USA, 1968
141m
35mm, 65mm, 70mm, filmed in Panavision, Technicolor, 2.35:1
stereo, English
An American fantasy film directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Production began on 17 April 1967.
Plot Summary
Finian and his daughter Sharon arrive in a small town in the Deep South with a crock of gold he’s stolen from a leprechaun. Finian wants to plant it in the ground so it’ll “grow” faster but its rightful owner, Og, is hot on his trail…
Credits
* = uncredited
Crew
Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
© MCMLXVIII [1968] by Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, Inc.
Warner Bros.-Seven Arts.
Produced by: Joseph Landon
Associate Producer: Joel Freeman
Screenplay by: E.Y. Harburg & Fred Saidy
From the Broadway Play Book by: E.Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy
Assistant Directors: Fred Gammon, Howard Kazanjian
Continuity: Betty Levin
Director of Photography: Philip Lathrop
Film Editor: Melvin Shapiro
Assistant Film Editor: Fred Talmage
Music by: Burton Lane
Lyrics by: E.Y. Harburg
Music Supervised and Conducted by: Ray Heindorf
Associate Music Supervisor: Ken Darby
Music Editor: Richard C. Harris
Sound by: M.A. Merrick, Dan Wallin
Dialogue Supervisor: Ronald Colby
Costumes Designed by: Dorothy Jeakins
Makeup Supervisor: Gordon Bau
Supervising Hair Stylist: Jean Burt Reilly
Main Title: Westheimer Company & Phill Norman
Production Design by: Hilyard M. Brown
Set Decorators: William L. Kuehl, Philip Abramson
Choreography by: Hermes Pan
Production Assistant: George Lucas *
Locations: Tuolumne County, California, USA
Cast
Fred Astaire (Finian McLonergan)
Petula Clark (Sharon McLonergan)
Don Francks (Woody Mahoney)
Keenan Wynn (Senator Billboard Rawkins)
Al Freeman Jr (Howard)
Barbara Hancock as “Susan the Silent”
Ronald Colby (Buzz Collins)
Dolph Sweet (Sheriff)
Wright King (District Attorney)
Tommy Steele as “OG”, the Leprechaun
Louis Silas (Henry)
Alternative Titles
Finianin sateenkaari – Finland
Der Goldene Regenbogen – West Germany
Regnbuedalen – Denmark
O Vale do Arco-Íris – Portugal
El valle del arco iris – Spain
La vallée du bonheur – France
Links
Extracts included in
The Kid Stays In the Picture (2002)
Production Notes
Pre-production
A version of the film had been touted for many years – as early as January 1960, Daily Variety reported that an adaptation was in the works from United Artists with Mike Gordon being reported as the potential director. It reported that the film was possibly set to start shooting that summer with a budget of $3,000,000 1Daily Variety vol.106 no.19 (4 January 1960) pp.1, 11
References
Periodicals
- Daily Variety vol.106 no.19 (4 January 1960) pp.1, 11 note (Mike Gordon May Be Helmer for UA ‘Finian’s Rainbow’)
- Kine Weekly vol.620 no.3201 (15 February 1969) p.17 – note (Trade shows)
- Radio Times 1-7 August 1987 p.48 – credits
Books
- Astaire Dancing: The Musical Films by John Mueller pp.400-407 – note
- Feature Films, 1960-1969: A Filmography of English-language and Major Foreign-language United States Releases by Harris M. Lentz III p.139
- Film Review 1969-70 by F. Maurice Speed (ed.) p.205 – credits, review
- The Irish Filmography: Fiction Films, 1896-1996 by Kevin Rockett (ed.) pp.425-426
- Kine & TV Year Book 1970 p.110 – credits
- Reference Guide to Fantastic Films by Walt Lee p.139 – credits
- Rock-Film: In 450 film, trent’anni di Cinema & Rock by Paolo Belluso and Flavio Merkel p.212 – credits, note
- Rock on Film by David Ehrenstein and Bill Reed p.101
- The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy by David Pringle (general ed.) p.67 – illustrated credits, review
- World Filmography 1968 by Peter Cowie (ed.) p.598-599
- The World of Fantasy Films by Richard Myers p.123
