Well, it’s not as bad as legend has it, but Francis Ford Coppola’s film of Finian’s Rainbow (1968) can hardly be called good—though Fred Astaire’s presence helps, as, to a lesser degree, does Petula Clark. There are also some good bits—like Al Freeman Jr. bringing a Bromo Seltzer to racist Senator Keenan Wynn in the slowest “Darky Shuffle” ever seen—amidst all the clunk. Plus, it’s kind of fascinating in its very wrong-headedness. Even when the stage play was new—back in 1947—it must have been the last gasp of old style liberalism with its “redistribute the wealth” politics (McCarthy’s House Un-American Activities Committee was taking on such matters about this same time). By 1968, it seemed more than a little quaint. That’s not the kicker, though. It’s the bloated length, the awkward mix of soundstage exteriors with real ones, and the overbearing Tommy Steele’s even-more-overbearing turn as leprechaun (it makes a Lucky Charms commercial look restrained) that cooks the goose. An ill-chosen, unhappy director probably didn’t help much.
Finian’s Rainbow
Movie Information
The Hendersonville Film Society will show Finian's Rainbow at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Mar. 13, in the Smoky Mountain Theater at Lake Pointe Landing Retirement Community (behind Epic Cinemas, 333 Thompson St., Hendersonville).
| Score: | |
| Genre: | Musical Fantasy |
| Director: | Francis Ford Coppola |
| Starring: | Fred Astaire, Petula Clark, Tommy Steele, Don Francks, Keenan Wynn, Al Freeman Jr. |
| Rated: | G |
Ken Hanke has said it all quite well. I have caught bits of this over the years on television. Today my schedule called for the full viewing and it ws TOO LONG. It has wonderful bits that I don’t regret taking the time to see, but I could well imagine patrons in their theater seats leaving before the end, despite the Intermission. An edited version with the classic songs and dances could save it for posterity.