Penny Serenade

In one of his rare departures from the realm of comedy, Cary Grant stars along with Irene Dunne in this sentimental tale about the marriage of Roger and Julie Adams.Told in flashbacks by Julie as she considers divorce, the film limns the couple's earlier years, when her reluctant journalist boyfriend finally proposes after being posted in Japan by the newspaper where he works. When Julie joins him after a three-month delay, she announces that she's pregnant, and is greatly concerned by Roger's rash spending habits. Shortly thereafter, their house is destroyed by an earthquake, which also ends Julie's pregancy. The couple returns to San Francisco only to find that Julie will no longer be able to bear children. Hoping to cheer his wife, Roger floats the idea of buying a small-town newspaper, but she remains inconsolable. He goes ahead with his plan to buy the paper, and the twosome rent an apartment above its offices. Meanwhile, their friend Applejack (Edgar Buchanan) begins gently coaxing the couple to adopt a child. Although the film is awash in sentimentality, it remains curiously compelling, which can be attributed to Stevens restrained direction, the skillful interweaving of comic material, and excellent work by the two leads.