Pennies from Heaven

"There's a world on both sides of the rainbow where songs come true and every time it rains, it rains Pennies from Heaven."

1981 1h 48m EN

😐

6.1

MID

★6.1TMDB · 110

DramaMusicRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

During the Great Depression, a sheet music salesman seeks to escape his dreary life through popular music and a love affair with an innocent schoolteacher.

“There's a world on both sides of the rainbow where songs come true and every time it rains, it rains Pennies from Heaven.”

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Cast

Steve Martin
Arthur
Bernadette Peters
Eileen
Jessica Harper
Joan
Vernel Bagneris
The Accordion Man
John McMartin
Mr. Warner
John Karlen
The Detective
Jay Garner
The Banker
Robert Fitch
Al

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Herbert Ross
Writers: Dennis Potter
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

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 42% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

45 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Herbert Ross, shot by Gordon Willis. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters and Jessica Harper carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "There's a world on both sides of the rainbow where songs come true and every time it rains, it rains Pennies from Heaven.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0082894 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Herbert Ross directs. Gordon Willis behind the camera. Billy May scores. Richard Marks cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 42% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
245 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by Herbert Ross, shot by Gordon Willis. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Billy May. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Richard Marks shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters and Jessica Harper carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "There's a world on both sides of the rainbow where songs come true and every time it rains, it rains Pennies from Heaven.".
8IMDB entry: tt0082894 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Released under 15 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Gordon Willis
Original score: Billy May
Editing: Richard Marks
Production design: Philip Harrison
Costume design: Bob Mackie
Makeup / hair: Frank Griffin
Runtime: 108 min · 1h 48m
Status: Released
Budget: $22,000,000
Box office: $9,171,289
Return: 42% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Pennies from Heaven (1981)

Also by

Herbert Ross

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2019-02-23
★ 5/10
Imagination helps endure the harsh realities of the Depression In the 1930s a struggling sheet music salesman (Steve Martin) tries to escape his dreary existence with his prudish wife (Jessica Harper) to pursue his dream and a cute schoolmarm (Bernadette Peters). The imaginations of the characters help them deal with the harsh realities of the Great Depression. Vernel Bagneris plays a homeless accordion player while Christopher Walken is on hand as a pimp. “Pennies from Heaven” (1981) is a drama/musical based on the 1978 British mini-series and written by the same guy. The song & dance routines occur about every 7 minutes and are an amusingly kinetic counterpoint to the sad Depression-era dramatics. Martin is his usual comical self, but the drama is definitely not a comedy and contains some seriously unsavory moments. “Pennies from Heaven” was the precursor to musicals like “Chicago” (2002) and “Nine” (2009), but those films have superior reality-based stories and far better women, especially “Chicago” as far as the women go. But Bernadette is a joy to behold as usual; and Martin is charismatic despite playing a man of dubious character. The movie runs 1 hour, 48 minutes and was shot in Illinois (Chicago & Galena) and Southern Cal (the Los Angeles area & Wasco). GRADE: C

Production companies