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The Depression was a time of financial ruin and desperation in America and for a lot of people, their only escape from the misery that was their lives was going to the movies and watching Fred Astaire woo Ginger Rogers or Dick Powell chase Ruby Keeler. This is the inspiration for a 1981 musical called Pennies from Heaven, a dark and moody musical that breaks all the rules where musicals are concerned and that might be why the film was such a box office disaster.
The film stars Steve Martin as Arthur Parker, a song salesman who loves his work even if he isn't terribly successful at it. Arthur is unhappily married to the sexually inhibited Joan (Jessica Harper) who won't satisfy Arthur in bed so it's no surprise when Arthur finds himself drawn to a lonely schoolteacher named Eileen (Bernadette Peters), but it is a chance encounter with a blind girl (Eliska Krupka) that changes Arthur's life forever.
The unsettling hook with this musical, in addition to a dreary setting and a really depressing story, is that the emotions of Arthur and the other characters are displayed in lavish song and dance numbers, where the actors lip-sync to original 1930's recordings of the songs that provide an outlet for Arthur's unhappiness.
Director Herbert Ross (Funny Lady) and choreographer Danny Daniels have effectively channeled Busby Berkley in mounting some of the most elaborate musical numbers mounted for a film musical and it is the stark contrast between these musical numbers and the story that makes this film such an initially unsettling experience.
Dennis Potter's screenplay adds to the discomfort by giving us characters who are mostly unlikable, particularly Arthur Parker...his treatment of Joan and Eileen does not endear him to the viewer, another reason why it is hard to invest in this film, but what the film does have is striking originality...you have never seen anything on the screen like this before and probably never will again. Steve Martin is charismatic as Parker, completely investing in the negative aspects of the character and making him oddly riveting. Bernadette Peters is lovely as Eileen and there is a fabulous cameo from Christopher Walken as a slickster who tries to pick up Eileen in a bar. This film is definitely not for all tastes, but lovers of musicals and Steve Martin will have a head start.
The Depression was a time of financial ruin and desperation in America and for a lot of people, their only escape from the misery that was their lives was going to the movies and watching Fred Astaire woo Ginger Rogers or Dick Powell chase Ruby Keeler. This is the inspiration for a 1981 musical called Pennies from Heaven, a dark and moody musical that breaks all the rules where musicals are concerned and that might be why the film was such a box office disaster.
The film stars Steve Martin as Arthur Parker, a song salesman who loves his work even if he isn't terribly successful at it. Arthur is unhappily married to the sexually inhibited Joan (Jessica Harper) who won't satisfy Arthur in bed so it's no surprise when Arthur finds himself drawn to a lonely schoolteacher named Eileen (Bernadette Peters), but it is a chance encounter with a blind girl (Eliska Krupka) that changes Arthur's life forever.
The unsettling hook with this musical, in addition to a dreary setting and a really depressing story, is that the emotions of Arthur and the other characters are displayed in lavish song and dance numbers, where the actors lip-sync to original 1930's recordings of the songs that provide an outlet for Arthur's unhappiness.
Director Herbert Ross (Funny Lady) and choreographer Danny Daniels have effectively channeled Busby Berkley in mounting some of the most elaborate musical numbers mounted for a film musical and it is the stark contrast between these musical numbers and the story that makes this film such an initially unsettling experience.
Dennis Potter's screenplay adds to the discomfort by giving us characters who are mostly unlikable, particularly Arthur Parker...his treatment of Joan and Eileen does not endear him to the viewer, another reason why it is hard to invest in this film, but what the film does have is striking originality...you have never seen anything on the screen like this before and probably never will again. Steve Martin is charismatic as Parker, completely investing in the negative aspects of the character and making him oddly riveting. Bernadette Peters is lovely as Eileen and there is a fabulous cameo from Christopher Walken as a slickster who tries to pick up Eileen in a bar. This film is definitely not for all tastes, but lovers of musicals and Steve Martin will have a head start.