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IMDbPro

The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker

  • 19591959
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 1h 27m
IMDb RATING
6.3/10
381
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
57,086
2,401
Jill St. John, Pamela Baird, Ahna Capri, Ray Ferrell, Joan Freeman, Mimi Gibson, Donald Losby, Diane Mountford, David Nelson, Terry Rangno, Mary Jane Saunders, Ray Stricklyn, Clifton Webb, Nancy DeCarl, David Harrison, Chris Van Scoyk, Jon Van Scoyk, and Donald Harrison in The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker (1959)
Comedy
In early 1900s' Pennsylvania, Mr. Pennypacker has two company offices and two families with a combined total of 17 children. With an office in Harrisburg and an office in Philadelphia, he ha... Read allIn early 1900s' Pennsylvania, Mr. Pennypacker has two company offices and two families with a combined total of 17 children. With an office in Harrisburg and an office in Philadelphia, he has successfully kept two separate homes. However, when an emergency requires his oldest son... Read allIn early 1900s' Pennsylvania, Mr. Pennypacker has two company offices and two families with a combined total of 17 children. With an office in Harrisburg and an office in Philadelphia, he has successfully kept two separate homes. However, when an emergency requires his oldest son to find him, Mr. Pennypacker's dual life is revealed.
IMDb RATING
6.3/10
381
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
57,086
2,401
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Henry Levin
    • Writers
      • Liam O'Brien(play)
      • Walter Reisch
    • Stars
      • Clifton Webb
      • Dorothy McGuire
      • Charles Coburn
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Henry Levin
    • Writers
      • Liam O'Brien(play)
      • Walter Reisch
    • Stars
      • Clifton Webb
      • Dorothy McGuire
      • Charles Coburn
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 14User reviews
    • 3Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • Photos10

    The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker (1959)
    Dorothy McGuire and Clifton Webb in The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker (1959)
    Dorothy McGuire and Clifton Webb in The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker (1959)
    Dorothy McGuire and Clifton Webb in The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker (1959)
    Larry Gates, Dorothy McGuire, and Clifton Webb in The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker (1959)
    Jill St. John, Ron Ely, Larry Gates, Dorothy McGuire, David Nelson, Dorothy Stickney, and Clifton Webb in The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker (1959)
    Larry Gates, Dorothy McGuire, and Clifton Webb in The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker (1959)
    Jill St. John, Dorothy McGuire, Dorothy Stickney, and Clifton Webb in The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker (1959)
    Jill St. John, Pamela Baird, Ahna Capri, Ron Ely, Ray Ferrell, Joan Freeman, Mimi Gibson, Donald Losby, Dorothy McGuire, Diane Mountford, David Nelson, Terry Rangno, Mary Jane Saunders, Ray Stricklyn, Clifton Webb, Nancy DeCarl, David Harrison, Chris Van Scoyk, Jon Van Scoyk, and Donald Harrison in The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker (1959)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Clifton Webb
    Clifton Webb
    • Mr. Horace Pennypacker
    Dorothy McGuire
    Dorothy McGuire
    • Mrs. Emily 'Ma' Pennypacker
    Charles Coburn
    Charles Coburn
    • Grampa Pennypacker
    Jill St. John
    Jill St. John
    • Kate Pennypacker
    Ron Ely
    Ron Ely
    • Wilbur Fielding
    Ray Stricklyn
    Ray Stricklyn
    • Horace Pennypacker III
    David Nelson
    David Nelson
    • Henry Pennypacker
    Dorothy Stickney
    Dorothy Stickney
    • Aunt Jane Pennypacker
    Larry Gates
    Larry Gates
    • Rev. Dr. Fielding
    Richard Deacon
    Richard Deacon
    • Sheriff
    Pamela Baird
    Pamela Baird
    • Nancy Pennypacker
    • (uncredited)
    Ahna Capri
    • Babs Pennypacker
    • (uncredited)
    Nancy DeCarl
    • Ann Pennypacker
    • (uncredited)
    Harvey B. Dunn
    • The Verger
    • (uncredited)
    Ray Ferrell
    • Charlie Pennypacker
    • (uncredited)
    Joan Freeman
    Joan Freeman
    • Mary Pennypacker
    • (uncredited)
    Mimi Gibson
    Mimi Gibson
    • Elizabeth Pennypacker
    • (uncredited)
    David Harrison
    • Dick Pennypacker
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Henry Levin
    • Writers
      • Liam O'Brien(play)
      • Walter Reisch
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The film is based on a play which ran for 221 performances on Broadway in 1953-54. Burgess Meredith played Horace (Pa) and Martha Scott played Emily (Ma). Una Merkel played Aunt Jane. In the play, the story was set in Wilmington, DE rather than Harrisburg PA.
    • Connections
      Referenced in The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet: The Treasurer's Son (1959)

