Pennies from Heaven is a continually underrated film, featuring Steve Martin in his first dramatic role, with a stellar supporting cast including Christopher Walken, Bernadette Peters, and Jessica Harper. The film was a massive box office bomb, as it followed Martin’s blockbuster comedy The Jerk, and audiences probably weren’t ready to accept him in a lavish and ambitious musical where he was being asked to be taken seriously. Skillfully directed by Herbert Ross and smartly written by Dennis Potter, Pennies from Heaven allowed cinematographer Gordon Willis to make some bold stylistic decisions as an artist, as he deftly balanced the bleakness of the Depression era and the characters’ unhappy lives with exciting and brightly colored musical set-pieces that take on a fantastical/dreamlike quality. With the various characters breaking into song and dance all throughout, smart framing and rhythmic camera moves were required, and in this department, Ross and Willis made the film light on its feet while still grounding it in a hard and firm style that stressed the trappings of film noir and Chicago Art Deco flourishes. One of the more unsung gems from the 1980’s, this is a film that’s ripe for rediscovery, and further underscores the range of talent that legendary cameraman Willis exuded as a craftsman. A Blu-Ray is long overdue for this unsung cinematic gem.
Podcasting Them Softly 