Penny Serenade 1941

     This film is told in flashbacks.  Julie Gardiner Adams is going to divorce her husband Roger Adams.  She thinks there is nothing holding them together anymore.  She begins to play the recordings that they purchased in their time together.  They met in the music store where Julie worked.  All the songs remind her of their lives and what was happening at that time period.  There is the first record for their meeting,  a record for their courtship, marriage, desire for a child and the everyday ups and downs of life.     

     There are many joys and sorrows in life and there have been many times of happiness but also deep pain for Julie and Roger.  They are in a period of deep pain at this point and they don’t see a future or recovery.  The reminders of right now are tearing them apart and they don’t have any answers or know how to move forward.  The music is very enjoyable and I liked the time period.  There are struggles with money and jobs but family life is very stabilizing.  Little events have importance and families did a lot together.  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

     

119 min, Drama directed by George Stevens with Cary Grant, Irene Dunne, Beulah Bondi, Edgar Buchanan, Ann Doran, Eva Lee Kuney, Leonard Willey, Wallis Clark, Walter Soderling.

Note:  Imdb 7.2 out of 10, 93% critic 75% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.2* out of 5* with 327 reviews, TCM Leonard Maltin 3.5* out of 4* average user rating 4* out of 5*.

Special Note:  Beulah Bondi has been in many films.  She started acting in 1931 at the age of 50 and she passed away at the age of 91 in Woodland Hills, CA on January 11, 1981.  She was born May 3, 1889 in Chicago, Illinois.  Her last role was at the age of 87 as Aunt Martha in the TV series, The Waltons from 1974-1976.  Irene Dunne said this was her favorite film.  She also wrote to a fan that Love Affair of 1939 was also a favorite.  Grant and Dunne starred together in The Awful Truth of 1937 and My Favorite Wife of 1940.  They played a married couple in this film plus the other earlier films.  The original copyright holder didn’t renew and this film fell into public domain.  Many versions are second or third generation copies with bad editing or of extremely poor quality.  Cary Grant wasn’t a parent in real life until the age of 62 in 1966.  Grant was nominated twice for Academy Awards for Best Actor, this film plus None But the Lonely Heart of 1944.