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Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Beulah Bondi, Edgar Buchanan, Ann Doran ... see more see more... , Eva Lee Kuney , Leonard Willey , Wallis Clark , Walter Soderling , Dorothy Adams , Billy Bevan , Baby Biffle , Mary Bovard , Lynton Brent , Stanley Brown , Edmund Elton , John Ferguson , Bess Flowers , Charles Flynn , Otto Han , Georgia Hawkins , Eddie Laughton , Frank Moran , Rollin Moriyama , Adrian Morris , Edward Peil Sr. , Al Seymour , Grady Sutton , Ben Taggart , Fred 'Snowflake' Toones , John Tyrrell , Dick Wessel , Lillian West , Jack Buchanan

While listening to a recording of "Penny Serenade," Julie Gardiner Adams (Irene Dunne) begins reflecting on her past. She recalls her near-impulsive marriage to newspaper reporter Roger Adams (Cary Gr... read more read more...ant), which begins on a deliriously happy note but turns out to be fraught with tragedy. While honeymooning in Japan, Julie and Roger are trapped in the 1923 earthquake, which results in her miscarriage and subsequent incapability to bear children. Upon their return to America, Roger becomes editor of a small-town newspaper, just scraping by financially. Despite their depleted resources, Julie and Roger want desperately to adopt a child. It seems hopeless until kindly adoption agency head Miss Oliver (Beulah Bondi) helps smooth their path. Alas, their happiness is once more short-lived: their new daughter, Trina (Eva Lee Kuney), succumbs to a sudden illness at the age of six. Reduced to hopelessness, Julie and Roger decide to dissolve their marriage, but Miss Oliver once more comes to the rescue. Sentimental in the extreme, Penny Serenade is also enormously effective, balancing moments of heartbreaking pathos with uproarious laughter. Only director George Stevens could have handled a scene with a copiously weeping Cary Grant without inducing discomfort or embarrassment in the audience. Since lapsing into the public domain in 1968 (though released by Columbia, the film was owned by Stevens' production firm), Penny Serenade has become almost as ubiquitous a cable-TV presence as It's a Wonderful Life. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Flixster Users

75% liked it

5,016 ratings

Critics

93% liked it

15 critics

G, 1 hr. 57 min.

Directed by: George Stevens

Release Date: January 1, 1941

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DVD Release Date: July 14, 1998

Stats: 250 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (250)


  • September 29, 2010
    This 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.
  • June 23, 2010
    Such 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 v... read moreoice in the courtroom teared me up. The man is such an acting god.
  • July 11, 2008
    i cry every single time! i guess that makes it a weeper
  • November 16, 2007
    After seeing None but the Lonely Heart the other day, and hearing Robert Osborne and Jack Klugman compare it to Penny Serenade, I had high hopes for this. Don't get me wrong, it's good. It's much less Cary Grantish Cary Grant. And Irene Dunne is always worth the ... read morewatch.

    Still, I think I suffered a bit from the Van Helsing effect: If you truly expect something to be good, it very often won't be. On the flip side, however, the Van Helsing effect can work to your benefit: If you truly expect something to be bad, it might actually surprise you and turn out to be good.

    I can still recommend this, but it you want to see the best Cary Grant, you must see None but the Lonely Heart

  • August 22, 2011
    The part that sticks out in my mind when I think about this movie is the part where Cary Grant is pleading the judge to let him stay with the little girl-it is such a sad scene. Applejack was a good friend to the couple. Nice, old, little black and white movie about a couple look... read moreing to adopt a child. I'd watch it again.
  • April 16, 2010
    A break from romantic follies which called for serious acting talents. Cary Grant is paired with Irene Dunne yet again! They go together well but seem to have forgotten it in theis film.
  • January 1, 2008
    I love this movie. I thought it was so incredibly touching even though there really wasn't that much going on in the story. I mean, it was a story but definitely something not with a lot of meat. Cary Grant is just amazing in it. Him crying is probably the most heartbreaking thin... read moreg I've ever seen.
  • June 12, 2007
    A couple's time together expressed through different songs. It will take you through all sorts of different emotions and you'll want to see it again and again.
  • March 18, 2007
    Probably the most underated Cary Grant movie, one of my all time favorites...don't be fooled by that $1,00 pricetage in the picture, it really is great...Cary Grant was only ever nominated for 2 Oscars, this was one of the roles that he was nominated for.
  • February 15, 2007
    Cary Grant is my all-time favorite actor, and Irene Dunee is in the top 5 actresses of all time. This film is one of their best pairings.

Critic Reviews


Variety Staff
November 13, 2007
Variety Staff, Variety

George Stevens' direction and the excellence of the stars' playing make the film. Full Review

Bosley Crowther
March 25, 2006
Bosley Crowther, New York Times

If you are prone to easy weeping, you might even take along a washtub. Full Review

Dave Kehr
January 1, 2000
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

If you have any tolerance for soap opera, this is one of the classics. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
April 29, 2012
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

George Stevens' sentimental melodrama is extremely well acted by Irene Dunne and Cary Grant, who received for his part of a depressed father the first of his two Oscar nominations. Full Review

November 13, 2007
TV Guide's Movie Guide

This is a weeper from the start, with only a few moments of comedy placed in so the audience can dry their eyes before the next sentimental barrage. Full Review

David Nusair
January 26, 2007
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews

...entertaining enough to warrant a mild recommendation... Full Review

June 24, 2006
Time Out

This is a classic 'women's picture' in every sense. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
August 18, 2005
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

A women's weepie picture. Full Review

Steve Crum
October 16, 2004
Steve Crum, Kansas City Kansan

Lesser seen Cary Grant, but very compelling.

Ken Hanke
December 1, 2002
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Brilliantly made soaper with superb cast.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Penny Serenade Trivia


  • that starred Cary Grant and Irene Dunn over an adoption of a child.  Answer »
  • Where does Julie meet Roger in Penny Serenade ?  Answer »
  • What did Roger have Julie do for him in the store at Penny Serenade ?  Answer »
  • Julie related to important events in her life thru music in Penny Serenade ?  Answer »

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