwashing! True, the stars got angry about anyone being prejudice against someone just because they're black ... which was good ... but these problems should not find themselves in any of our forms of entertainment! And the part in regards to the Senators bromo was too long! Anyhoots ... basically, there are plenty of goofs in this movie, it should get an award for them all ... or at least be entered into The Guinness Book Of Records! But, guess what ... I actually liking listening to this movie ... I just don't like watching it!By the way, I loved it when the deaf mute received her voice, and sang with everyone ... because she is no singer, but the realism of the moment was perfect directing ... it suited her part in the movie.

Strange musical--the second film by Francis Ford Coppola. Finian (Fred Astaire), an Irish man, comes to Rainbow Valley with a pot of gold and his strong-willed daughter Sharon (Petula Clark). He plans to bury it hoping it will grow more gold (don't ask). In Rainbow Valley black and white people live together peacefully. Sharon meets hunky Woody (Don Francks) and falls in love. And then there's the racist mayor (Keenan Wynn) who wants to throw everybody out of the valley. The plot is really silly but that's the bare bones.This was a play in 1947 and considered pretty strong stuff because it dealt with racist politics. Twenty years later though it came across as pretty silly. Plot aside though this is fun. The songs are great, everybody can sing and the dances are colorful and full of energy. Clark and Francks especially have great voices. And it's lots of fun to see Astaire still able to dance when he was in his late 60s! On the bad side Tommy Steele (as a leprechaun) overacts, it's too long and Coppola really doesn't know how to direct a musical. Still it was fun.

Finian (Fred Astaire) and his daughter (Petula Clark) arrive in the fictional Southern American state of Missitucky. There, Finian encounters several problems--including a leprechaun who wants his pot of gold back, a racist senator and the need to marry off his daughter. How all these are worked out are something for you to discover if you decide to see the film."Finian's Rainbow" was a very successful play back in 1947. However, because it directly addressed racial prejudice, studios passed on making a film out of it. Efforts to have the play 'cleaned up' to please a wider (in other words, more prejudiced) audience were in vain, as the playwright refused (justifiably) to sanitize the film. However, by 1968, its themes of racial harmony and bigotry were much more acceptable and timely--and so the film was finally made. In this sense, the film was very timely. HOWEVER, when it came to the music, by 1960s standards it was VERY corny. In particular, the songs sung by the leprechaun were amazingly bad--with some horrible lyrics. But, the bad lyrics weren't confined to his songs but occasionally popped up among other cast members (such as Clark who sang a line that went 'Zsa-Zsa Gabor-ah' and later when Astaire sung about 'dames'). Because of this, a bit of trimming would have greatly improved the film--making it far less dated and silly. Plus, the bad moments really detract from its central message of racial harmony--a laudable theme that occasionally got lose among the silliness. It also meant a few too many songs--a problem that can hurt any musical. Overall, this can truly be called a mixed bag. While it stars Fred Astaire and I LOVE him in films, this just isn't all that great a film. A time-passer--and that's about all--even though it has some nice moments.By the way, for years Fred Astaire was NEVER shown dancing in films unless ALL of him was shown. He felt it detracted from the dancing if he wasn't shown from head to toe. Well, he did NOT negotiate such a contract with the folks making "Finian's Rainbow", as he DOES dance and you don't see him from head to toe in songs such as "The Idle Rich". Perhaps this was due to his age and his slowing down a bit--which might explain why this was his last musical.

Whimsical is not a word I get to use often, but that's exactly what Finian's Rainbow is. Based on the 1947 stage musical it's part fantasy and part political satire. The plot follows the quintessential Irishman Finian(Fred Astaire in his last full screen role) and his daughter Sharon (Petula Clark) as they basically flee to America with a pot of gold stolen from the leprechaun, Og (Tommy Steele). After an amazing opening credit sequence ("Look To The Rainbow"), they arrive in "Misitucky" which is supposed to be near Fort Knox, to bury the gold in the belief that it will multiply. The small hamlet of Rainbow Valley becomes their home, a kind of Tobacco Road with very poor but very happy hippie-like inhabitants. Here Sharon meets her love interest Woody (Don Francks) Add Keenan Wynn as the villain, Senator Hawkins, a racist Southern stereotype that during the course of the story turns black. Several minor plots weave in and out, creating a rich and unique film. Astaire used to sound stages and carefully planned dance numbers balked at dancing outside in a field and the director, Francis Ford Coppola (an odd choice, but what's done is done) tried his best to meet his demands. Ironically the field sequence, which comes early in the film is beautiful and very well done by the choreographer Hermes Pan, who was subsequently fired from the film. Petula Clark clearly steals the movie. The camera loves her in this and her natural beauty and performance are such a pleasure to watch. Astaire, who was criticized cruelly for his appearance (he was 69 at the time) is as usual charming and no one danced like he did. Francks holds his own and makes a nice compliment to Clark. Tommy Steele's performance rolics between delightful and way too over the top. Beautifully filmed, it does suffer from jarring "this is real, this is fake" scenery but if you just go with it, it's not that bad. The DVD presents Astaire's dance numbers complete and full body (something Astaire always insisted on but was overlooked in the original release) Finian's Rainbow is known now more for many of it's songs than itself as a whole, but it's still very much worth a look, especially if you love musicals.