The Five Pennies (1959)

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In The Five Pennies Danny plays Loring "Red" Nichols in this biographical movie based on the life of the jazz musician. While there are comical moments and plenty of singing, this is a more dramatic role for Danny, in comparison to most of his other movies.

The movie starts with Red Nichols arriving in New York from his hometown of Ogden, Utah where he takes a job with Will Paradise's band. (Will Paradise happens to be played by Bob Crosby, Bing's brother.) Red has composed some of his own arrangements and tries to offer Paradise to take a look at them. He's continuously not interested in what Red has to offer. Not long after this, Red is set up on a double date where he meets Willa--or "Bobbie" as many call her. The two end up getting married, and that evening Red confesses to his new wife that he quit Will Paradise's band. He ends up getting various jobs with various radio stations before he finally sets up his own band, The Five Pennies.

Eventually, the couple give birth to a daughter, Dorothy, who loves traveling with her parents. But she's also learning such things as poker. There's an absolutely adorable scene with Danny playing poker with Susan Gordon (who plays the role of Dorothy as a child). It's a wonderful scene and Dorothy ends up beating her father at poker by a mere bluff. Red and Bobbie decide to put their daughter in a boarding school while they continue on the road. Later their daughter contracts Polio, and Red ends up blaming himself. As a result, he quits the music business and settles down to take a job in a shipyard while his daughter recovers and eventually learns how to walk without the aid of braces or a cane.

This particular scene below is one of my favorites. The other being the poker scene between Danny and Susan Gordon...but that scene you're better off watching than reading. This favorite scene of mine is the wedding night of Red and his wife after they finished up a show with Will Paradise's band.

(Red and Bobbie are kissing in the bridal suite's bedroom.)

RED NICHOLS: Hello.

BOBBIE NICHOLS: Did you apologize to him (Will Paradise) like I asked you to?

RED NICHOLS: Well, I--I had a little talk with him after the show.

BOBBIE NICHOLS: Well?

RED NICHOLS: Well, um...you wouldn't want me to stay in the band if I weren't happy, would you? I--I mean, can you imagine another couple months of 'Good evening, one and all, I'm a little misty-eyed tonight'?

BOBBIE NICHOLS: (She walks away from him.) Oh, Loring, you didn't even try.

RED NICHOLS: Yes, I did try, baby. (he follows her) I tried my best, but he wouldn't listen to reason so I hit him in the eye and quit.

BOBBIE NICHOLS: Oh, but, Loring, we just got married.

RED NICHOLS: I know. (kissing Bobbie)

BOBBIE NICHOLS: (hugs Red) Well, at least I still have a job.

(They kiss and hug.)

RED NICHOLS: (as he's hugging Bobbie) I better tell you now, honey, I hit him for both of us.

BOBBIE NICHOLS: You what?! Oh, Loring! (she walks away from him and goes from the bridal suite bedroom into the sitting room)

RED NICHOLS: Well, I couldn't have my wife working for a guy like that. Now look...honey...would you stop worrying. Pretty soon he'll be working for me.

BOBBIE NICHOLS: I--I don't even know you. You're a stranger.

RED NICHOLS: (hugging Bobbie from behind) No, I'm not.

BOBBIE NICHOLS: My mother was right. She said you were unstable.

RED NICHOLS: No, no, no.

BOBBIE NICHOLS: You do crazy things all the time.

RED NICHOLS: No, I don't, honey. Why don't we talk about that tomorrow. After all, this is our wedding night.

BOBBIE NICHOLS: (she parts from him) It was all a mistake. A horrible mistake! (she runs into the bridal suite's bedroom and locks the door)

RED NICHOLS: Bobbie! (he follows her, but she slams the door in his face) Bobbie! What kind of a bridal suite is this anyway? The door is locked.

BOBBIE NICHOLS: You can sleep in there on the couch. We'll both get a night's rest.

RED NICHOLS: I don't want a night's rest.

(she opens the door a crack and hands him his pajamas and toothbrush)

RED NICHOLS: Hello.

BOBBIE NICHOLS: Here are your pajamas and your toothbrush.

RED NICHOLS: Bobbie, listen, I'll do anything you say. I'll go back and beg Will for the job. I'll play so softly nobody will no I'm there.

BOBBIE NICHOLS: No. No, you won't, Loring. (she shuts the door again) You know why you quit Will's band? He didn't like your arrangements. Now isn't that true? (she hands him a pillow and blanket through the doorway)

RED NICHOLS: Well, what if it is? Bobbie, listen...

BOBBIE NICHOLS: If you don't even think of me on our wedding night, what chance have I got on our anniversary? (she closes the door and looks down at the suitcase. she picks up the toothpaste)

RED NICHOLS: (he hears Bobbie knocking on the door) Hello?

BOBBIE NICHOLS: I forgot to give you the toothpaste.

RED NICHOLS: Squeeze it under the door.

(the door opens a crack and Bobbie tries to hand him the toothpaste)

RED NICHOLS: (he takes the toothpaste) Bobbie. Willa. (he accidentally squeezes too hard and some of the toothpaste squirts out)

BOBBIE NICHOLS: Oh, Loring.

RED NICHOLS: I'm sorry. I'll apologize to the toothpaste. I'll apologize to anybody. (she closes the door on him and locks it)

(Red walks over to the couch, throws the stuff in his arms onto the couch, and begins to undress.)

BOBBIE NICHOLS: Loring?

RED NICHOLS: What?

BOBBIE NICHOLS: Goodnight.

RED NICHOLS: Goodnight. Sleep tight.

BOBBIE NICHOLS: (in the bridal suite, she is unchanging as well) Loring, I've never slept in a bridal suite before.

RED NICHOLS: Well let me know what it's like.

BOBBIE NICHOLS: How much did this suite cost you for the night?

RED NICHOLS: Will you stop that!

BOBBIE NICHOLS: But I want to know.

RED NICHOLS: Fifty dollars, but it's all right. We're using both rooms.

BOBBIE NICHOLS: Fifty dollars? What a crazy thing to do.

RED NICHOLS: Well, I wanted you to have the best. After all, a wedding night is something you want to remember for the rest of your life. (to himself) I'll remember this one after I'm dead.

BOBBIE NICHOLS: Where'd you get the money?

RED NICHOLS: What difference does it make?

BOBBIE NICHOLS: But the money.

RED NICHOLS: I--I hocked my horn after I got fired.

BOBBIE NICHOLS: You what?

RED NICHOLS: Well, there's an all-night hock shop open on Sixth Avenue. It's a public necessity like the...ah...fire department.

BOBBIE NICHOLS: Oh, Loring.

RED NICHOLS: It's not so terrible. All the fellas do it when they run short.

BOBBIE NICHOLS: But you once told me there wasn't another horn like it in the whole world and you wouldn't let it go for anything.

RED NICHOLS: Well, I'm crazy. Ask your mother.

(Bobbie opens the door and steps out into the sitting room. Loring is lying on the couch covered by a blanket. He's eating an apple. She sits down in a chair.)

BOBBIE NICHOLS: It's a lovely suite.

RED NICHOLS: Hmm... Here, have an apple. The manager sent it up. Free.

BOBBIE NICHOLS: Thanks. (They eat in silence.) You know, you're going to make a terrible husband. I'll never know from one moment to the next what you're going to do.

RED NICHOLS: That's all right. Neither will I.

(She goes over to him and sits next to him.)

BOBBIE NICHOLS: Isn't it wonderful to be rich? (she leans down and kisses him)

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