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Finian's Rainbow

Starring: Fred Astaire; Petula Clark; Tommy Steele & Keenan Wynn Director: Francis Ford Coppola

DVD Features:

Audio:

• Dolby Surround 5.1 - English
• Dolby Surround Stereo 2.0 - French

Description by OLDIES.com:

He wears a ratty old cardigan instead of tails, a battered felt hat in place of a topper - but one glimpse of those agile feet and you know he's Fred Astaire. The great entertainer sang and danced his last musical lead in Finian's Rainbow, director Francis Ford Coppola's exuberant movie of the 1947 Broadway hit.

Astaire plays an Irish rogue who plants a stolen crock of leprechaun gold in the soil near Fort Knox to reap what he thinks will be a rich harvest. In tow are his spirited daughter (Petula Clark), a lovestruck leprechaun (Tommy Steele) and a bigoted Southern senator (Keenan Wynn) transformed by misbegotten magic.

Product Description:

It’s hard to believe THE GODFATHER filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola was also responsible for this charming, whimsical musical. Fred Astaire stars in his last full-length musical role as Finian McLonergan. In Ireland, Finian manages to steal a pot of gold from unlucky leprechaun Og (Tommy Steele). Finian and daughter Sharon (Petula Clark) journey to Rainbow Valley in America and join the townspeople there in defending themselves against the racist Senator Billboard Rawkins (Keenan Wynn). The buried gold becomes the lucky crock that helps Og, Finian, and the townspeople fulfill their dreams.

Plot Synopsis:

Twenty years after its opening on Broadway, the musical FINIAN’S RAINBOW made its debut on film thanks to Francis Ford Coppola. The movie stars Fred Astaire as Irishman Finian McLonergan, who steals a pot of gold from the leprechaun Og (Tommy Steele) and, with his daughter Sharon (Petula Clark), brings it to Rainbow Valley in the fictional southern state of Missitucky. Sharecropper Woody Mahoney (Don Francks) and the rest of the community of Rainbow Valley are fighting to keep their land and tobacco crop away from the creedy, racist hands of Senator Billboard Rawkins (Keenan Wynn) and his assistant, Buzz Collins (Ronald Colby). Og’s magical pot of gold causes more trouble than good when Sharon’s wish that the senator would know what it’s like to be black comes true. The rest of the pot’s wishes are quickly used up trying to undo the trouble. The hit song "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?" is one of the highlights from the musical score. This was Fred Astaire’s last full-length musical, and he is a delight to watch.

Plot Keywords:

Comedy | Love Story | Musical | Recommended | Theatrical Release

Exerpts:

"Ever since I was two years high you've been seeing leprechauns in the cabbage patch and rainbows over your whiskey jug." -- Sharon McLonergan (Petula Clark) "I don't know where all you immigrants get these foreign ideas." -- Senator Billboard Rawkins (Keenan Wynn) "Fairyland was never like this!" -- Og the Leprechaun (Tommy Steele)

Production Notes:

• The film premiered on October 9, 1968. The Broadway musical FINIAN'S RAINBOW premiered 20 years before the movie was made.

Cast and Crew: