Finian's Rainbow (1968 Film)
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''Finian's Rainbow'' is a 1968 American
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...
fantasy film Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually Magic (paranormal), magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The Film genre, genre is considered a form of speculative fic ...
directed by
Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola ( ; born April 7, 1939) is an American filmmaker. He is considered one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood and one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. List of awards and nominations received by Francis Ford Coppo ...
and adapted by E. Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy from the 1947 stage musical of the same name. It stars
Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz, May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, actor, singer, musician, choreographer, and presenter, whose career in stage, film, and television spanned 76 years. He is widely regarded as the "g ...
,
Petula Clark Sally "Petula" Clark (born 15 November 1932) is a British singer, actress, and songwriter. She started her professional career as a child actor, child performer and has had the longest career of any British entertainer, spanning more than 85 y ...
, and
Tommy Steele Sir Thomas Hicks (born 17 December 1936), known professionally as Tommy Steele, is an English entertainer, regarded as Britain's first teen idol and rock and roll star. After being discovered at the 2i's Coffee Bar in Soho, London, Steele recor ...
. The plot follows an Irishman and his daughter, who steal a leprechaun's magic pot of gold and emigrate to the
American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is census regions United States Census Bureau. It is between the Atlantic Ocean and the ...
, where they become involved in a dispute between rural landowners and a greedy, racist U.S. senator. ''Finian's Rainbow'' was Coppola's second film for a major studio, and third overall directorial work. It was released by Warner Bros.-Seven Arts as a roadshow presentation on October 9, 1968. It received mixed reviews, but was a commercial success. It received
Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...
nominations for Best Score ( Ray Heindorf) and Best Sound, along with five
Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...
nominations, including for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.


Plot

A scheming immigrant named Finian McLonergan arrives in America from his native
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, having absconded with a crock full of gold secreted in a carpetbag, plus his daughter Sharon in tow. His destination is Rainbow Valley in the fictional state of Missitucky, where he plans to bury his treasure in the mistaken belief that, given its proximity to
Fort Knox Fort Knox is a United States Army installation in Kentucky, south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Elizabethtown. It is adjacent to the United States Bullion Depository (also known as Fort Knox), which is used to house a larg ...
, it will multiply. Hot on Finian's heels is the leprechaun, Og, desperate to recover his stolen crock before he turns human. Among those who end up involved in the conflict are Woody Mahoney, a ne'er-do-well dreamer who woos Sharon; Woody's mute sister, Susan, who expresses herself in dance; Woody's good friend and business partner, Howard, an
African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...
determined to develop a tobacco and mint hybrid; and Senator Billboard Rawkins, who is bigoted against African-Americans. Complications arise when Rawkins, believing that there is gold in Rainbow Valley, attempts to seize the land from the people who live there, and makes some racial slurs while doing so. Sharon furiously wishes that he would turn black. Because she happens to be unknowingly standing on the spot where the magical crock of gold, which is capable of granting three wishes, is buried, Rawkins becomes a black man. Rawkins's dog, which has been trained to attack black people, chases him into the woods. The sheriff returns with the district attorney, who threatens to charge Sharon with witchcraft unless Rawkins is produced. Rawkins runs into Og in the woods, and tells him that a witch changed him from a white man to black. Seeing that the change of skin tone did nothing to alter his bigotry, Og casts a spell to make Rawkins more open-minded. The townspeople gather in the barn for the wedding of Sharon and Woody, but the sheriff, his deputies, and the district attorney interrupt the ceremony and arrest Sharon for witchcraft. Finian convinces them that Sharon can change Rawkins back to white overnight, and they lock Sharon and Woody in the barn until daybreak. To save his daughter, Finian tries to find the crock of gold that he buried, unaware that Susan has discovered it and moved it. Og meets with Susan on the bridge under which she has hidden the gold and, as he develops romantic feelings for her in absence of Sharon, wishes that she could talk. When she begins to speak, Og realizes that he must be standing above the crock. As the district attorney sets the barn on fire with Sharon and Woody locked inside, Og debates whether or not to use the gold's final wish to save Sharon by turning the senator white again, knowing that the crock would lose its magic, the gold would disappear, and he would become fully mortal. After a passionate kiss from Susan, he happily accepts his fate to become human and wishes Rawkins white again. Sharon and Woody are released from the burning barn, and it is discovered that Howard's mentholated tobacco experiments have at last been successful, ensuring financial success for all the poor people of Rainbow Valley regardless of skin color. Sharon and Woody are wed, and everyone bids a fond farewell to Finian, who leaves Rainbow Valley in search of his own rainbow.


