In 2024 Francis Ford Coppola released the movie Megalopolis, an idiosyncratic epic which may end up serving as a capstone to one of the great careers of cinema.
Now he is seen is a legendary director, but Coppola was still in his formative years in 1967 when he was captured at work by LIFE photographer Bill Ray on the set of his third feature-length film and biggest production to that point, a musical called Finian’s Rainbow. It all happened by accident—Ray was actually on set to photograph the film’s star, Petula Clark, the British singer and actress.
This was five years before Coppola released The Godfather in 1972. At the time he was enough of an unknown that the theatrical trailer for Finian’s Rainbow didn’t even mention Coppola’s name despite its going on for nearly three minutes. Finian’s Rainbow was an adaption of a 1947 Broadway musical built around the fanciful story of a leprechaun and his pot of gold, and it starred Clark and also Fred Astaire. Today the movie, a mix of fantasy and reality, is mostly of note to cinephiles because of the man who directed it.
In an interview with Turner Classic Movies, Coppola talked about the connections he made on the set of Finian’s Rainbow. He got on well with Clark—Ray’s photos show the two of them enjoying relaxed conversation on set. Coppola says he told Clark about his ambition to make movies that were more personal to him than Finian’s Rainbow, for which he was more of a hired hand, and the pop star said she would be open to financing those ventures. Coppola also developed a lasting relationship with Fred Astaire. In the TCM interview Coppola recalled how in 1979 he and Astaire went to the movies together to see Hair after Astaire, having come away unimpressed by a first viewing, thought Coppola might help him appreciate the film better.
During the filming of Finian’s Rainbow Coppola also made a connection that is one of the most momentous in film history, but which was unfortunately not captured by Ray’s photographs. On the set of Finian’s Rainbow, Coppola was shadowed by a young production assistant named George Lucas, and it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Coppola would later produce Lucas’ 1973 breakout feature film American Graffiti, and after that the next film Lucas made was Star Wars.
So in short, you had the brains behind two of the most significant movies ever made walking around together on the set of this forgettable musical. In 2024 Coppola, while presenting Lucas with an honorary award at the Cannes Film Festival, shared a memory of their work on Finian’s Rainbow. “Pleased to have someone in my own generation, I suggested he come every day, but only on one condition: That he come up with a brilliant suggestion every day, which he consistently did,” Lucas said. “And with that began an association that has lasted a lifetime.”
It shows: You never know what’s going to turn out to be important.
Petula Clark (right) talking with director Francis Ford Coppola (center) on the set of Finian’s Rainbow, 1967.
Bill Ray/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Petula Clark (right) talking with director Francis Ford Coppola (center) on the set of Finian’s Rainbow, 1967.
Bill Ray/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Director Francis Ford Coppola spoke with actors Petula Clark and Fred Astaire during the production of the musical Finian’s Rainbow, 1967.
Bill Ray/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Director Francis Ford Coppola spoke with actors Petula Clark and Fred Astaire during the production of the musical Finian’s Rainbow, 1967.
Bill Ray/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Petula Clark walked with director Francis Ford Coppola (center) on the set of the musical Finian’s Rainbow, 1967.
Bill Ray/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Petula Clark spoke with director Francis Ford Coppola on the set of the musical Finian’s Rainbow, 1967.
Bill Ray/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Petula Clark spoke with director Francis Ford Coppola on the set of the musical Finian’s Rainbow, 1967.
Bill Ray/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Petula Clark (right) spoke with director Francis Ford Coppola (center) on the set of the musical Finian’s Rainbow, 1967.
Bill Ray/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Petula Clark (right) spoke with director Francis Ford Coppola (center) on the set of the musical Finian’s Rainbow, 1967.
Bill Ray/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Petula Clark spoke with director Francis Ford Coppola on the set of the musical Finian’s Rainbow, 1967.
Bill Ray/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Petula Clark spoke with director Francis Ford Coppola on the set of the musical Finian’s Rainbow, 1967.
Bill Ray/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
