Plantiana
Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.
Wordiezett
So much average
SpuffyWeb
Sadly Over-hyped
StyleSk8r
At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
Will Dunn
This movie was made 36 years before I was born. Danny Kaye died 7 years before I was born. I am 17 now and first saw this movie about 3 years ago. Danny Kaye was decades before my time, yet he is one of the greatest inspirations/influences on my life. I am a trumpet player and this movie inspires me in ways you wouldn't imagine. I was a little 'misty-eyed' during the scene where Loring comes out from being sick in the toilets and Willa says "remember, it doesn't really matter that you'll never be the greatest cornet player in the world" to which he answers by playing one of the greatest cornet pieces I've ever heard. This movie to me is about a man who defies a world telling him that he'll never make it as a horn player. 'The Five Pennies' will be admired by me forever for producing a quote I have lived my life by since I first heard it. "someday you'll all be working for me..." ^^that quote alone is worth a perfect 10/10 for me
ccthemovieman-1
The Five Pennies Danny Kaye plays Red Nichols, a famous coronet player of yesteryear. I found this story a notch better "fair" and nicely aided by the musical talent of Louis Armstrong. Kaye and Armstrong's duet on "When The Saints Go Marching In" is the highlight of the film.For a classic movie, the stereo in here is amazing, especially on the songs. In one instance, there are three people singing and their voices all coming out separately on different speakers. Pretty good for just the tape. Now that a DVD has been released, I wonder what the sound on that is like?The story starts to lag a bit near the end when Kaye starts to feel sorry for himself and this goes on and on as he retires from playing. However, there is a nice, sentimental upbeat ending. Notes: Kaye and Barbara Bel Geddes, who plays Red's wife "Bobbie," never age in the film even though it spans 15 or more years! It's interesting to see Tuesday Weld as a teenager.
PWNYCNY
Danny Kaye is known for his comic roles; for his laughter, his singing, his dancing, his light-hearted humor. But this movie presents a different Danny Kaye - serious, brooding, consumed with guilt, confronted by really serious problems - and here Danny Kaye shines. This movie is proof that if he had to, Danny Kaye could have been one of the greatest dramatic actors in the history of motion pictures. There is no question about that. In this movie, Kaye puts aside the clowning to play a subdued, moody and introspective character who nevertheless is still likable and worthy of attention. And it works! In the movie he wins over the audience, he wins over his family, he wins over his friends. And who can ever forget the scene with Louis Armstrong? Kaye's character overcomes all obstacles to triumph and to be loved. Only a highly skilled and sensitive actor could have done the job, and in this movie Danny Kaye proved that he had the requisite qualities to transform what could have been little more than a sudsy soap opera into a powerful statement about a man who, along with his family, not only survives but sets an example for others. For this reason, this movie is a powerful and compelling work of art.
MikeB-9
This is the sentimental biography of the life of Ernest Loring (Red) Nichols, a trumpeter/band leader during the 1930's. Danny Kaye does a great job playing Red and Barbara Belgeddes plays his wife, Bobbie. Tuesday Weld plays his daughter, Dorothy. The movie follows Red through his career as a great jazz trumpeter who gives up music for family. A must see for Danny Kaye and Big Band fans. Some of the members of Red's "Five Pennies", as his band was known, were Glenn Miller and Jimmy Dorsey. Louis Armstrong puts on a stellar musical performance as himself. Red Nichols does the trumpet solos. Great music, good family viewing.