Cast


Production


Development

Because the musical was a success on stage, an interest in a film version existed early. In 1948,
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
wanted to acquire it as a vehicle for
Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Ninnian Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nearly nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last survivi ...
; however, MGM balked at Harburg's price of $1 million for the rights and complete creative control. For a time, a German company wanted to make the film version. In 1954, the Distributors Corporation of America began producing an animated film adaptation. A
soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...
of the score was recorded by
Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...
,
Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...
and
Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...
, but the film was abandoned. In 1958, the authors of the musical teamed with
Sidney Buchman Sidney Robert Buchman (March 27, 1902 – August 23, 1975) was an American screenwriter and film producer who worked on about 40 films from the late 1920s to the early 1970s. He received four Oscar nominations and won once for Best Screenpla ...
to produce a film independently, but the project did not proceed. In 1960, the film rights were held by Marvin Rothenberg, who wanted Michael Gordon to direct and
Debbie Reynolds Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds (April 1, 1932 – December 28, 2016) was an American actress, singer and entrepreneur. Her acting career spanned almost 70 years. Reynolds performed on stage and television and in films into her 80s. She was nom ...
to star. It was announced that the film would be budgeted at $2 million, and released by
United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...
, but once again, the film was never made. At that time, Harburg stated that he was told that part of the reason it was so difficult to get a film version made of ''Finian's Rainbow'' was because
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...
was wary of making fantasy musicals. Another reason was the
McCarthyism McCarthyism is a political practice defined by the political repression and persecution of left-wing individuals and a Fear mongering, campaign spreading fear of communist and Soviet influence on American institutions and of Soviet espionage i ...
of the period. In 1965,
Harold Hecht Harold Adolphe Hecht (June 1, 1907 – May 26, 1985) was an American film producer, dance director and talent agent. He was also, though less noted for, a literary agent, a theatrical producer, a theatre director and a Broadway actor. He was ...
bought the film rights, and hired Harburg and Saidy to write a script and some new songs. Hecht said that he intended to film in nine months. "This time we really mean business", said Harburg. "We've gotten a substantial deal and participation in money and production. Up until now, ''Finian'' has been making so much money on the road that we didn't want to kill the goose laying all those golden eggs. But you become more idealistic as you grow older and you tend to stop thinking about yourself."
Dick Van Dyke Richard Wayne Van Dyke (born December 13, 1925) is an American actor, entertainer and comedian. Dick Van Dyke on screen and stage, His work spans screen and stage, and List of awards and nominations received by Dick Van Dyke, his awards includ ...
was considered to play the role of Finian, but financial problems caused the filming to be postponed, and Van Dyke dropped out to work on other projects.


Warner Bros.

