FantasyRomanceFamily

Finian's Rainbow

- Let yourself glow.

An Irish immigrant and his daughter arrive in Kentucky with a magical piece of gold that alters the course of several lives, including those of a struggling farmer and an African American community facing persecution from a bigoted politician.

Release Date : 1968-10-09

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Warner Bros.-Seven Arts

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Finian McLonergan

Original Name : Fred Astaire

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sharon McLonergan

Original Name : Petula Clark

Gender : Female

Character Name : 'Og' the Leprechaun

Original Name : Tommy Steele

Gender : Male

Character Name : Woody Mahoney

Original Name : Don Francks

Gender : Male

Character Name : Senator Billboard Rawkins

Original Name : Keenan Wynn

Gender : Male

Character Name : Susan the Silent

Original Name : Barbara Hancock

Gender : Female

Character Name : Howard

Original Name : Al Freeman Jr.

Gender : Male

Character Name : Buzz Collins

Original Name : Ronald Colby

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sheriff

Original Name : Dolph Sweet

Gender : Male

Character Name : District Attorney

Original Name : Wright King

Gender : Male

Character Name : Henry

Original Name : Louil Silas

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sharecropper 'Necessity' (uncredited)

Original Name : Brenda Arnau

Gender : Male

Character Name : Passion Pilgrim Gospeller (uncredited)

Original Name : Avon Long

Gender : Male

Character Name : Passion Pilgrim Gospeller (uncredited)

Original Name : Roy Glenn

Gender : Male

Character Name : Passion Pilgrim Gospeller (uncredited)

Original Name : Jester Hairston

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sharecropper (uncredited)

Original Name : Charles Carter

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sharecropper (uncredited)

Original Name : Sterling Clark

Gender : Male

Character Name : Geologist (uncredited)

Original Name : Robert Cleaves

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sharecropper (uncredited)

Original Name : Robert Cole

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sharecropper (uncredited)

Original Name : Willie Covan

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sharecropper (uncredited)

Original Name : Evelyn Dutton

Gender : Male

Character Name : Deputy (uncredited)

Original Name : Martin Eric

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sharecropper (uncredited)

Original Name : Joe Evans

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sharecropper (uncredited)

Original Name : Talya Ferro

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sharecropper (uncredited)

Original Name : Jimmy Fields

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sharecropper (uncredited)

Original Name : Carey Foster

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sharecropper (uncredited)

Original Name : Lili Francks

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sharecropper Child (uncredited)

Original Name : Nicci-Ann Frank

Gender : Male

Character Name : Man in White Suit (uncredited)

Original Name : Louis Hart

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sharecropper (uncredited)

Original Name : Marya Henriques

Gender : Male

Character Name : Lucas (uncredited)

Original Name : Robert S. Holman

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sharecropper (uncredited)

Original Name : Joyce Horne

Gender : Male

Character Name : Geologist #1 (uncredited)

Original Name : Vince Howard

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sharecropper (uncredited)

Original Name : Bruce Hoy

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sharecropper (uncredited)

Original Name : Bobby Johnson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sharecropper (uncredited)

Original Name : Carlton Johnson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sharecropper (uncredited)

Original Name : Phyllis Kennedy

Gender : Female

Character Name : Sharecropper (uncredited)

Original Name : Maurishka

Gender : Female

Character Name : Sharecropper (uncredited)

Original Name : Bert May

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sharecropper (uncredited)

Original Name : Gary Menteer

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sharecropper (uncredited)

Original Name : Frances E. Nealy

Gender : Female

Character Name : Sharecropper (uncredited)

Original Name : Roy Palmer

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sharecropper (uncredited)

Original Name : Frank Radcliffe

Gender : Male

Character Name : Man in White Suit (uncredited)

Original Name : Leonard Rogel

Gender : Male

Character Name : Deputy (uncredited)

Original Name : Robert Strong

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sharecropper (uncredited)

Original Name : Roberta Tennes

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sharecropper (uncredited)

Original Name : Claude Thompson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Deputy (uncredited)

Original Name : Peter Virgo

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sharecropper (uncredited)

Original Name : Rebecca Vorno

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sharecropper (uncredited)

Original Name : Clessia Wade

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sharecropper (uncredited)

Original Name : Jonathan Wynne

Gender : Male

Reviews

Wuchak

@Wuchak

2024-09-23

**_Amusing late 60’s musical with dynamic performances by the cast_** An Irish father and daughter come to America and settle a couple of miles from Fort Knox in Kentucky. As Sharon (Petula Clark) falls for the community’s returning prodigal son (Don Francks), Finian (Fred Astaire) deals with a leprechaun (Tommy Steele) that desperately needs the pot of gold he “borrowed” while a mute dancing girl catches the leprechaun’s eye (Barbara Hancock). "Finian’s Rainbow" (1968) is a fun musical based on the 1947 Broadway play, helmed by Francis Ford Coppola after proving his mettle with “You’re a Big Boy Now.” Although overlong, it’s an energetic mix of Elvis’ “Follow that Dream,” Astaire musicals and “The Wizard of Oz.” The above-noted cast members are all highlights, along with Keenan Wynn as the racist Senator and Al Freeman Jr as the research botanist. Astaire was 68 during shooting while Petula was 34; Franks was 35 (but looked older) while dancer Barbara Hancock was only 17. Speaking of the latter, she shines as she frolics about doing flips and what have you. Someone criticized that the movie borrowed too many Hippie elements from the musical “Hair,” but this is totally bogus seeing as how the film started shooting (with a finished script) in late June, 1967, and "Hair" didn't debut off-Broadway until four months later. It didn’t make it to Broadway until 1968 while the movie version came out in 1979. No doubt the scriptwriters & Coppola naturally tried to make the 1947 musical more relevant to the mid-60s, but this had zero to do with ripping off "Hair." Personally, I didn't perceive much if any "Hair"-like elements and, honestly, it could easily fit the time-frame of the late ’40s. Wynn’s character was inspired by real-life Senator Theodore Bilbo of Mississippi, a Democrat, who died seven months after the musical debuted. Film studios wouldn’t touch it due to the satirical bits pertaining to racism (like the Senator amusingly morphing into a black man); that is, unless they could change the script, which the writers wouldn’t allow. By the mid-60s, however, the time was right. Coppola had nothing to do with the cutting off of Astaire's feet during his dancing scenes. After shooting had been done in 35mm, Warner Brothers chose to convert the movie to the wider 70mm and sell it as a “preserved-ticket roadshow attraction,” which was achieved by cropping off the tops and bottoms of the picture frame. Unfortunately, this included some shots of Astaire's footwork, which I didn't even notice while watching (in other words, it's a nothing burger). This was Astaire’s last musical. It runs 2 hours, 25 minutes, and was shot on studio sound-stages and the back lot at Warner Brothers Burbank Studios and Walt Disney's Golden Oak Ranch, as well as Potrero Valley, Thousand Oaks, although one sequence was shot in Napa Valley near Coppola's home, north of Oakland, as well another west of there in Bodega Bay. The opening includes scenic shots of iconic spots in the USA (with stand-ins for Astaire and Clark). GRADE: B