Pennies From Heaven (DVD, 2003)

Pennies From Heaven (1936) is an entertaining musical starring Bing Crosby, with Louis Armstrong (whose name Bing insisted be high in the credits) and great character actor Donald Meek in supporting roles. Crosby portrays a wrongly imprisoned troubadour who plays a thirteenth-century lute. A convicted murderer asks him to track down the family of his victims and give them a letter. Bing meets the family, a strong-willed girl (Edith Fellows) and her grandfather (Meek), who are living in poverty and in fear of a social worker (Madge Evans) who threatens to divide them.

Crosby becomes an ad hoc member of the family and is determined to help them stay together. To do this, he'll have to convince Evans that Meek can support his granddaughter. The family takes possession of a house given them by the murderer, and Crosby uses the property to open a restaurant to earn them money. Armstrong entertains the restaurant patrons, singing and playing "Skeleton in the Closet." During a thunderstorm, Bing croons "Pennies From Heaven" to Fellows.

This is a charming Depression-era musical which shows why Bing Crosby became so popular. Bing's warm, easy-going persona is enchanting and comforting. Not as great as some of Crosby's later pictures, Pennies From Heaven is still a very enjoyable movie and worth a watch.