Pennies From Heaven Walken, Christopher performer Martin, Steve performer Peters, Bernadette performer Rall, Tommy performer Daniels, Danny performer Film 1981-12-11 MGM Musical drama choreographed by Danny Daniels. starring Steve Martin (Arthur), Bernadette Peters (Eileen), Christopher Walken (Tom) about a Depression-era sheet-music salesman who becomes involved in an extramarital affair and a murder. The film includes lavish tap production numbers in the style of Busby Berkeley. "Mr. Daniels has a way of raising yesteryear's routines to their fantastic apotheosis: he shows us that tapping as we dream it was, rather than as it actually might have been." (Frank Rich, "Stage: A Boy and His Dreams in Tap Dance Kid": New York Times December 22, 1983, C11, reviewing Tap Dance Kid but mentioning, "As Mr. Daniels demonstrated in his films "Pennies From Heaven" and "Zelig." Set in Chicago, 1934 "Pennies from Heaven harked back to the thirties with evocative dances and staging, viewed with the new sardonic attitude." (pg. 164) The film was a sincere tribute to Fred Astaire, Busby Berkeley, Nick Castle, Louis DaPron, Hermes Pan, and others. The film showcased Daniel's exquisite tap expertise and creativity (assisted by his son, Daniel Joseph Giagni and Randy Doney) and was one of the few dance dramas ever to be produced in Hollywood. "Steve Martin leads a bevy of blonde-wigged beauties in Pennies from Heaven." Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters revived tap dancing in the movies. Major tap dance numbers include: 1. "Yes, Yes, I Know the Kind of Songs That Sell" Busby Berkeley chorus designed number to show a tap dancing chorus with Martin at the end: shim-sham, back flips, and a tap dance; Tap dance in this musical represents the hope, the dream of success. 2. "Did You Ever" Peters in a perky tap dance as Steve Martin plays piano; 3. "Pennies From Heaven" a soft-shoe eccentric dance: wide plies and back bends in a storm of raining coins; 4. "It's a Girl" a vaudeville trio song and dance with banjo, and taps that include trench steps and crossovers. 5. "Love is Good for Anything That Ails You" Bernadette Peters in a classroom of kids turns into a white dream in which the kids dance atop pianos instead of desks; 6. "Let's Misbehave" with Christopher Walken on a pool table taps while doing a strip tease; double-turns and over the tops, jumps across the floor: a surprising and clever tap number, and one of the greatest comic tap ideas on film. Performing Arts Encyclopedia http://www.loc.gov/performingarts Billman, Larry: Film Choreographers and Dance Directors: An Illustrated Biographical Encyclopedia, 1893-1955. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland (1997). Tap Dance America http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/html/tda/tda-home.html Danny Daniels (biography) loc.music.tdabio.70 tda IHAS 151216 loc.music.tda.278