The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker

"He Had Two Wives And Led Two Lives... He's The Best Dad Two Families Ever Had - At The Same Time!"

1959 1h 27m EN

👍

7.1

SOLID

★7.1TMDB · 7

Comedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In early 1900s' Pennsylvania, Mr. Pennypacker has two company offices and two families with a combined total of 17 children. With an office in Harrisburg and an office in Philadelphia, he has successfully kept two separate homes. However, when an emergency requires his oldest son to find him, Mr. Pennypacker's dual life is revealed.

“He Had Two Wives And Led Two Lives... He's The Best Dad Two Families Ever Had - At The Same Time!”

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Cast

Clifton Webb
Mr. Horace Pennypacker
Dorothy McGuire
Mrs. Emily 'Ma' Pennypacker
Charles Coburn
Grampa Pennypacker
Jill St. John
Kate Pennypacker
Ron Ely
Wilbur Fielding
Ray Stricklyn
Horace Pennypacker III
David Nelson
Henry Pennypacker
Dorothy Stickney
Aunt Jane Pennypacker

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Henry Levin
Writers: Walter Reisch
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

87 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

67 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Henry Levin, shot by Milton Krasner. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Leigh Harline. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor William Mace shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Clifton Webb and Dorothy McGuire and Charles Coburn carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "He Had Two Wives And Led Two Lives... He's The Best Dad Two Families Ever Had - At The Same Time!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Henry Levin directs. Milton Krasner behind the camera. Leigh Harline scores. William Mace cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

187 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
267 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Directed by Henry Levin, shot by Milton Krasner. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Leigh Harline. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor William Mace shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Clifton Webb and Dorothy McGuire and Charles Coburn carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "He Had Two Wives And Led Two Lives... He's The Best Dad Two Families Ever Had - At The Same Time!".
9IMDB entry: tt0053214 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 7 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Milton Krasner
Original score: Leigh Harline
Editing: William Mace
Runtime: 87 min · 1h 27m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker (1959)

Also by

Henry Levin

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-04-23
★ 7/10
"Kate" (Jill St. John) decides that she is going to marry curate "Wilbur" (Ron Ely) but they don't want to wait until her father "Horace" (Clifton Webb) returns home from his month-long trip to Philadelphia. They set a date and give him an ultimatum - so return he does, but hot on is tracks is a court agent trying to serve him with a summons. An other young man (Ray Stricklyn) races to their Harrisburg home to warn him of this impending legal ambush, but when he arrives - well let's just say that it's clear that "Pa" has been playing that trick attributed to old sailors. He is a decent old cove, though, and as the story plays out we discover that though his behaviour is pretty reprehensible, his character does have a few redeeming features and they might just be enough to rescue him from the ire of his wife "Emily" (Dorothy McGuire) and his father - another "Horace" (Charles Coburn). Thing is, the scenario is pretty preposterous and if you try to rationalise it, you might as well just give up. If you can get into the spirit of it, though, it's quite an engaging comedy with Webb on good form, well supported by some quite pithy writing and virtually no melodrama. McGuire hasn't the meatiest of parts, but Stricklyn delivers the fish-out-of-water "Horace III" quite well and you can always count on Coburn to lift the mood. It has dated, but is still quite an enjoyable and silly 90 minutes.

Production companies