Pennies from Heaven (1981)

My Review

“Pennies from Heaven” is a musical romantic drama film set in Chicago in 1934 about a traveling salesman who is down on his luck. Director Herbert Ross (“The Goodbye Girl” 1977) put together a rather dark drama which is also a musical; not the most uplifting or appealing combination. The writing from the screenplay by Dennis Potter is mediocre, and the 1930’s musical is horribly produced. The stars are obviously lip-syncing.

The cast includes Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters, Christopher Walken, Jessica Harper, John McMartin, Vernel Bagnaris, and Jay Garner. The unwatchable “Pennies from Heaven” was a box office bomb for United Artists and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was filmed in Illinois and at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios in Culver City, California.