In September 1966,
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
announced that it had the rights, and would make a film produced by Joseph Landon and starring
Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz, May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, actor, singer, musician, choreographer, and presenter, whose career in stage, film, and television spanned 76 years. He is widely regarded as the "g ...
, with the aim to get
Tommy Steele Sir Thomas Hicks (born 17 December 1936), known professionally as Tommy Steele, is an English entertainer, regarded as Britain's first teen idol and rock and roll star. After being discovered at the 2i's Coffee Bar in Soho, London, Steele recor ...
as the leprechaun. The budget was expected to be $4 million.
Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola ( ; born April 7, 1939) is an American filmmaker. He is considered one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood and one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. List of awards and nominations received by Francis Ford Coppo ...
was signed as director in February 1967. Steele was confirmed as the Irish leprechaun, although
Robert Morse Robert Alan Morse (May 18, 1931 – April 20, 2022) was an American actor. Known for his gap-toothed boyishness, he started his career as a star on Broadway acting in musicals and plays before expanding into film and television. He earned numero ...
had expressed interest. With the then-unreleased ''
Camelot Camelot is a legendary castle and Royal court, court associated with King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described ...
'' having proven to be more costly than anticipated, and its commercial prospects still unknown,
Jack L. Warner Jack Leonard Warner (born Jacob Warner; August 2, 1892 – September 9, 1978) was a Canadian-born American film executive, who was the president and driving force behind the Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. Warner's ca ...
was having second thoughts about undertaking another musical film, but when he saw
Petula Clark Sally "Petula" Clark (born 15 November 1932) is a British singer, actress, and songwriter. She started her professional career as a child actor, child performer and has had the longest career of any British entertainer, spanning more than 85 y ...
perform on her opening night at the Cocoanut Grove in the Ambassador Hotel in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, he knew that he had found the ideal Sharon.''Finian's Rainbow'' Original Soundtrack CD liner notes Warner decided to forge ahead and hope for the best, despite his misgivings of having nearly-novice "hippie" director, Francis Ford Coppola, at the helm. Coppola called the film "a very low-budget film that had the appearance of being very high-budget", and recalled that several of ''Finian's'' sets were, in fact, recycled and refurbished from ''Camelot''. Although Petula Clark had made many films in the 1940s and 1950s in her native England as a child star, this was her first starring role in 10 years, and her first film appearance since becoming an international pop star in the mid-1960s.
Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz, May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, actor, singer, musician, choreographer, and presenter, whose career in stage, film, and television spanned 76 years. He is widely regarded as the "g ...
's last appearance in a movie musical had been ''
Silk Stockings ''Silk Stockings'' is a musical with a book by George S. Kaufman, Leueen MacGrath, and Abe Burrows and music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The musical is loosely based on the Melchior Lengyel story ''Ninotchka'' and the 1939 film adaptation it ...
'', eleven years earlier. He had concentrated on his TV specials in the interim, but was persuaded at the age of 69 to return to the big screen. Given his status as a screen legend, and to accommodate his talents, the role of Finian was expanded for the film version and Astaire received top billing, rather than the part's original third billing. While a construction crew transformed more than nine acres of the Warner Bros. back-lot into Rainbow Valley, complete with a
narrow gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...
, schoolhouse,
general store A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, someti ...
,
post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...
, residential houses and barns, Coppola spent five weeks rehearsing the cast. Before principal photography began, a complete performance of the film was presented to an audience on a studio
sound stage A sound stage (also written soundstage) is a large, soundproof structure, building or room with large doors and high ceilings, used for the production of theatrical film-making and television productions, usually located on a secured movie or te ...
