The Happy Time
Encyclopedia
1952 in film
The year 1952 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 10 - Cecil B. DeMille's circus epic, The Greatest Show on Earth, premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City....
movie directed by the award-winning director Richard Fleischer
Richard Fleischer
-Early life:Fleischer was born in Brooklyn, the son of Essie and animator/producer Max Fleischer. He started in motion pictures as director of animated shorts produced by his father including entries in the Betty Boop, Popeye and Superman series.His live-action film career began in 1942 at the RKO...
, based on the 1945 novel of the same name by Robert Fontaine, which Samuel A. Taylor
Samuel A. Taylor
Samuel A. Taylor was an American playwright and screenwriter.Born Samuel Albert Tanenbaum, in a Jewish family, in Chicago, Illinois, Taylor made his Broadway debut as author of the play The Happy Time in 1950. He wrote the play Sabrina Fair in 1953 and co-wrote its film adaptation the following year...
turned it into a hit play. A boy, played by Bobby Driscoll
Bobby Driscoll
Robert Cletus "Bobby" Driscoll was an American child actor known for a large body of cinema and TV performances from 1943 to 1960. He starred in some of The Walt Disney Company's most popular live-action pictures of that period, such as Song of the South , So Dear to My Heart , and Treasure Island...
, comes of age in a close-knit French-Canadian family. The film stars Charles Boyer
Charles Boyer
Charles Boyer was a French actor who appeared in more than 80 films between 1920 and 1976. After receiving an education in drama, Boyer started on the stage, but he found success in movies during the 1930s. His memorable performances were among the era's most highly praised romantic dramas,...
and Louis Jourdan as his father and uncle respectively. The play was also adapted into a musical in 1968 by composer John Kander
John Kander
John Harold Kander is the American composer of a number of musicals as part of the songwriting team of Kander and Ebb.-Life and career:Kander was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the son of Bernice and Harold S. Kander...
, lyricist Fred Ebb
Fred Ebb
Fred Ebb was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander. The Kander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers as Liza Minnelli and Chita Rivera....
, and librettist N. Richard Nash
N. Richard Nash
N. Richard Nash was a writer and dramatist best known for writing Broadway shows, including The Rainmaker.-Early life:...
, and starred Robert Goulet
Robert Goulet
Robert Gerard Goulet was a Canadian American entertainer as a singer and actor. He played the role of Lancelot in the Broadway musical Camelot of 1960.-Early life:...
.
Plot
Young Robert "Bibi" Bonnard (Bobby Driscoll) grows up in Ottawa, Canada with his parents, Jacques (Charles Boyer) and Susan (Marsha Hunt), and his roving rogue of a grandfather, Grandpere (Marcel DalioMarcel Dalio
Marcel Dalio was a French character actor. He had major roles in two of Jean Renoir's most famous films, Grand Illusion and The Rules of the Game.- Biography :...
). Across the street is his uncle, amiable drunkard Louis (Kurt Kasznar
Kurt Kasznar
-Early life:Kasznar was born in Vienna, Austria as Kurt Servischer. His father left when Kurt was very young, his mother married a Hungarian restaurateur named Ferdinand Kasznar, and Kurt assumed his surname. He emigrated to the United States in the mid-1930s for The Eternal Road in which he...
), who ignores the complaints of his hard-working dressmaker wife Felice (Jeanette Nolan
Jeanette Nolan
Jeanette Nolan was an American radio, film and television actress. Nolan was nominated for four Emmy Awards.-Early life:...
) and her worries about the future of their daughter Yvonne. Louis agitates about meeting his prospective son-in-law, Alfred Grattin, a teetotaler bank clerk who wishes to marry Yvonne. Next-door neighbour and schoolmate Peggy O'Hare (Marlene Cameron) has a crush on Bibi, but he is as yet too young to understand.
On his birthday, Bibi is taken to see the vaudeville acts at the theatre where his violinist/ conductor father works. During the magic act, the Great Gaspari tries to steal a kiss from Mignonette Chappuis (Linda Christian
Linda Christian
Linda Christian was a Mexican movie actress, who appeared in Mexican and Hollywood films. Her career reached its peak in the 1940s and 1950s. She played Mara in the last Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan film Tarzan and The Mermaids...
), the assistant he is in the process of sawing in half
Sawing a woman in half
Sawing a woman in half is a generic name for a number of different stage magic tricks in which a person is apparently sawn or divided into two or more pieces.-History:...
