Finian's Rainbow

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Nearly 20 years after it opened on Broadway, the E.Y. Harburg/Fred Saidy musical Finian's Rainbow was committed to film. Set in the mythical southern state of Missitucky, the story involves the whimsical Irishman Finian (Fred Astaire) and his daughter Sharon (Petula Clark) arriving in the community carrying a crock of gold, which they've stolen in the Auld Sod from Ogg the Leprechaun (Tommy Steele). Finian believes that if he buries the crock on American soil, it will grow into an even larger treasure--just as Fort Knox did (or so he thinks). Sharon falls in love with sharecropper Woody Mahoney (Don Francks), who like everyone else in the community is being threatened by the perfidy of Senator Rawkins (Keenan Wynn). While Finian haggles over three wishes with the tricky Ogg, Sharon runs afoul of the racially bigoted Rawkins. She wishes that Rawkins would turn black so that he could walk in someone else's shoes for a change--and this, thanks to Ogg, is exactly what happens. To rescue Sharon and Woody from being burned as witches, Ogg grants a last wish, which turns him into a human being; this is not an altogether bad thing, for Ogg has fallen in love with mysterious mountain gal Susan the Silent (Barbara Hancock). The racial tolerance subtext of Finian's Rainbow, considered radical in 1948, seemed rather antiquated in 1969, though it did allow for a hilarious scene in which a white associate of Judge Rawkins attempts to instruct young black botanist Al Freeman Jr. on the proper way to "act Negro". As Finian, Fred Astaire requested that the role be expanded to allow him to dance a little (as written, the character barely even sings). Most of the original score remains intact, including the hit song "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?" Francis Ford Coppola seemed a curious choice to direct a musical, and indeed the production was a troubled one due to Coppola's inexperience in the genre. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Subtitle: Eng/Fre/Spa
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 (Cinemascope)
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Audio: Dolby Digital Surround
• Features:
  • cc
  • Watch Finian's Rainbow with Francis Ford Coppola: new introduction and commentary by the director
  • Soundtrack remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1
  • Featurette: The World Premiere of Finian's Rainbow
  • Theatrical trailer
  • Languages: English & Francais
  • Subtitles: English, Francais & Espanol

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Nominated Best Adapted Score - 1968 (Ray Heindorf)

• Hollywood Foreign Press Association

•     Nominated Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comed - 1968 (Fred Astaire)
•     Nominated Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Com - 1968 (Petula Clark)
•     Nominated Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pic - 1968 (Barbara Hancock)
•     Nominated Best Picture - Musical or Comedy - 1968
•     Nominated New Star of the Year - Female - 1968 (Barbara Hancock)

• Telluride Film Festival

•     Film Presented - 1974

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Fred Astaire - Finian McLonergan
       Petula Clark - Sharon McLonergan
       Tommy Steele - Og, the Leprechaun
       Don Francks - Woody Mahoney
       Keenan Wynn - Judge Billboard Rawkins
       Barbara Hancock - Susan The Silent
       Al Freeman, Jr. - Howard
       Ronald Colby - Buzz Collins
       Dolph Sweet - Sheriff
       Wright King - District Attorney
       Avon Long

• Director:

  Francis Ford Coppola

• Producer:

  Joseph Landon, Joel Freeman

• Screenwriter:

  E.Y. "Yip" Harburg, Fred Saidy

• Cinematographer:

  Philip H. Lathrop

• Composer (Music Score):

  E.Y. "Yip" Harburg, Ray Heindorf

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Ray Heindorf

• Composer (Music Score):

  Burton Lane

• Editor:

  Melvin Shapiro

• Production Designer:

  Hilyard M. Brown

• Set Designer:

  Phillip Abramson, William L. Kuehl

• Costume Designer:

  Dorothy Jeakins

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  M.A. Merrick, Dan Wallin

• Makeup:

  Gordon Bau

• First Assistant Director:

  Fred Gammon

• Choreography:

  Hermes Pan