Penny Serenade

1941

2h 0m

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

117

YOUR RATING

Rate

POPULARITY

Play trailer

3 Videos

30 Images

Drama

Romance

Julie and Roger are a love-struck married couple who desperately want to have a child. Tragedy after tragedy gets in their way, as the two attempt to rise above their troubles and fulfill their dreams of parenthood.

Directors

George Stevens

Writers

Martha Cheavens(story by)

Morrie Ryskind(screenplay by)

Stars

Cary Grant

Irene Dunne

Beulah Bondi

See production, box office & company info

Videos3

Photos30

Top cast

Roger Adams

Julie Gardiner Adams

Miss Oliver

Applejack Carney

Dotty 'Dot'

Trina (at the Age of 6 Years)

Doctor Hartley

Judge

Billings

Trina (at the Age of 1 Year)

Dorothy Adams

Mother in Stalled Car (uncredited)

Billy Bevan

McDougal (uncredited)

Bess Flowers

Mother (Uncredited)

Dick Gordon

New Year's Party Guest (uncredited)

Directors

George Stevens

Writers

Martha Cheavens(story by)

Morrie Ryskind(screenplay by)

All cast & crew

Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

User reviews2

Review

Featured review

6/10

There is certainly chemistry between Irene Dunne and Cary Grant as the married couple with their lives ahead of them until an earthquake and tragedy strikes them and they must adjust to a life without the prospect of having their own child. That is until - with a little intervention from an avuncular and ever helpful "Applejack" (Edgar Buchanan) - they decide to adopt. They live a pretty subsistence existence by now; he is trying to run a local newspaper with a circulation that hovers around the 901-908 mark and so when it comes to the formalities, it is going to be struggle. Luckily, kindly adoption agent Beulah Bondi ("Miss Oliver") takes to them and soon afterwards they have their own little girl "Trine". Up until this point, both leads are engaging - frequent funny, especially Grant who has a distinct spontaneity in his performance - and though unchallenging, it is an enjoyable watch. However, tragedy strikes again and the film descends into maudlin melodrama with a last fifteen minutes that conclude with events that I found really quite tacky - almost like trading a commodity. What flowed effortlessly until then becomes contrived and for me, anyway, ruined much of the rest of it. It is a good watch, George Stevens does a good job and the writing/dalogue are frequently amusing and pithy - but that ending... sorry!

Geronimo196725 Jun, 2022