. In the
liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...
that she wrote for the 2004
Rhino Records A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...
limited, numbered-edition CD reissue of the
soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ( ...
, Clark recalls that Golden Age-Hollywood Astaire was puzzled by Coppola's contemporary methods of filmmaking, and balked at dancing in "a real field with cow dung and rabbit holes". Although he acquiesced to filming a sequence on location in
Napa Valley Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in Napa County, California. The area was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on February 27, 1981, after a 1978 petition submitted by the Napa Valley Vin ...
near Coppola's home, the bulk of the movie was shot on Warner Bros. sound-stages and the back lot, leaving the finished film with jarring contrasts between reality and make-believe. Clark was nervous about her first Hollywood movie, and particularly concerned about dancing with the legendary Astaire. Astaire later confessed that he was just as worried about singing with her. The film was partially choreographed by Astaire's long-time friend and collaborator
Hermes Pan Hermes Pan (born Hermes Joseph Panagiotopoulos, December 10, 1909 – September 19, 1990) was an American dancer and choreographer, principally remembered as Fred Astaire's choreographic collaborator on the famous 1930s musical film, movie musica ...
, though he was fired by Coppola during filming. ''Finian's Rainbow'' proved to be Astaire's last major movie musical, although he danced with
Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American dancer, actor, singer, director and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...
during the linking sections of MGM's '' That's Entertainment, Part 2'' (1976). Clark recalls that Coppola's approach was at odds with the subject matter. "Francis... wanted to make it more real. The problem with ''Finian's Rainbow'' is that it's sort of like a fairy tale... so trying to make sense of it was a very delicate thing." Coppola opted to fall somewhere in the middle, with mixed results. Updating the story line was limited to changing Woody from a labor organizer to the manager of a
sharecropper Sharecropping is a legal arrangement in which a landowner allows a tenant (sharecropper) to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land. Sharecropping is not to be conflated with tenant farming, providing the tenant a ...
s'
cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomy, autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned a ...
, making college-student Howard a research botanist, and a few minor changes to the lyrics of the
Burton Lane Burton Lane ( Levy; February 2, 1912 – January 5, 1997) was an American composer and lyricist primarily known for his theatre and film scores. His most popular and successful works include '' Finian's Rainbow'' in 1947 and '' On a Clear Day Yo ...
and E. Y. Harburg score, such as changing a reference to
Carmen Miranda Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha (9 February 1909 – 5 August 1955), known professionally as Carmen Miranda (), was a Portuguese-born Brazilian singer, dancer, and actress. Nicknamed "The Brazilian Bombshell", she was known for her signature ...
to
Zsa Zsa Gabor Zsa Zsa Gabor ( , ; born Sári Gábor ; February 6, 1917 – December 18, 2016) was a Hungarian Americans, Hungarian-American socialite and actress. Her sisters were socialites and actresses Eva Gabor and Magda Gabor. Gabor competed in the ...
. Other than that, the plot remains entrenched in an era that predates the Civil Rights Movement. The railroad scenes were filmed on the
Sierra Railroad The Sierra Railroad Corporation is a privately owned common carrier. Its Sierra Northern Railway freight division handles all freight operations for all branches owned by the Sierra Railroad. The company's Mendocino Railway group operates t ...
in
Tuolumne County Tuolumne County (), officially the County of Tuolumne, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 55,620. The county seat and only incorporated city is Sonora. Tuolumne County comprises the ...
, California. Because preview audiences found the film overly long, the musical number, "Necessity", was cut before its release, although the song remains on the soundtrack album. It can be heard as background music when Senator Rawkins shows up in Rainbow Valley attempting to buy out Finian. In August 2012, Petula Clark told the
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
show, ''The Reunion'', that she and her fellow cast members smoked marijuana during the filming of the movie. "There was a lot of Flower Power going on," she said.


