Pennies from Heaven 1981
Pennies from Heaven ★★★½1981 (R)
Underrated, one-of-a-kind musical about a horny sheet-music salesman in Chicago and his escapades during the Depression. Extraordinary musical sequences have stars lip-synching to great effect. Martin is only somewhat acceptable as the hapless salesman, but Peters and Harper deliver powerful performances as the women whose lives he ruins. Walken brings down the house in a stunning song-and-dance sequence. Adapted by Dennis Potter from his British TV series. ♫The Clouds Will Soon Roll By; Did You Ever See A Dream Walking?; Yes, Yes; Pennies From Heaven; Love Is Good for Anything That Ails You; I Want to Be Bad; Let's Misbehave; Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries; Let's Face the Music and Dance. 107m/C VHS, DVD . Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters, Christopher Walken, Jessica Harper, Vernel Bagneris; D: Herbert Ross; W: Dennis Potter; C: Gordon Willis; M: Ralph Burns, Marvin Hamlisch. Golden Globes ‘82: Actress—Mus./ Comedy (Peters); Natl. Soc. Film Critics ‘81: Cinematog.