    User reviews14

    Review
    Top review
    3/10
    What were they thinking?!?!
    "The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker" is one of the very strangest Hollywood films I have ever seen and I certainly understand why it's one of Clifton Webb's least famous films. This is because the film is intended to be a comedy AND an endorsement of polygamy! Seriously--the film is very much pro-polygamy!! It really makes you wonder what the writer and executives were thinking when they came up with this one!! Perhaps massive head injuries, alcohol or psychedelics might be at the root of this one!!! Even today, most folks would be surprised at such a film.

    Clifton Webb plays the title character. He's a successful businessman and free thinker. And, when I say free thinker, this is an understatement! Not only is he pro-evolution in a time when this was NOT popular but it turns out he's a bigamist--something that is discovered during the course of the film. However, Webb is not the least bit apologetic and thinks he's justified to have multiple families since he takes care of their financial and emotional needs (a position that is quite acceptable with some religions). His views are not based on religion (he seems areligious) but due to his own unusual asocial views.

    At first, his family in Harrisburg is shocked. The ones who take it worst are his father as well as a daughter who is just about to marry a minister! As for the Harrisburg wife, she is MUCH more understanding than you'd expect, though she is not happy. She's happier when she learns later that the mother in Philadelphia has since died (though they were BOTH married to the same man at the same time). However, all told, there are 17 kids from both marriages!! And, in the end, they decide to make a giant family--much like Webb had in "Cheaper By the Dozen"--just a bit more...um....bigamistic (is this a word? I think it should be if it isn't).

    Overall, the plot is just insane and the film is STILL a bit offensive and very unfunny today--so it makes you wonder how this flew in 1959!! Audiences must have gone ape! And, I assume, the film must have lost a fortune. A major misfire that simply couldn't work as a comedy. Interestingly, Edmond O'Brien made a film about bigamy ("The Bigamist") and it worked exceptionally well...and was NOT done for laughs. Despite good acting and lush sets, "The Incredible Mr. Pennypacker" is annoying, unfunny and a waste of talent.

    By the way, this is NOT meant as criticism at all, but I find it odd that Webb starred in this and "Cheaper By the Dozen". These two films were about men with apparently VERY strong heterosexual libidos, though Webb himself was gay and lived most of his life with his mother. You wonder how he might have been as a father--like the men in these films or perhaps like Mr. Belvedere? Who knows. All I know is that his adult life, outside of acting, sounded rather lonely.
    helpful•17
    11
    • planktonrules
    • Nov 19, 2013

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 4, 1959 (United Kingdom)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Der ehrbare Bigamist
    • Filming locations
      • 20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Twentieth Century Fox
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 27 minutes
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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    Jill St. John, Pamela Baird, Ahna Capri, Ray Ferrell, Joan Freeman, Mimi Gibson, Donald Losby, Diane Mountford, David Nelson, Terry Rangno, Mary Jane Saunders, Ray Stricklyn, Clifton Webb, Nancy DeCarl, David Harrison, Chris Van Scoyk, Jon Van Scoyk, and Donald Harrison in The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker (1959)
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