Penny Serenade (dir. George Stevens, 1941)
Saturday 29 November 2025, doors 6pm GMT, event starts 6.30pm
Running Time: 2hrs Rating: U, suitable for children
A woman on the brink of divorce revisits the soundtrack of her life in this heartfelt melodrama about love, loss, and the fragility of happiness.
Cary Grant and Irene Dunne in Penny Serenade
Julie Gardiner Adams (Irene Dunne) is on the cusp of leaving her husband, Roger Adams (Cary Grant). As she listens to a cherished record of “Penny Serenade,” the film dissolves into the poignant memories of their life together: an impulsive, whirlwind marriage and the devastating tragedies that tested their dreams of a family.
Told through the haunting melodies of their record collection, Penny Serenade is a quintessential Hollywood tear-soaked “weepie” that uses music as emotional architecture to trace the highs and lows of a marriage fought for and nearly lost.
“What more would you want from a movie, but that it make you feel? I’m not a crier by nature, but if I cry I want it to be worth it and this one’s worth it.” (Aurora Bugallo)
We’ve been wanting to screen Penny Serenade at the festival for quite some time, since we screened this as a watch-along during lockdown, we’ve been desperate to see it on the big screen with an audience! Not only does it feature an Oscar-nominated performance from Bristol’s own Cary Grant (one of only two Best Actor nominations), but it also features a cameo appearance from Nipper, another Bristol-boy whose global reach might even exceed our Archie’s!
Irene Dunne and Nipper in Penny Serenade
Screening as part of Too Much: Melodrama on Film – a UK-wide season supported by BFI National Lottery funding, celebrating the vivid visual language, heightened dramatics and emotional pathos at the heart of film melodrama.
Tickets
Please note we’re operating a Sliding Scale – “Pay What You Can Afford” Ticket, as we want to offer as many people as possible the opportunity to see this wonderful film on the largest screen in Bristol! Free – Can’t Afford to Pay
- refugees, asylum seekers and those who can’t afford to meet their basic needs* and have no expendable income**
£5 – Young People / Concession***
- under 30s, students, aged 63+, unemployed, NHS, Emergency Services and Military
£8.50 – Adult / Recommended Full price***
- People with expendable income** who are comfortably able to meet all of their basic* needs
£15 – Pay it forward*** *BASIC NEEDS include food, housing, clothing and transportation. **EXPENDABLE INCOME might mean you are able to buy coffee or tea at a shop, go to the cinema or a concert, buy new clothes, books and similar items each month, etc. ***Plus 10% Booking Fee.
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