The Five Pennies

All that jazz. A schmaltz-laden biopic, THE FIVE PENNIES is nevertheless a jazz lover's movie, chock full of good old Dixieland tunes. Kaye plays Loring "Red" Nichols, who migrates to New York, where his cornet playing gains him acclaim with the Wil Paradise Band. He meets singer Bobbie Meredith (Bel Geddes, her vocals dubbed by Eileen Wilson); they later marry and have a baby girl. When Red and Paradise (Crosby) disagree over the latter's conservative repertoire, the flaming Red finally gets axed. Coming back with a new group, "The Five Pennies," however, he soon becomes a jazz legend as a leading purveyor of Dixieland.

Decent enough as entertainment, THE FIVE...