MovieChat Forums > Pennies from Heaven (1936) Discussion > Pennies from Heaven '36?

Pennies from Heaven '36?

posted 10 years ago by mcannady1
14 replies | jump to latest

Movie girl - Hope someone can help with this question. I am a classic film lover who grew up in the 50's and 60's. I remember clearly watching Bing in a film on TV which I think was Pennies from Heaven. I am wondering if it is the one I saw.
Bing befriends an orphan girl who is about 10 years old and she tries to follow him on shipboard where he is going to sing. He tells her no, he cannot take her on the ship. Her name was Lynette I think. She stows away in a musical drum which is for part of the orchestra. Anyone recall that? When I saw the film a few years ago again it seems to have been left out about the girl stowing away on shipboard. Maybe another film with Bing?

[–] tommyt739 10 years ago

Yes that's the one. If you have access to GetTV it's on tonight. May 4th. It's also available on DVD at Amazon.

[–] mcannady1 10 years ago

Movie girl: Thanks! Have you seen the film? I just wondered if the film
I recall where he was going on shipboard as an entertainer is the same film.
Thanks!
Best Regards

[–] mcannady1 10 years ago

Movie girl: Forgot to say that I don't have GET TV but will try to get on
Amazon if I have the right one. The one I saw from one of my friends a short
while ago has all the same ingredients; the troubadour or street singer who befriends the 10 year old orphan girl who lives with a penniless granddad or uncle. They went to an abandoned house I think later in the film, but I did
not see the part where the girl hid inside of a drum (for a band on the ship) and smuggled herself onboard to follow her friend. Do you recall the part? Thanks!

[–] Manton29 9 years ago

The drum thing takes place when the girl is getting out of a place she doesn't want to be, but the ship thing doesn't ring a bell (it was a few years ago that I last saw it, so...). Could it be your adding a pinch of another film into the mix? In any case, it's a charming film that I'm very fond of.

I just looked online (U.S. site) and it seems it's expensive to buy new, and therefore must be out of print and so scarce. I got it in a UK set with 3 other Crosby films - the 'Bing Crosby Screen Legends' set - not to be confused with the U.S. 'Screen Legends COLLECTION'!!! Might be cheaper if you can find it? It's region 2, so you'd need a region free DVD player if you're not in Europe.

Cheers,

Manton

If to stand pat means to resist evil then, yes, neighbour, we wish to stand pat.

[–] mcannady1 9 years ago

Movie girl: Hi! Thanks Manton, for your reply. I think it is possible that I am remembering the wrong Bing Crosby film. It was about 55 years ago I had seen it and had also seen Pennies from Heaven '36 around the same time. Perhaps the two films had some similarities and sort of stayed in my memory. My older sister seems to remember the drum incident kind of vaguely and it could be that it was another film entirely. One thing we are pretty sure of is that it was Bing in the drum one too! The funny thing is that (if there were two films) in both films there was a young orphan girl who wanted to go and live with Bing. Unless I am remembering wrong here. Now I wonder.

Do you recall a drum incident in a Bing Crosby film (or in any film)? That was certainly an unusual thing for a child to do -- to hide in a drum so they would not have to go home from somewhere. Was there such an incident, but they were not going on shipboard? Maybe the child "contraband" on shipboard was another film entirely? It sounds like I am talking in circles here, but usually remember valued films much better.

Growing up in the 50's and 60's my sister and I have fond memories of watching many, many fine films on TV together. Of course she remembers some better than I and vice versa. Bing's fine films came to mind recently when I acquired Pennies from Heaven '37 with Bing through another film collector. I watched through the film and was surprised that I was so mistaken. There are many, many that I remember very well from the time I was 6 or 7 and through growing up years, but there is always margin for error!
Thanks! Best, Janet

[–] Manton29 9 years ago

Hi Janet,

I know that feeling of trying to remember and track down a dim but persistent memory of a film from many years ago! Hmmm... I've only see maybe 6 or 7 Crosby films... The drum thing escapes me, but an orphan on a ship? ... Stowaway, with Shirley Temple? That's a fun film, regardless! I'll came back and post if I think of/discover anything we that might fit.

Cheers and all the best,

Manton

If to stand pat means to resist evil then, yes, neighbour, we wish to stand pat.

