
Penny Serenade
1941, Drama, 1h 58m
17 Reviews 5,000+ RatingsYou might also like
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Penny Serenade Photos
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Cast & Crew
Julie Gardiner Adams
Roger Adams
Miss Oliver
Applejack Carney
Dotty "Dot"
Trina (Age 6)
Critic Reviews for Penny Serenade
All Critics (17) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (16) | Rotten (1)
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George Stevens' direction and the excellence of the stars' playing make the film.
November 13, 2007 | Full Review… -
This is a classic 'women's picture' in every sense.
June 24, 2006 | Full Review… -
If you are prone to easy weeping, you might even take along a washtub.
March 25, 2006 | Rating: 3.5/5 | Full Review… -
If you have any tolerance for soap opera, this is one of the classics.
January 1, 2000 | Full Review… -
Its objectives are excellently realized, and it stands as a visual refutation of the industry's axiom that movies must move.
October 31, 2019 | Full Review… -
The film has in its plot a note of originality and touches the of paternal feeling with delicacy. [Full review in Spanish]
September 18, 2019 | Full Review…
Audience Reviews for Penny Serenade
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Feb 04, 2014A weeper. It is interesting to see Cary Grant in very uncomfortable situations. It veers too much into the soap opera realm but is nonetheless a good afternoon film.John B Super Reviewer
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Apr 10, 2013Love, marriage, and parenthood, all the bittersweet magnificence of life is on display in "Penny Serenade", a sentimental little film from 1941. Cary Grant and Irene Dunne star as the lovers who, as the movie opens, seem doomed to separate. As she's packing to leave her husband, she finds a box of old records and begins to listen to them. Each record is tied to a specific place and time in her mind, unlocking memories that show a relationship unfold as the movie progresses. The song she was playing at the record store where she worked when they first met or the song that reminded her of the time they spent living in Japan, each is a poignant little chapter in the lives of these two people. But why is she leaving her husband? The answer reveals itself slowly and tragically. 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.Devon B Super Reviewer
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Sep 05, 2010This is a very sentimental, sappy, but realistic drama of a young couple. It's good, but I'm not a big fan of the film, although I loved Grant in it.Aj V Super Reviewer
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Jun 23, 2010Such a sad-y! My biggest problem with this film was the time passage in records. Cutting back to Irene Dunne and all she did was change records, circle into "a few years" later deal and it got old. There are better ways to tell passage of time. That aside, Cary Grant's cracking voice in the courtroom teared me up. The man is such an acting god.Jennifer D Super Reviewer
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