Penny Serenade

This a great pity, for PENNY SERENADE is a fine film that deserves much better. The concept is simple: as wife Julie (Irene Dunne) packs to leave her husband Roger (Cary Grant), she plays the various records the two have collected over the years. Each recording recalls the various phases of their lives: their chance meeting, their rather unexpected marriage, early years spent in the far east. But they are unhappy in their inability to have a child--and so they return to the United States to adopt. But their happiness ends in tragedy, a tragedy which neither seem able to surmount.

The story is sentimental melodrama, of course, but it transcends its own genre. George Stevens was one of the great directors of Hollywood's golden age--director of such diverse classics as A PLACE IN THE SUN, SHANE, and WOMAN OF THE YEAR. In lesser hands the film might have been reduced to pure soap, but he strikes the perfect balance between charm and tearfulness. The leads are equally perfect, with both Irene Dunne and Cary Grant (who were memorably teamed in such frantic screwball comedies MY FAVORITE WIFE and THE AWFUL TRUTH) discarding their broad comedic skills in favor of plausible humor and sincerity. The supporting cast, which sports nice performances by the likes of Beulah Bondi and Edgar Buchanan, is also very fine, the script is quite good, and the cinematography both functional and elegant.

But all this counts for nothing if you cannot actually stand to watch the truly awful DVD versions available. And they really are that bad. Over the years I've picked up several copies of this film released by several companies--Madacy, Laserlight, and most recently Front Row--and although the transfers vary a bit from company to company they are never more than extremely bad and quite often down-right unwatchable. This is a film in desperate need of restoration, and until it receives that you're better off looking for it on the late-late show--for I can almost guarantee that the print you will find there will be superior to virtually any home-market release you can lay hands on.

--GFT (Amazon reviewer)--


CAN THIS MARRIAGE BE SAVED?...   October 10, 2005
Lawyeraau (Balmoral Castle)
14 out of 16 found this review helpful

This is a wonderfully sentimental melodrama, which is deftly directed by the venerable George Stevens. With its stellar cast, the film delivers a heartwarming story.

The film opens onto a scene of a woman, Julie Adams (Irene Dunne), who is in the process of leaving her beloved husband, Roger (Cary Grant). It seems that they are no longer able to communicate with one another, and their marriage has headed south in the wake of tragedy. Before she leaves, Julie puts a record album on the victrola, and suddenly memories of the marriage come flooding back.

The viewer sees vignettes from the marriage in flashback, as Julie plays one old record after another. The memories allow the viewer to see how the formerly happy couple met. Fittingly, they met in a record store where Julie worked. Roger was a newspaper reporter at the time. Their meeting was quite romantic, and, of course, inevitably, they marry.

When Roger is sent on assignment to Japan, Julie follows but so does tragedy. They return to the states and settle in the small town of Rosalia, California, where Roger tries his hand at publishing a small hometown newspaper. As a result of what happened in Japan, however, they are unable to have children. Consequently, a small cloud looms on their marital horizon, only to be righted by their long time friend with the improbable name of Applejack Carney (Edgar Buchanan).

Roger and Julie decide to adopt and do so with the help of a Ms. Oliver (Beulah Bondi), a kindly woman who is able to see the love that Julie and Roger would bring to a child in need of a home. So, five week old Trina comes into their lives and burrows into their hearts. There, she stays until tragedy, once again, strikes the household years later. This tragedy serves to bring the now unhappy couple to this impasse in their lives.

Irene Dunne is simply sensational in the role of Julie, the woman who is the mainstay in the lives of those around her. She imbues the role with such warmth and emotion that the viewer can feel those emotions with her. Trust me when I tell you that you will need a box of tissues handy. It is definitely a five hanky tearjerker. Cary Grant, looking impossibly handsome, is wonderfully cast as the impulsive, easygoing, and impecunious Roger, who is brought down to terra firma by his well grounded wife, Julie, and finds happiness that he never thought possible when he became Trina's father.

Edgar Buchanan is heartwarming as the friend and general factotum who is always around to pick up the pieces and help right what has gone wrong. Beulah Bondi is terrific as the well-meaning Ms. Oliver, who helps the Adams family achieve their dream. There are several children who play Trina at different stages in her life. All are wonderful, but the most adorable one is the one who plays the role of one year old Trina (Baby Jane Biffle). The viewer will understand fully why her adoptive parents are so besotted by her. This is a wonderful melodrama that will tug at one's heartstrings. Beautifully acted and well-directed, this film is a gem.

It is, however, a shame that the film has not been restored. Since other reviewers have decried the DVD transfer, I bought the film on VHS tape, only to have the print fare no better. The print itself is dreadful. Uneven in its quality, it is faded at certain points in the film. The grainy print is also rife with blips, blots, and streaks. It is also noisy with a crackling and humming sound throughout. At first, one believes that the film is unviewable in this state, but the film itself so quickly grabs the interest of the viewer that one finds oneself absorbed, despite the deficiencies of the print. I would only hope, however, that this film will be restored at sometime in the future, before it is too late.


