chaswe-28402 Very loosely based on the life of Red Nichols whose career blossomed in the 1920s but faltered in about 1932. The music is OK, if not great, but the family saga is depressing. It's poorly paced, and not well written nor well directed. The photography seems flat. The narrative starts reasonably, but declines from about the mid-point and towards the end. Kaye's scene persuading his little daughter to go to sleep goes on far too long. In a sense the whole movie is predicated on the failure of the parents to look after their daughter properly. The final scene tries to be upbeat, but isn't. Louis Armstrong makes a powerful impression, as always. Barbara Bel Geddes is appealing, but Danny Kaye just seems miscast. The male supporting cast of characters make no impression at all, and are interchangeable. The young girls playing the Nichols daughter are adequate. How did this receive four Oscar nominations ? Brooklyn and Ogden, Utah, have connotations which amuse Americans, but which don't travel.

D_Burke "The Five Pennies" is an easy movie to fall in love with. It's part musical, part comedy, part drama, and a biopic before the word was ever used. It's enjoyable on nearly every level, and probably one of Danny Kaye's best starring roles. Although the film is 50 years old, the DVD format is its saving grace because the sound and color have been properly restored, and it's a good thing, too.Danny Kaye is perhaps the best thing about this movie. He remains one of the only comedians whose comedy remained 100% clean while still being funny. He truly shows his talent here for both being funny and musical, even though he faked playing the trumpet. Perhaps his best scenes were with Louis Armstrong, especially when he sings their rendition of "When The Saints Go Marching In". That scene is a riot, and really shows how truly talented both performers were. There's no doubt that scene was improvised.The movie told a really good story, even though it may be familiar to anyone who has ever seen a biopic. Judging from the fact that I had never heard of Red Nichols before seeing this movie and was still interested in knowing more about him after the movie was complete, this movie probably did it's job well about making the man worth knowing about. The DVD should have included some facts about the man and the legend, but you can't always get the special edition DVDs all the time.That being said, there was about 20 minutes that could have been cut out of the movie. Especially in the later parts with Nichols' daughter, some of the movie dragged a little bit and felt a bit slow compared to what it was in the beginning. It could be because when Nichols went into semi-retirement, he became disgruntled because music wasn't a part of his life anymore. Seeing Kaye go from happy-go-lucky to irritable was a bit much. It's not to say that those parts shouldn't have belonged. It's just that the pacing could have been steadier, and made that part of the film more interesting.Other than that, the movie was very good and a true testament both to the power of jazz music and to the immense talent of Danny Kaye. I actually want to see more of Kaye's films after seeing this one. For that reason, the movie is memorable, worth seeing, and I recommend it.

loggie-1 I was A teenager when I saw this movie i was so impressed and I was crying my eyes out when his little girl took ill. I do wish that more films like this will be made in the future, Danny Kaye was a wonderful actor Can you tell me if these sort of musical films will ever be screened on television in S A .I did once try to contact T C M but up to date I have Heard Nothing . Films on Turner Classic Movies keeps on showing the same films year in and year out ,seldom that you might see a new movie. Can you email me of more names of films That Danny Kaye acted in would also like to here of any other musical films like the daughter of Rosie O Grady

jsoneal This is an excellent musical in the old style where the songs either help progress the plot or fit in with the story line. All the music is well done. How can you lose with Danny Kaye and Louis Armstrong singing your songs? Just heard that Susan Gordon (she played the daughter at 6) is on broadway in a play after 35 years away from the stage. Enjoy.