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Danny Kaye shows off his keen musical sense in the lead role of
The Five Pennies, the life story of cornet master Red Nichols--or at least the Hollywood version of Nichols'd life. The movie gets off to a kicky start as Nichols joins a big-city band, meets his future wife (Barbara Bel Geddes), and sits in on a speakeasy session with Louis Armstrong. Armstrong's in the movie a lot, and there are smaller roles for other musical names such as Bob Crosby and Ray Anthony. The tunes include a batch of standards but also new songs written by Sylvia Fine, Danny Kaye's wife and the creator of his signature wordplay routines. The film's main dramatic device--that Nichols eventually sacrifices his career to care for a sick daughter--must be slogged through while the decent jazz sequences come and go. Whether you're a Danny Kaye fan or not, this film emphasizes his very real musical "touch" (in his manner, not his cornet playing; Red Nichols dubbed the horn himself). It also proved Kaye could handle melodrama at least as easily as frantic comedy, and yet this 1959 film was near the end of his run as a movie actor. Director Melville Shavelson, most associated with comedy, does an atmospheric job of staging the jazz numbers, especially in the colorful clubs. This is well-served by a snazzy transfer to DVD--even the opening credits are a treat, a cool example of late-1950s graphic design.
--Robert Horton
Review
Undeniably schmaltzy, The Five Pennies still has a certain pull. Most viewers will wince and groan at its soap operatics every five minutes or so, and will probably find themselves saying, "That's enough." Yet they probably won't change the channel until the ridiculously over-the-top finale, and by then the whole picture will have passed anyway. Despite its heavy-handedness, Five Pennies is enjoyable and engrossing enough to keep one's attention. It is immeasurably aided by the generous helping of musical numbers that pervade the film; when one has Louis Armstrong on hand to perform "Bill Bailey Won't You Please Come Home" and "When the Saints Go Marching In," it's hard to complain too much about the scenes that frame them. Add in some expert horn work from the real Red Nichols, a couple of Danny Kaye "specialty" numbers, and a few smooth vocals from Bob Crosby and the strengths become clearer. Kaye's overall performance is quite good -- even managing to make use of the old clich that a character's impotence is revealed through problems with his musicianship -- and Barbara Bel Geddes is warm and winning throughout. If viewers are prepared to make allowances for the blatant "tugging at the heartstrings" approach of the script, they'll probably have a pretty decent time. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
