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The Five Pennies

Name: The Five Pennies
Director: Melville Shavelson
Released: 1959
Duration: 117 min

Representation Score

1.8/10

Minimal

1959

Director

Melville Shavelson

Runtime

117 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

The film is a typical product of its time, reinforcing mid-century social hierarchies and traditional moralities. It focuses on individual perseverance and familial stability, avoiding deeper explorations of identity or systemic issues. While it touches on medical crises and economic hardship, these elements are used to create emotional stakes rather than to explore broader themes. The casting and character roles reflect the homogeneous social structures of the 1950s.

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Category Breakdown

Does The Five Pennies have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The film does not include any LGBTQ+ identities or non-cisgender characters. It operates within an assumption that everyone is straight and cisgender.

How does The Five Pennies portray gender?

Limited

The film reinforces traditional gender roles. Women are portrayed primarily as supportive figures for the male protagonist, adhering to conventional domestic archetypes.

How racially and ethnically diverse is The Five Pennies?

Minimal

The cast is predominantly white with very few minority characters. There is a lack of significant roles for minority actors within the main storyline.

How does The Five Pennies represent religion and culture?

Limited

The story emphasizes Western values such as perseverance and the sanctity of the nuclear family. Economic hardships are framed through personal resilience rather than systemic critiques.

Does The Five Pennies include disability representation?

Fair

Physical limitations, such as the daughter's polio, serve as dramatic catalysts. These elements are used to evoke empathy within a conventional melodramatic framework.

Present on Screen

Addresses physical hardship and medical crises like polio to create emotional stakes.
Explores themes of individual perseverance and resilience during the Great Depression.

Limited or Absent

Lacks representation of LGBTQ+ identities or non-cisgender characters.
Reinforces patriarchal structures by limiting female roles to domestic, supportive archetypes.
Features a predominantly white cast with minimal minority ability to act or diversity.
Fails to provide systemic critiques of economic or social structures.

Official Synopsis

Dixieland cornetist Red Nichols runs into opposition to his sound, but breaks through to success. He marries a warm, patient woman and even finds time to raise a family. Then tragedy strikes when their daughter contracts polio.

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