The Happy Road

Last updated
The Happy Road
"The Happy Road" (1957).jpg
British quad poster
Directed by Gene Kelly
Written by Arthur Julian
Harry Kurnitz
Joe Morhaim
Produced byGene Kelly
Starring Gene Kelly
Barbara Laage
Brigitte Fossey
Bobby Clark
Michael Redgrave
CinematographyRobert Juillard
Edited by Borys Lewin
Music by Georges Van Parys
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • June 20, 1957 (1957-06-20)
Running time
99 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget$575,000 [1]
Box office$950,000 [1]

The Happy Road is a 1957 French-American comedy film starring Gene Kelly, Barbara Laage, Michael Redgrave and Bobby Clark. [2] The plot involves two runaway students and the efforts of their respective parents to locate them.

Contents

Plot

Two students (a boy and girl) escape from their Swiss private school and make for Paris. Their respective parents, an American father and a French mother, together embark on a wide journey around the countryside, getting local police involved in finding them, with many whimsical situations, including riding on a police motorcycle, and encountering military maneuvers and a bicycle race.

Cast

Critical reception

Allmovie wrote, "The Happy Road tends to bludgeon its audience with whimsy at time," but noted, "Gene Kelly, as always, is charming, and less affected than usual" ; [3] while The New York Times praised the film as "a lively and charming little tale" concluding, "Mr. Kelly rates a good hand for this picture. So does Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer." [4]

Box office

According to MGM records, the film earned $325,000 in the US and Canada and $625,000 elsewhere, resulting in a loss of $117,000. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dana Andrews</span> American actor (1909–1992)

Carver Dana Andrews was an American film actor who became a major star in what is now known as film noir. A leading man during the 1940s, he continued acting in less prestigious roles and character parts into the 1980s. He is best known for his portrayal of obsessed police detective Mark McPherson in the noir Laura (1944) and his critically acclaimed performance as World War II veteran Fred Derry in The Best Years of Our Lives (1946).

The year 1948 in film involved some significant events.

<i>Ball of Fire</i> 1941 film by Howard Hawks

Ball of Fire is a 1941 American screwball comedy film directed by Howard Hawks and starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. The Samuel Goldwyn Productions film concerns a group of professors laboring to write an encyclopedia and their encounter with a nightclub performer who provides her own unique knowledge. The supporting cast includes Oscar Homolka, S. Z. Sakall, Henry Travers, Richard Haydn, Dana Andrews, and Dan Duryea.

<i>Shrek 2</i> 2004 DreamWorks Animation film

Shrek 2 is a 2004 American animated comedy film loosely based on the 1990 children's picture book Shrek! by William Steig. Directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, and Conrad Vernon from a screenplay by Adamson, Joe Stillman, J. David Stem, and David N. Weiss, it is the sequel to Shrek (2001) and the second installment in the Shrek film series. The film stars Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz, who reprise their respective voice roles of Shrek, Donkey, and Princess Fiona. They are joined by new characters voiced by Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews, John Cleese, Rupert Everett, and Jennifer Saunders. Shrek 2 takes place following the events of the first film, with Shrek and Donkey meeting Fiona's parents as her zealous Fairy Godmother, who wants Fiona to marry her son Prince Charming, plots to destroy Shrek and Fiona's marriage. Shrek and Donkey team up with a sword-wielding cat named Puss in Boots to foil her plans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bobby Driscoll</span> American actor (1937–1968)

Robert "Bobby" Cletus Driscoll was an American actor who performed on film and television from 1943 to 1960. He starred in some of the Walt Disney Studios' best-known live-action pictures of that period: Song of the South (1946), So Dear to My Heart (1949), and Treasure Island (1950), as well as RKO's The Window (1949). He served as the animation model and provided the voice for the title role in Peter Pan (1953). He received an Academy Juvenile Award for outstanding performances in So Dear to My Heart and The Window.

<i>Goodbye, Mr. Chips</i> (1969 film) 1969 film by Herbert Ross

Goodbye, Mr. Chips is a 1969 British musical film directed by Herbert Ross. The screenplay by Terence Rattigan is based on James Hilton's 1934 novella Goodbye, Mr. Chips, which was first adapted for the screen in 1939.

<i>Lean on Me</i> (film) 1989 film by John G. Avildsen

Lean on Me is a 1989 American biographical drama film directed by John G. Avildsen, written by Michael Schiffer, and starring Morgan Freeman. It is based on the story of Joe Louis Clark, a real life inner city high school principal in Paterson, New Jersey, whose school is in danger of being placed into receivership of the New Jersey state government unless students improve their test scores on the New Jersey Minimum Basic Skills Test. This film's title refers to the 1972 Bill Withers song of the same name, which is used in the film. Parts of the film, including the elementary school scenes, were filmed in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey.