Soundtrack CD

* Overture * Look to the Rainbow * This Time of the Year * How Are Things in Glocca Morra? * Look to the Rainbow (Reprise) * Old Devil Moon * Something Sort of Grandish * If This Isn't Love * (That) Great Come-and-Get-It-Day * Entr'acte * When the Idle Poor Become the Idle Rich * Rain Dance Ballet * The Begat * When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love * How Are Things in Glocca Morra? (Reprise) * Exit Music


Release

The film premiered October 9, 1968, at the newly-opened Warner Penthouse Theatre, a portion of the subdivided former Strand Theatre in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
.


Box office

In its first two months of release, the film earned $5.1 million in rentals in North America, ending its worldwide run with $11.6 million.


Critical reception

''Finian's Rainbow'' was released in major cities as a roadshow presentation, complete with intermission, at a time when the popularity of movie musicals was on the wane. The film was dismissed as inconsequential by many critics who were startled by Astaire's aged appearance and found Steele's manic performance as Og, the Leprechaun, annoying. In ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', Renata Adler described it as a "cheesy, joyless thing", and added, "There is something awfully depressing about seeing ''Finian's Rainbow''... with Fred Astaire looking ancient, far beyond his years, collapsed and red-eyed... it is not just that the musical is dated... it is that it has been done listlessly and even tastelessly."
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
'', on the other hand, thought that it was "the best of the recent roadshow musicals.... Since ''
The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...
'', musicals have been... long, expensive, weighed down with unnecessary production values and filled with pretension.... ''Finian's Rainbow'' is an exception.... it knows exactly where it's going, and is getting there as quickly and with as much fun as possible... It is the best-directed musical since ''
West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...
''. It is also enchanting, and that's a word I don't get to use much... it is so good, I suspect, because Astaire was willing to play it as the screenplay demands... he... created this warm old man... and played him wrinkles and all. Astaire is pushing 70, after all, and no effort was made to make him look younger with common tricks of lighting, makeup and photography. That would have been unnecessary: He has a natural youthfulness. I particularly want to make this point because of the cruel remarks on Astaire's appearance in ''The New York Times'' review by Renata Adler. She is mistaken." '' Time Out London'' called it an "underrated musical... the best of the latter-day musicals in the tradition of Minnelli and MGM". Highly praised by all was Petula Clark, who Ebert described as "a surprise. I knew she could sing, but I didn't expect much more. She is a fresh addition to the movies: a handsome profile, a bright personality, and a singing voice as unique in its own way as
Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...
's." John Mahoney of ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' wrote that Clark "invites no comparisons, bringing to her interpretation of Sharon her own distinctive freshness and form of delivery". In the New York ''Daily News'', Wanda Hale cited Clark's "winsome charm which comes through despite a somewhat reactive role". Joseph Morgenstern of ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...
'' wrote that Clark "looks lovely" and "sings beautifully, with an occasional startling reference to the phrasing and timbre of Ella Logan's original performance". '' Variety'' observed, "Miss Clark gives a good performance and she sings the beautiful songs like a nightingale."


Legacy

The
Coen brothers Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, together known as the Coen brothers (), are an American filmmaking duo. Their films span many genres and styles, which they frequently subvert or parody. Among their most acclaimed works are '' Blood Simple'' (198 ...
expressed that the film is among their favorite films: "I remember when we worked with
Nicolas Cage Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Nicolas Cage, various accolades, including an Academy A ...
on '' Raising Arizona'', we talked about his uncle, Francis Ford Coppola, and told him that ''Finian's Rainbow'', which hardly anyone has ever seen, was one of our favorite films. He told his uncle, who I think has considered us deranged ever since."


Awards and nominations

The song, " How Are Things in Glocca Morra?", was nominated by the
American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...
in its 2004 list AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs.


Home media

The film was released on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
March 15, 2005. Presented in
anamorphic widescreen Anamorphic widescreen (also called full-height anamorphic or FHA) is a process by which a widescreen image is horizontally compressed to fit into a storage medium (photographic film or MPEG-2 standard-definition frame, for example) with a narr ...
format, the release captured Astaire's footwork, much of which was unseen at the time of the original release because it had been cropped out during a conversion from 35mm to 70mm film. There are audio tracks in English and French, with both the dialogue and songs translated to the latter (fluent in French, Clark was the sole cast member to record her own songs for the foreign version of the film); a commentary track by Francis Ford Coppola, who in hindsight was critical of his work on the film; a featurette on the world premiere of the film; and the original theatrical trailer. The film was released on
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
March 7, 2017.''Blu-Ray.com'' review
/ref>


See also

* List of American films of 1968


References


External links

*
''Finian's Rainbow'' at AllMovie
* * *
Movie stills


{{Authority control 1968 films 1968 musical comedy films American musical comedy films Irish musical comedy films 1960s English-language films Leprechaun films 1960s musical fantasy films Films based on musicals Films directed by Francis Ford Coppola Films scored by Ray Heindorf Films with songs by Burton Lane Films with songs by Yip Harburg Warner Bros. films Films about race and ethnicity Films about racism Films about sexism Films set on farms American musical fantasy films Napa Valley 1960s American films Films about prejudice Blackface minstrel shows and films English-language musical fantasy films English-language musical comedy films