Simply A Masterpiece

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Fantastic!

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

PENNY SERENADE (Columbia, 1941), directed by George Stevens, is not a musical in the tradition of similar sounding titles of the period as "Broadway Serenade" (MGM, 1939), "Sun Valley Serenade" (20th-Fox, 1941), "Footlight Serenade" (20th-Fox, 1942), "Lake Placid Serenade" (Republic, 1944), among others, but a dramatic story involving two young people. Having made audiences laugh in THE AWFUL TRUTH (Columbia, 1937), and MY FAVORITE WIFE (RKO Radio, 1940), Irene Dunne and Cary Grant team together for the third and final encore that offers humor, sentiment and tearful moments that rank this their most popular of the three for which they appeared.PENNY SERENADE begins with Julie Adams (Irene Dunne)returning home with her decision of leaving her husband, Roger (Cary Grant). Before packing, her collection of records in a scrapbook titled "The Story of a Happy Marriage" sets Julie through her "Penny Serenade" as she reminisces while listening to old tunes connected to various chapters of her life. The first song, "You Were Meant For Me," introduced in the late twenties, is the recording played in a music shop where Roger passes by, taking an interest in one of its workers, Julie Gardiner. After buying 27 records without even owning a phonograph, Julie realizes his intention, followed by a six month courtship and finally marriage. Roger, a newspaperman by profession, is assigned to a new job as correspondent in Japan, where he takes his new bride. "Poor Butterfly" becomes the tune associated with their stay in Japan where an earthquake causes the miscarriage of Julie's unborn child. Unable to birth any more children, the couple settle in San Francisco where Roger establishes his own newspaper business, The Rosalia Weekly Courier, becoming his own boss and publisher. Applejack Carney (Edgar Buchanan), a close friend of the couple, arrives from Brooklyn to assist Roger as press agent, better known as printer. Through Applejack's suggestion, the couple consider adopting a child of their own, and through the kindness of Miss Oliver (Beulah Bondi), head of the adoption agency, the couple do adopt a child. All goes well for the next few years until an unforeseen circumstance takes place that puts a burden on their marriage.With flashback episodes tied together with musical chronology through much of its 118 minutes, the only debit to PENNY SERENADE is having Irene Dunne appearing in 1941 head-dress and costumes in segments not accurate to the actual time-frame of the 1920s and 30s. While Dunne deserved an Academy Award for her sensitive performance, it was Cary Grant who was singled out for that honor as Best Actor. Grant's nomination, no doubt, comes from his moving appeal to the stern judge (Wallis Clark) not to have his child taken away due to his lack of financial support. Who wouldn't be moved by this and Beulah Bondi's excellent support. Another standout is Edgar Buchanan, who should have been nominated in the supporting actor category, especially for one delightful scene where he demonstrates to the adoptive parents how to bathe an infant. Not to disappoint fans of either Dunne or Grant, they do share some moments of comedy, such as their initial meeting, courtship, and their first night after bringing home their adopted baby and what not to do to disturb her sleep.Others in the cast worth noting are: Ann Doran (Dotty); Leonard Wiley (Doctor Hartley) and Eve Tee Kuneye as Little Trina, whose upside down smile and echo rendition to "Silent Night" in a Christmas play certainly makes this worth viewing. It's also the reason why PENNY SERENADE often plays on television during the Christmas season.A public domain title, PENNY SERENADE was certainly one movie easily accessible in the early 1980s during the advent of video cassette rentals and cable television broadcasts. Since then, it's been presented on many cable networks as American Movie Classics, Turner Classic Movies (with restored Columbia Pictures logo inserted prior to closing credits which have been missing for many years), and, in some cases, public television. It's also available on DVD in both black and white and colorized formats.While PENNY SERENADE has an original premise not commonly found in movies up to this time, it's certainly a sentimental journey back to the days when movies captured your heart through the involvement of a young couple going through trials and tribulations in their daily lives, and getting to wonder whether or not they are really meant for each other. (****)

I have seen this movie a dozen times and never get tired of it, it's one of the best movies ever made for many reasons. First the characters are real, and go threw all the ups and downs of real life and have the true reactions, no fluff, no fairy tale, just sincere emotion. I know this because I've been threw some of the same situations. Second the actors are stunning, you believe they really are those people and you have to hurt with them and root for them and be happy for them, no way can you not cry both happy and sad tears watching this movie, its well worth the over 2 hours it runs, a classic for sure, please see it and love it as much as I do.

When I think of the classic actors in Hollywood, I immediately think of Cary Grant. Not only was he great at portraying that smooth and classy guys on the screen, he just seems like a great guy off screen. In Penny Serenade, Grant showed depth that I haven't seen in the close to a dozen films I had previously seen from him. I think his performance here surpasses the likes of North by Northwest, Notorious, The Philadelphia Story, and even Charade. Considering those are some of my favorite classic films, that's saying something. Penny Serenade was early on in his career too, which makes it even more impressive. The more important thing is that the film itself is also just marvelous.It tells the story of a young couple who look to take their relationship into parenthood when a serious of very fortunate and very unfortunate events start to occur. Sometimes in great classic films the one glaring issue can be that the chemistry between leads isn't good enough to be believable. But with Penny Serenade, it's just the opposite. This being my first encounter with Irene Dunne's acting, I instantly wanted to go back and dive into her other roles because of how impressive she was as Grant's wife. Both Grant and Dunne showed what seemed to be true emotion and gave this film the heart that it needed. Especially due to some of the tragic events that take place throughout the film. I never felt that I was watching actors play roles, I really felt as though I was watching a newly wed couple attempt to take on parenthood and all the joys and troubles that come along with that.The film has a Citizen Kane like flashback storytelling technique that although can be distracting at times, really gives the characters an emotional weight and stakes that may not have previously been present. This film is definitely not for everyone as it involves tragic circumstances, but there's also a tremendous amount of joy to be had here. That's all a tribute to the chemistry between leads and the really well paced script. It's a bittersweet story.+Grant's depth +Dunne and the chemistry between the cast +Bittersweet+Well paced -The ending is pretty Hollywood-ish 8.7/10

At the start of the film, Julie (Irene Dunne) is preparing to leave her husband Roger (Cary Grant). She begins listening to records, each of which reminds her of her past with Roger that has led them to this point. This is the tearjerker to end all tearjerkers. It's a pretty depressing movie, I have to admit. What saves it is the beautiful acting of the stars and solid direction from George Stevens. The use of music to mark different points in their life was pretty inspired for the time. As I said, the stars turn in beautiful performances. Grant is especially good in one of his better soap operatic roles. It's not the sort of film he was best known for but, as with most genres he tackled, he knocks it out of the park. Dunne is also terrific. Nice support from Edgar Buchanan and Beulah Bondi. It seems a little more like a mid-'30s picture instead of one from 1941. These sorts of soapers were very big in the '30s. Grant and Dunne fans might be disappointed that this is nothing like their two prior screwball comedies. But it's a very good movie of its type. The question is whether you like the type.