An Old Phonograph   April 22, 2005
Bobby Underwood (Bakersfield, California United States)
12 out of 13 found this review helpful

George Stevens framed this entire film using flasbacks, an old phonograph playing the songs from various stages in the lives of two people who fall in love and are nearly torn apart by tragedy. The screenplay of Morrie Ryskind based on a story by Martha Cheavens is sentimental and heartwrenching. Cary Grant and Irene Dunne make it all seem real and director Stevens gives the film a romantic glow which makes this one of the most fondly remembered films of the 1940's.

The story opens as Julie (Dunne) is getting ready to leave Roger (Grant) because of the pain caused by a tragedy in their lives he can not talk about so that they can begin to heal. She laments that they simply don't need each other anymore. When she finds an old stack of records she begins to trace the various stages of their love through the memories recalled by each song.

Roger sees Julie through the window of the record store where she works, and though he doesn't have a phonograph player, he ends up buying a big package of songs just so he can spend time with her. He pretends he is going her way after work and it isn't long before she becomes "his funny little redhead." There are some wonderful scenes like Julie and Roger sitting in a cabana by the beach reading fortune cookies which gives the story a very romantic atmosphere.

When Roger, who is a reporter, has a chance to go to Tokyo for a few years, the two get married and have a truncated honeymoon on a train which results in them becoming prospective parents. But an earthquake takes their happiness away and prevents them from having another child. Only when Roger gets an inheritance do they move back to the states and consider adoption while he starts the small town paper he has always dreamed of. What follows is warm, sweet and heartbreaking, and will result in Julie standing at the phonograph as she recalls their lives together before leaving.

Whether their love and marriage can be saved is only resolved in the last few moments of this beautiful film. Edgar Buchanan as Apple Jack is absolutely wonderful as he lends both support and humor to this true screen classic. Beulah Bondi is also memorable as the kind Miss Oliver, going out of her way to create a family for two people who love each other. A warm and sentimental film every film lover needs to own.


A tearjerker in the best sense of the word   March 2, 2006
Ivy Lin (NY NY)
12 out of 12 found this review helpful

Cary Grant and Irene Dunne were so perfectly cast as shallow, spoiled, rich husband and wife in both "The Awful Truth" and "My Favorite Wife" that it was a total surprise to see them here in absolutely serious roles.
"Penny Serenade" is a somewhat slow-moving drama about Roger and Julie Adams (Grant and Dunne). s the movie starts, Julie is getting read to leave Roger. The stresses have broken their marriage, and she sees a stack of old records. She starts playing them, and we see how they fell in love, got married, and so on. Many people might find Penny Serenade "boring" because there's nothing remarkable about the Adamses -- they're just two nice people, who struggle with infertility. They adopt a little girl named Trina, but they still have to face unemployment, and finally a terrible tragedy. As this movie was made in 1941 (still in the Great Depression) I'm sure many people could identify with Julie and Roger as they struggle to stay solvent and keep their family together.
The greatest things about Penny Serenade are the performances of Irene Dunne and Cary Grant. I'm so used to seeing Cary Grant as a dashing, devil-may-care leading man, but he is totally believable as an Everyman. Grant's speech to the judge about keeping their adopted daughter despite financial difficulties is sure to put a lump in your throat. I'm so used to seeing Grant being sarcastic and obnoxious, but this movie shows his emotional range as an actor. He's such a loving father that when tragedy strikes it's heartbreaking. Irene Dunne is also wonderful -- she sheds her glamour, and really seems to become a loving mother and struggling wife. Dunne adopted a daughter in real life, and for this reason this was her favorite film. Edgar Buchanan really adds to this domestic drama as the family friend Applejack. Despite the fact that this movie was made in Hollywood, there's nothing "Hollywood" about Penny Serenade. It's a touching slice of life about ordinary Americans, and for my money, it's not as cloying as It's a Wonderful Life either (although I do love It's a Wonderful Life).
George Stevens would go on to make bigger, more glamorous pictures (like "A Place in the Sun") but Penny Serenade is a real tearjerker, in the best sense of the word.
As for the transfer, ok, the print isnt the best, but I didn't find it intolerable at all. Don't let the negative reviews prevent you from getting this lovely, touching film.


Nice movie, shame about the copy   October 30, 1999
10 out of 11 found this review helpful

If, like me, you are looking for classic movies on dvd BEWARE! Mandacy Entertainment are producing sub-standard dvds at a seemingly bargain price. They use movies whose copyrights have run out and slap them on a dics to cash in on the growing popularity of dvd. Do not waste your money!! The transfers are worse than awful. It makes VHS look vastly superior - in fact, it even makes daguerreotypes look superior!

As for the movie - it's a sweet sentimental story that's definately worth watching, especially if you are a Cary Grant fan. 4 stars for the movie. 0 stars for the dvd.