The Happy Time

10/30/19521h 34m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ "Eet ees magnifique". And it's all about the birds and the bees...and a lot of delightful people. ~

Overview:

A violinist and his brother guide one's son through his crush on the family maid in 1920s Ottawa.

Director:

Richard Fleischer

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Key words:

violinist
1920s
ottawa, canada

Cast

Charles Boyer

~ as ~

Jacques Bonnard

Louis Jourdan

~ as ~

Uncle Desmond Bonnard

Marsha Hunt

~ as ~

Susan Bonnard

Bobby Driscoll

~ as ~

Robert 'Bibi' Bonnard

Linda Christian

~ as ~

Mignonette Chappuis

Kurt Kasznar

~ as ~

Uncle Louis Bonnard

Marcel Dalio

~ as ~

Grandpere Bonnard

Jeanette Nolan

~ as ~

Felice Bonnard

Jack Raine

~ as ~

Mr. Frye - School Principal

Richard Erdman

~ as ~

Alfred Grattin

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

CinemaSerf
Written 1 year(s) ago
7
Aside from "Treasure Island" (1950) this might be my favourite film featuring the charming Bobby Driscoll. He's the teenage "Robert/Bibi" who is completely oblivious to the affections of his next door neighbour because he only has eyes for the new maid "Mignonette" (Linda Christian). His obsessiveness starts to affect his schoolwork, and when the lovelorn "Peggy" (Marlene Cameron) doctors a rather risqué copy of "Paris Match" and gets him into hot water, things get so serious as to require the intervention of his dad (Charles Boyer) and two uncles (Louis Jourdan and Kurt Kasznar). They question him about the naughty photos and respect his denial whilst also clocking really quite quickly just what is troubling their young charge. Boyer is also on good form here, and I thought Richard Fleischer's amiable direction allowed the deftly adapted script to tell us a story of pubescent love mixed with familial concern and affection and peppered with some lovely, quite witty, observational humour. Driscoll was seventeen or so when he made this, so he probably had some genuine hormones to add to this genuinely quite enjoyable comedic drama. Don't be put off by the rather ropey title track, it's really quite good fun, this.