. She storms offstage and quits. Jacques offers her a job as a maid, which she gladly accepts. Bibi is intrigued, but a little confused about his feelings for the new addition to the household. Equally fascinated, but not at all perplexed as to why is another unexpected arrival, Uncle Desmonde (Louis Jourdan), a traveling salesman and notorious ladies' man. He has been summoned back to take the place of the recently deceased sales manager, though he informs his employer it is only until a replacement can be found.
Uncle Desmonde starts courting Mignonette, but though she is attracted to him, she tells him she is fed up with living on the road and wants to settle down. He shows her the picture of a lovely house he expects to inherit, weakening her resistance.
Meanwhile, Peggy becomes jealous of Bibi's attentions to Mignonette. Bibi has already gotten into trouble for bringing "La Vie Parisienne" to school. When a dirty picture is found by the principal, Mr. Frye, Peggy falsely claims she saw Bibi draw it. Bibi denies it, angering Frye. He straps Bibi on the hand three times, and tells him it will be repeated every day until he confesses. When the adult Bonnards find out, they see Frye and straighten him out, though with great difficulty.
When they return in triumph, Desmonde discovers that Mignonette has quit after finding out that he lied about the house. He then realizes that she is not like all of his other women. He finds her and they become engaged.
Bibi causes a household uproar when he hides Mignonette's nightgowns in his trunk, thinking this will cause her to be walk naked in the hall. The nightgowns are discovered and he explains his motive.
The adults explain Peggy's behavior to Bibi. To Peggy's delight, Bibi forgives her and makes her his girl. Then his voice breaks.
Cast
- Charles BoyerCharles BoyerCharles Boyer was a French actor who appeared in more than 80 films between 1920 and 1976. After receiving an education in drama, Boyer started on the stage, but he found success in movies during the 1930s. His memorable performances were among the era's most highly praised romantic dramas,...
as Jacques Bonnard - Louis Jourdan as Uncle Desmonde Bonnard
- Marsha HuntMarsha Hunt (actress)Marsha Hunt is an American film, theater, and television actress who was blacklisted by Hollywood movie studio executives in the 1950s.-Career:...
as Susan Bonnard - Bobby DriscollBobby DriscollRobert Cletus "Bobby" Driscoll was an American child actor known for a large body of cinema and TV performances from 1943 to 1960. He starred in some of The Walt Disney Company's most popular live-action pictures of that period, such as Song of the South , So Dear to My Heart , and Treasure Island...
as Robert "Bibi" Bonnard - Linda ChristianLinda ChristianLinda Christian was a Mexican movie actress, who appeared in Mexican and Hollywood films. Her career reached its peak in the 1940s and 1950s. She played Mara in the last Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan film Tarzan and The Mermaids...
as Mignonette Chappuis - Kurt KasznarKurt Kasznar-Early life:Kasznar was born in Vienna, Austria as Kurt Servischer. His father left when Kurt was very young, his mother married a Hungarian restaurateur named Ferdinand Kasznar, and Kurt assumed his surname. He emigrated to the United States in the mid-1930s for The Eternal Road in which he...
as Uncle Louis Bonnard - Marcel DalioMarcel DalioMarcel Dalio was a French character actor. He had major roles in two of Jean Renoir's most famous films, Grand Illusion and The Rules of the Game.- Biography :...
as Grandpere Bonnard - Jeanette NolanJeanette NolanJeanette Nolan was an American radio, film and television actress. Nolan was nominated for four Emmy Awards.-Early life:...
as Felice Bonnard - Jack Raine as Mr. Frye
- Richard ErdmanRichard ErdmanRichard Erdman is an American film and television actor and director.-Notable roles:...
as Alfred Grattin, - Marlene Cameron as Peggy O'Hare
- Gene Collins as Jimmy Bishop
- Ann Faber as Yvonne Bonnard
- Kathryn Sheldon as Miss Tate
- Edward ClarkEdward Clark (actor)Edward Clark was a Russian-born American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 133 films between 1913 and 1955. He was born in Russia and died in Hollywood, California from a heart attack.-Selected filmography:...
as Dr. Marchaud - Maurice Marsac as The Great Gaspari
- Will WrightWill Wright (actor)William Henry "Will" Wright was an American character actor. He was frequently cast in curmudgeonly roles. He was sometimes credited as Will J. Wright....
as Family Doctor - Eugene Borden as Monsieur Lafayette