Penny Serenade [1941] [VHS]

Cary Grant's talent for comedy is much in evidence during the film but so is the more dramatic side of his acting. Irene Dunne matches him and they give us the perfect pairing for a film that really puts you through the wringer. I must have seen it about 10 times and I cry twice every single time.

If you like weepies then you'll like this; if you like comedies then you'll like this; if you like Cary Grant or Irene Dunne then you'll like this. Unless you're made out of stone, you'll like this. :)

The story opens as Julie (Dunne) is getting ready to leave Roger (Grant) because of the pain caused by a tragedy in their lives he can not talk about so that they can begin to heal. She laments that they simply don't need each other anymore. When she finds an old stack of records she begins to trace the various stages of their love through the memories recalled by each song.

Roger (Grant) sees Julie (Dunne) through the window of the record store where she works, and though he doesn't have a phonograph player, he ends up buying a big package of songs just so he can spend time with her. He pretends he is going her way after work and it isn't long before she becomes "his funny little redhead." There are some wonderful scenes like Julie and Roger sitting in a cabana by the beach reading fortune cookies which gives the story a very romantic atmosphere.

When Roger, who is a reporter, has a chance to go to Tokyo for a few years, the two get married and have a truncated honeymoon on a train which results in them becoming prospective parents. But an earthquake takes their happiness away and prevents them from having another child. Only when Roger gets an inheritance do they move back to the states and consider adoption while he starts the small town paper he has always dreamed of. What follows is warm, sweet and heartbreaking, and will result in Julie standing at the phonograph as she recalls their lives together before leaving.

Whether their love and marriage can be saved is only resolved in the last few moments of this beautiful film. Edgar Buchanan as Apple Jack is absolutely wonderful as he lends both support and humor to this true screen classic. Beulah Bondi is also memorable as the kind Miss Oliver, going out of her way to create a family for two people who love each other. A warm and sentimental film every film lover needs to own.