I'll agree with all the other people who don't like the ending...it strikes real odd note, in a movie that doesn't really tug on the emotions enough.
The story is slight and the presentation is also rather dated. Irene Dunn is leaving her husband and while she looks back, she listens to records. Each record she plays reminds her of a past event and the film flashes back to another part of her life ever time she puts on another disc. She meets Cary Grant, they get married, go to Japan, live well, lose money, live frugally, have a child etc, etc. It's really mild soap opera stuff, and once the baby joins the movie, things actually get really BORING, and the movie is probably too long.
The acting is oddly stilted. I don't know Irene Dunne, but she plays her character almost too subtly, to the point that I couldn't tell what she was supposed to be thinking. Some big scenes are fluffed because of this. Others are fluffed due to the odd directorial choices. Case in point 1: When Grant leaves on a train and Dunne gets on just to say goodbye but accidentally departs with him instead of getting off. This is really poorly presented and the impact is totally spoiled. Case 2: When the couple have to have to visit a judge to see if they get to keep their adopted child, the pivotal moment of Grant leaving Dunne behind to go to the hearing is played out with the camera pointing a just the couple's feet. A very odd choice.
The movies highpoint is an impassioned speech that Grant delivers to the judge who is refusing his adoption. This is genuinely touching. But oddly Irene Dunne's role in this is dramatic part of the story is extremely limited.
And now, onto the ending...oh dear. SPOILER ALERT! The couple are experiencing family bliss with the adopted daughter when she abruptly dies. This extremely important moment is handled dreadfully - by a minor support character reading about it in a letter and doing all of the reacting instead of the star couple. What a waste! And then, as the marriage falls apart due to the couple turning their grief inward (which is actually a good dramatic idea), they get another call from the adoption agency asking if they'd like another baby. They immediately brighten up and fall back in love, in the space of a few minutes. Worse still, the adoption agency says something along the lines of: "This time we've got a baby for you that matches the description of the child you really wanted from the beginning". Subtext: "This baby is better than the first one we gave you and will completely improve on the first (dead) child, who was only a runner-up prize, anyway". An appalling message to end on.
Mostly flat and too long, "Penny Serenade" has not dated well.
The story is slight and the presentation is also rather dated. Irene Dunn is leaving her husband and while she looks back, she listens to records. Each record she plays reminds her of a past event and the film flashes back to another part of her life ever time she puts on another disc. She meets Cary Grant, they get married, go to Japan, live well, lose money, live frugally, have a child etc, etc. It's really mild soap opera stuff, and once the baby joins the movie, things actually get really BORING, and the movie is probably too long.
The acting is oddly stilted. I don't know Irene Dunne, but she plays her character almost too subtly, to the point that I couldn't tell what she was supposed to be thinking. Some big scenes are fluffed because of this. Others are fluffed due to the odd directorial choices. Case in point 1: When Grant leaves on a train and Dunne gets on just to say goodbye but accidentally departs with him instead of getting off. This is really poorly presented and the impact is totally spoiled. Case 2: When the couple have to have to visit a judge to see if they get to keep their adopted child, the pivotal moment of Grant leaving Dunne behind to go to the hearing is played out with the camera pointing a just the couple's feet. A very odd choice.
The movies highpoint is an impassioned speech that Grant delivers to the judge who is refusing his adoption. This is genuinely touching. But oddly Irene Dunne's role in this is dramatic part of the story is extremely limited.
And now, onto the ending...oh dear. SPOILER ALERT! The couple are experiencing family bliss with the adopted daughter when she abruptly dies. This extremely important moment is handled dreadfully - by a minor support character reading about it in a letter and doing all of the reacting instead of the star couple. What a waste! And then, as the marriage falls apart due to the couple turning their grief inward (which is actually a good dramatic idea), they get another call from the adoption agency asking if they'd like another baby. They immediately brighten up and fall back in love, in the space of a few minutes. Worse still, the adoption agency says something along the lines of: "This time we've got a baby for you that matches the description of the child you really wanted from the beginning". Subtext: "This baby is better than the first one we gave you and will completely improve on the first (dead) child, who was only a runner-up prize, anyway". An appalling message to end on.
Mostly flat and too long, "Penny Serenade" has not dated well.