Penny Serenade (1941) - a rediscovered classic

A friend of mine from work was recently telling me that her VHS copy of Penny Serenade (1941) the Cary Grant/Irene Dunne tearjerker is on its last legs. I told her I thought I had an extra DVD copy of because I record so many movies on TCM, I sometimes lose track of which ones I've recorded. Lo and behold I had two copies of Penny Serenade. Well its been a few years since I seen it, so I decided to watch it again and it's better than I remember. The story has Cary as dashing news reporter Roger Adams, who meets and falls in love with record store clerk Julie (Irene Dunne). They get married and travel to Japan for Grant's assignment. It's there where an earthquake hits and Julie who is pregnant loses the baby and the ability to conceive again. The couple are able to adopt a little girl later on but tragedy strikes again. Expertly directed by George Stevens who is able to mix light comedy with the heavy drama with ease. Grant and Dunne are superb together and it proves my point that Irene was Cary's best co-star. Look for Edgar Buchanan in a scene stealing role as Uncle Applejack, who helps the couple out from time to time. And for those who say Cary can't really act outside of screwball comedies, just take a look at the scene where he pleads with the judge to not take his adopted child away from him. That 5 minute sequence is one of Cary's or anyone else for that matter, best film performances ever. Penny Serenade is a great movie. One of those timeless classics and I'm glad I'm able to give a copy to one of my friends so she can have it forever now.
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