Rewind Rarity: Steve Martin in "Pennies From Heaven" (1981)



Found this throwback of a forgotten gem from the late director Herbert Ross ("Footloose", "Play It again, Sam") on TCM, airing around 3 am (DVR is amazing, right?). Steve Martin stars in this Prohibition-era musical as a horny husband who gets wrapped up in a murder in Chicago. Also features dancing in drawers from Christopher Walken, who provides great comic relief in his role. The Fred Astaire beholden musical numbers are lip-synced and are sorta cringe-inducing yet fascinating; the choreography and set pieces are at time marvelous. As a film from over thirty years ago about a far-gone era even then, there is a great retro quality that emanates from the grain on the screen.



Worth a look and deserving of a restoration. Stream it at the Warner Archive.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Oscar Preview Part I: My favorite 20 films of 2016

Image
With the Academy Awards airing next weekend, I've decided it's finally time I've gotten around to posting a list of my favorite films from 2016. I still haven't watched every movie that came out last year (and I probably never will) and I'm sure some films I missed deserve to be on here. I'll try harder next time.  1. La La Land (Damien Chazelle) A sweet escape -- great music, excellent photography and gushing delight. Gosling and Stone have infectious onscreen chemistry and this simple love story/musical hybrid is a cinematic treat. 2. Nocturnal Animals (Tom Ford) Tom Ford drips style in every frame. A dark feature where Ford embraces his inner Hitchcock/DePalma that jettisons his debut A Single Man . Nocturnal Animals is a harrowing film with excellent performances from leads Adams and Gyllenhaal, but most especially the two supporting roles from Shannon and Tyler-Johnson.  3. O.J.: Made in America (Ezra Edelman) Made in America tra
Read more

The Dream is Always the Same: From Tom Cruise in "Risky Business" to Timothee Chalamet in "Call Me by Your Name"

Image
Tangerine Dream's sultry synths pulse in the background as the camera zooms out from twinky Tom Cruise's wayfarers, a slim cigarette dangling from his lips as he flashes back to a reoccurring dream of sneaking into the neighbor's house and stumbling upon a beautiful girl showering, she invites him to wash her back, but the steam obscures his reach for her until he finds himself transported to a classroom, three hours late for the college entrance exams. With the aforementioned opening scene following the moody neon pastel credits as a night train rolls through a gritty Chicago twilight, we are introduced to Joel Goodson and for the most part, Tom Cruise, in Paul Brickman's 1983 classic Risky Business . The film was a breakout for Cruise, who some 35 years later has both delivered and disappointed on the potential of his brilliant performance in this early movie. Cruise can act and when he truly slips into character, as he did when portraying the innocent "Good
Read more