Penny Serenade (1941)
Average Rating: 7.5/10
Reviews Counted: 15
Fresh: 14 | Rotten: 1
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 4
Fresh: 4 | Rotten: 0
liked it
Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 5,092
My Rating
Movie Info
While listening to a recording of "Penny Serenade," Julie Gardiner Adams (Irene Dunne) begins reflecting on her past. She recalls her near-impulsive marriage to newspaper reporter Roger Adams (Cary Grant), which begins on a deliriously happy note but turns out to be fraught with tragedy. While honeymooning in Japan, Julie and Roger are trapped in the 1923 earthquake, which results in her miscarriage and subsequent incapability to bear children. Upon their return to America, Roger becomes editor
Jan 1, 1941 Wide
Jul 14, 1998
Columbia Pictures
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Cast
-
Irene Dunne
Julie Gardiner Adams -
Cary Grant
Roger Adams -
Beulah Bondi
Miss Oliver -
Edgar Buchanan
Applejack -
Ann Doran
Dotty -
Eva Lee Kuney
Trina age 6 -
Leonard Willey
Dr. Hartley -
Wallis Clark
Judge -
Walter Soderling
Billings -
Dorothy Adams
Mother -
Billy Bevan
McDougal -
Baby Biffle
Trina age 1 -
-
Lynton Brent
Reporter -
Stanley Brown
Man -
Edmund Elton
Minister -
John Ferguson
Father -
Bess Flowers
Mother -
Charles Flynn
Bob -
Otto Han
Sam the Cook -
Georgia Hawkins
Girl -
Eddie Laughton
Cab Driver -
Frank Moran
Cab Driver -
-
Adrian Morris
Bill Collector -
Edward Peil Sr.
Train Conductor -
Al Seymour
Bootlegger -
-
Ben Taggart
Policeman -
Fred 'Snowflake' Toones
Train Porter -
John Tyrrell
Press Operator -
Dick Wessel
Joe -
Lillian West
Nurse -
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All Critics (15) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (14) | Rotten (1) | DVD (2)
George Stevens' direction and the excellence of the stars' playing make the film.
This is a classic 'women's picture' in every sense.
Top CriticIf you are prone to easy weeping, you might even take along a washtub.
If you have any tolerance for soap opera, this is one of the classics.
George Stevens' sentimental melodrama is extremely well acted by Irene Dunne and Cary Grant, who received for his part of a depressed father the first of his two Oscar nominations.
This is a weeper from the start, with only a few moments of comedy placed in so the audience can dry their eyes before the next sentimental barrage.
...entertaining enough to warrant a mild recommendation...
A women's weepie picture.
Lesser seen Cary Grant, but very compelling.
Brilliantly made soaper with superb cast.
One of the greatest weepies ever made
Audience Reviews for Penny Serenade
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Foreign Titles
- Penny Serenade (1941) (DE)
- Penny Serenade (1941) (UK)
It's said that the human body is simply a vehicle for genes needing to replicate (Agent Scully, X-Files, season 4, episode 2), so the suggestion is that a body unable to reproduce might lose its purpose. If I can find any fault in "Penny Serenade", it's that the ending is wrapped up a little too neatly and perhaps a little too callously. There are some things in life you can't just kiss and make better. There are some losses that can't be cooled with an ice cream cone on the ride home. Dunne and Grant both deliver career-highlight performances (Grant was in fact, nominated for an Oscar), and maybe the ending was an audience appeasement. After all, when we've invested so much emotion into the characters, it would be cruel not to give some light at the end of the tunnel.