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Poster for The Five Pennies

The Five Pennies

1959 · 117 min

A warm, tuneful biopic that balances toe-tapping jazz with heartfelt family drama and a tearful recovery.

Overview
Dixieland cornetist Red Nichols runs into opposition to his sound, but breaks through to success. He marries a warm, patient woman and even finds time to raise a family. Then tragedy strikes when their daughter contracts polio.
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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • warmstrength 3 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • upliftingstrength 2 of 3
  • earneststrength 2 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
easy-watch, 2 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • family
  • music
  • healing
  • ambition
  • love
Places
  • big city
  • small town
  • home
Era
period
Audience
family
Form
  • true story
  • musical
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language none
  • Violence none
  • Sex none
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action1
Horror0
Humour4
Realism7
Romance4
Tension3
Darkness3
Complexity3
Emotional weight6

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Where to watch in the UK

Rent or buy
  • Apple TV Store
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  • YouTube

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
drama, music
Directed by
Melville Shavelson
Written by
Melville Shavelson, Jack Rose
Starring
Danny Kaye, Barbara Bel Geddes, Louis Armstrong, Harry Guardino, Bob Crosby, Bobby Troup, Susan Gordon, Tuesday Weld
Music
Leith Stevens
Cinematography
Daniel L. Fapp
Runtime
117 min
Country
United States of America
Languages
English

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