<i>Little Nellie Kelly</i> 1940 film by Norman Taurog

Little Nellie Kelly is a 1940 American musical-comedy film based on the stage musical of the same title by George M. Cohan which was a hit on Broadway in 1922 and 1923. The film was written by Jack McGowan and directed by Norman Taurog. Its cast included Judy Garland, George Murphy, Charles Winninger and Douglas McPhail.

The Sarah Siddons Award, established in 1952, is presented annually to an actor or actress for an outstanding performance in a Chicago theatrical production. The winner receives a statuette of the Welsh stage actress Sarah Siddons.

<i>Pilot No. 5</i> 1943 film by George Sidney

Pilot #5 is a 1943 black-and-white World War II propaganda film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, produced by B. P. Fineman, directed by George Sidney, that stars Franchot Tone, Marsha Hunt, Gene Kelly, and Van Johnson. Pilot #5 marked Gene Kelly's dramatic film debut.

<i>The Happy Time</i> 1952 film by Richard Fleischer

The Happy Time is a 1952 American comedy-drama film directed by the award-winning director Richard Fleischer, based on the 1945 novel of the same name by Robert Fontaine, which Samuel A. Taylor turned into a hit play. A boy, played by Bobby Driscoll, comes of age in a close-knit French-Canadian family. The film stars Charles Boyer and Louis Jourdan as his father and uncle respectively. The play was also adapted into a musical in 1967 by composer John Kander, lyricist Fred Ebb, and librettist N. Richard Nash, and starred Robert Goulet.

<i>Shakedown</i> (1988 film) 1988 film by James Glickenhaus

Shakedown is a 1988 American action crime drama film written and directed by James Glickenhaus, starring Peter Weller and Sam Elliott. The plot concerns an idealistic lawyer who teams with a veteran cop to find out the truth in a possible police corruption scandal.

<i>Jeannie</i> (film) 1941 British film

Jeannie is a 1941 British romantic comedy film directed by Harold French and starring Barbara Mullen, Michael Redgrave, and Albert Lieven.

<i>Her Twelve Men</i> 1954 film by Robert Zigler Leonard

Her Twelve Men is a 1954 American comedy drama film starring Oscar-winning Greer Garson and Robert Ryan, directed by Robert Z. Leonard, and written by William Roberts and Laura Z. Hobson. This MGM production was based on the best-selling pseudo-autobiographical book written by Louise Maxwell Baker, Snips and Snails. Baker herself taught at an all-boys boarding school, as the only female teacher in the school. Subsequently, Louise recounts many of the funny stories from her time as a teacher in Snips and Snails, which then translates into the film, Her Twelve Men.

Summertree is a 1971 American drama film directed by Anthony Newley, about a young man who drops out of university, falls in love with an older married woman, and contemplates dodging the draft to avoid serving in the Vietnam War. The screenplay was written by Edward Hume and Stephen Yafa, based on the 1967 play of the same name by Ron Cowen.

<i>The Astonished Heart</i> (film) 1950 film by Terence Fisher

The Astonished Heart is a 1950 British drama film directed by Terence Fisher and Antony Darnborough. Starring Celia Johnson, Noël Coward, and Margaret Leighton, the film is based on Coward's play The Astonished Heart from his cycle of ten plays, Tonight at 8.30.

Robert Dwain Clark was an American child actor who worked under the name Bobby Clark.

<i>The Night Holds Terror</i> 1955 American suspense motion picture

The Night Holds Terror is a 1955 American crime film noir based on a true incident, written and directed by Andrew L. Stone and starring Vince Edwards, John Cassavetes and Jack Kelly.

<i>Sons of Anarchy</i> (season 1) First season of TV series Sons of Anarchy

The first season of the American television drama series Sons of Anarchy premiered on September 3, 2008, and concluded on November 26, 2008, after 13 episodes aired on cable network FX. It is also the only season to air on Wednesdays before the show moved to Tuesdays for the remainder of its run. Created by Kurt Sutter, it is about the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club operating in Charming, a fictional town in California's Central Valley. The show centers on protagonist Jackson "Jax" Teller, the vice president of the motorcycle club, who begins questioning the club and himself.

Barbara Laage was a French film actress who flourished in the 1950s.

References

  1. 1 2 3 The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
  2. "The Happy Road". BFI. Archived from the original on 2012-07-14.
  3. "The Happy Road (1957) - Trailers, Reviews, Synopsis, Showtimes and Cast - AllMovie". AllMovie.
  4. "Movie Review - The Happy Road - The Screen: 'Happy Road' Arrives; Gene Kelly Film Opens at Plaza Theatre The Cast - NYTimes.com". The New York Times .