[–] mcannady1 9 years ago

Movie girl: Thanks, Manton! I really appreciate that. Just if you happen to
track down a clue to the real title of the film. One thing for sure, the drum scene is as clear as can be (but I could be wrong about it being on shipboard!)
I thought of Shirley too in Stowaway, but that is not it. It is fun but like you said a persistent memory is not always easy to recall in complete perspective.
It was quite a few years ago, but my sister remembers it too!

Another thing is that the films of the 30's and 40's were so special! I feel very enriched to have seen so many as a child. I wouldn't trade that time spent with my older sister in enjoying all of these rare treasures. Just recently I called her about the film and she thought it was Pennies from Heaven too! So if
I unearth the answer elsewhere will let you know.

All the best and
Cheers to you too!
Janet - A friend calls me Movie girl because of my Collection predominantly 30's 40's and 50's.

[–] pt100 9 years ago

I don't recall any stowaway in a base drum on a boat in this film. It actually sounds like Honeymoon in Bali, from 1939, a Paramount film that has Fred MacMurray and an orphaned girl.

There is, however, a scene near the end of Pennies from Heaven, at the circus, where she is inside a base drum that rolls and crashes into a man, at which point she pops out. Maybe that's the scene you recall.

The universe is not only stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine.–J.B. Haldane

[–] mcannady1 9 years ago

Movie girl: Thanks, but I thought of that too about the scene in Pennies and the one in Honeymoon in Bali. Neither, but I will keep searching in spare time. Looks like it was a 30's film with Bing. It was about 50 years ago we saw it on TV, my big sister and I. Never forgot it, but too bad we can't remember the film title.
Later I thought Pennies from Heaven! THanks for your kindness. A strange universe! A friend of mine said they would never have that scene today of her being spanked for sneaking aboard the ship. I hope to find it. Of course much worse stuff is shown and has been since the 70's.

[–] pt100 9 years ago

I'm pretty familiar with Crosby's films, and the only one that seems even close to the boat thingy is Anything Goes (1936):
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0027302/reference

Sorry I couldn't be more help.

The universe is not only stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine.–J.B. Haldane

[–] mcannady1 9 years ago

Movie girl: THank you! So kind of you to help me. My sister and I have
pondered this mystery for a long time. I was about 6 at the time and she was
9 I think. We saw it on TV - twice! And this was in the late 50's. A little
while ago. I will see it with her (she is here on a visit and will check it out)

Thanks again and have a great evening!
Best,
Janet

[–] SixtiesHoldout 9 years ago

Good luck. I hope you figure it out. But you really are conflating parts of two or more movies, or else just remembering one movie incorrectly.

Think about it: what is the chance that Bing Crosby would appear in two different movies (in the same year, no less) where the same plot device--a girl stowed away in a base drum--is used? Zero chance. It just wouldn't happen. Writers and directors just aren't so lame that they would steal the exact same plot device and use it with the same actor.

Let us know what you think after you watch it. But given that you were young and it was about 60 years ago, I think your memory is clearly playing tricks on you.

❇ If you can remember the '60s, then you probably weren't there. ❇

[–] mcannady1 9 years ago

Movie girl: Thanks! I do have a great memory for films and TV shows. I was
about 6 or 7 when I saw this in late 5o's with big sistr who was 9 or 10.
We both recall the shipboard part wi/ the drum, but we now think that it was not
Bing in the film at all. After rewatching Pennies from Heaven we see an orphan
girl, but Bing does not go on shipboard/ Sadly, we are thinking of 2 different
films, I think. I recall vividly about the girl stowing away on the ship and
getting spanked at the end when they find her.

That's cute about the 60's. I was still very young when the 60's began and
fondly recall many movies and TV shows pretty accurately. Somehow, my "personal" computer must have messed up.

Zero chance that it was the same year with the drum segment, but suppose it was
a little before or after? WE were watching in the 50's and did not even realize it was an old movie per see. WE watched many, many films and shows on TV /;late 50's and early 60's.

THanks for your help. Still searching.

[–] SixtiesHoldout 9 years ago

Zero chance that it was the same year with the drum segment, but suppose it was a little before or after?

The point is that it wouldn't be Bing Crosby, because the only Crosby ship-with-stowaway movie in that whole decade (or any other one, as I recall, was the aforementioned Anything Goes (1936), which didn't have a scene like the one in Pennies From Heaven.

Probably a different actor, but they likely would never use the same girl-in-drum device. I've seen a lot of films, but never that device twice.

❇ If you can remember the '60s, then you probably weren't there. ❇