Finian's Rainbow (1968) | |
| Director(s) | Francis Ford Coppola |
| Producer(s) | Joel Freeman (associate), Joseph Landon |
| Top Genres | Family, Fantasy, Film Adaptation, Musical |
| Top Topics | Based on Play, Gold, Prejudice, Satire, Treasure |
Featured Cast:
Finian's Rainbow Overview:
Finian's Rainbow (1968) was a Musical - Fantasy Film directed by Francis Ford Coppola and produced by Joel Freeman and Joseph Landon.
Academy Awards 1968 --- Ceremony Number 41 (source: AMPAS)
| Award | Recipient | Result |
| Best Music - Scoring | Adaptation score by Ray Heindorf | Nominated |
BlogHub Articles:
Warner Archive Blu-ray: Musical Stars Go Modern in Finian's Rainbow (1968) and S.O.B. (1981)
By KC on Apr 6, 2017 From Classic MoviesThis month, Warner Archive has released a pair of titles on Blu-ray where classic musical stars adapt themselves to modern times. Fred Astaire abandons the controlled environment of a big studio sound stage for wide open spaces in Finian's Rainbow (1968), while Julie Andrews exposes her raunchy side... Read full article
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Quotes from
Finian McLonergan:
[singing] Green is the color of the shamrocks /and the grass on Blarney hill / Oh, the darlin' green of Ireland /and the good old dollar bill.
Senator Billboard Rawkins: My family's been having nothing but trouble with immigrants ever since they come to this country!
Sharon McLonergan: Father is a mineralogist from the old country. He can make gold sprout out of the ground.
Senator Billboard Rawkins: Gold? There's no gold in Ireland.
Finian McLonergan: I meself discovered a vein our countrymen have been searching for ever since the reign of... Alfred the Thoughtless.
Senator Billboard Rawkins: Who?
Finian McLonergan: You've never heard of Alfred the Thoughtless? He was King of Erin following his father, Thomas the Temporary, who in turn was the only son of the Virgin Queen, Serena the Spotless.
read more quotes from Finian's Rainbow...
Senator Billboard Rawkins: My family's been having nothing but trouble with immigrants ever since they come to this country!
Sharon McLonergan: Father is a mineralogist from the old country. He can make gold sprout out of the ground.
Senator Billboard Rawkins: Gold? There's no gold in Ireland.
Finian McLonergan: I meself discovered a vein our countrymen have been searching for ever since the reign of... Alfred the Thoughtless.
Senator Billboard Rawkins: Who?
Finian McLonergan: You've never heard of Alfred the Thoughtless? He was King of Erin following his father, Thomas the Temporary, who in turn was the only son of the Virgin Queen, Serena the Spotless.
read more quotes from Finian's Rainbow...
Facts about
The character "Woody Mahoney" was based loosely on songwriting wanderer Woody Guthrie.
One early attempt to film the musical was as an animated feature to be directed by John Hubley. It was during development of this unfinished project that Hubley first collaborated with future wife Faith Hubley (then Faith Elliot). The soundtrack for the animated film was already completed and the entire film had been storyboarded. The voice talents included Frank Sinatra (as Woody), Barry Fitzgerald (Finian), Jim Backus (Senator Rawkins), Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong and from the original Broadway cast Ella Logan (Sharon) and David Wayne (Og). The project died when Hubley refused to "name names" when he testified before The House Un-American Activities Committee. Hubley was blacklisted and Chemical Bank, which was providing the financing, withdrew funding for the proposed film. Artwork done for the movie appears in the PBS documentary "Independent Spirits - The Faith and John Hubley Story" and the Sinatra prerecordings are available on the CD Box-set "Sinatra in Hollywood 1940-1964."
According to the commentary track on the DVD, choreographer Hermes Pan was fired part of the way through production because Francis Ford Coppola felt his choreography was too old-fashioned. Pan was replaced by a much younger choreographer, Claude Thompson, who was familiar to many of the dancers in the film.
read more facts about Finian's Rainbow...
One early attempt to film the musical was as an animated feature to be directed by John Hubley. It was during development of this unfinished project that Hubley first collaborated with future wife Faith Hubley (then Faith Elliot). The soundtrack for the animated film was already completed and the entire film had been storyboarded. The voice talents included Frank Sinatra (as Woody), Barry Fitzgerald (Finian), Jim Backus (Senator Rawkins), Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong and from the original Broadway cast Ella Logan (Sharon) and David Wayne (Og). The project died when Hubley refused to "name names" when he testified before The House Un-American Activities Committee. Hubley was blacklisted and Chemical Bank, which was providing the financing, withdrew funding for the proposed film. Artwork done for the movie appears in the PBS documentary "Independent Spirits - The Faith and John Hubley Story" and the Sinatra prerecordings are available on the CD Box-set "Sinatra in Hollywood 1940-1964."
According to the commentary track on the DVD, choreographer Hermes Pan was fired part of the way through production because Francis Ford Coppola felt his choreography was too old-fashioned. Pan was replaced by a much younger choreographer, Claude Thompson, who was familiar to many of the dancers in the film.
read more facts about Finian's Rainbow...
