This Happy Breed (1944)
Synopsis of This Happy Breed
With This Happy Breed, playwright Noel Coward hoped to glorify the British working class in the same manner that he'd celebrated the "higher orders" in Cavalcade. The film begins just after World War I. Middle-class Londoner Robert Newton hopes to improve his family's lot by moving them into a comparatively posh house in the suburbs. The house is large enough for each family member to claim a corner or room as his or her own, allowing Coward to spotlight the characters' highly individual strengths, shortcomings and emotions. Twenty years go by, filled with the sorts of triumphs and tragedies with which British audiences of the 1940s could readily identify. Finally, left alone after their children and relatives have moved on, Newton and his wife (Celia Johnson) leave the house behind for a smaller, more practical apartment. This was the second of four collaborations between author Noel Coward and director David Lean. While Coward can't completely disguise his patronizing attitude towards "regular folks," Lean is successful in conveying the essential warmth, humanity and value of the film's characters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Complete Cast of This Happy Breed
- Robert Newton - Frank Gibbons
- John Mills - Billy Mitchell
- Stanley Holloway - Bob Mitchell
- Alison Leggatt - Aunt Sylvia
- John Blythe - Reg
- Guy Verney - Sam Ledbetter
- Celia Johnson - Ethel Gibbons
- Kay Walsh - Queenie Gibbons
- Amy Veness - Mrs. Flint
- Eileen Erskine - Vi
- Merle Tottenham - Edie
- Laurence Olivier - Narrator
- Director(s):
- David Lean
- Writer(s):
- Anthony Havelock-Allan, Ronald Neame, David Lean
- Producer(s):
- Anthony Havelock-Allan, Noël Coward
- 1947 - National Board of Review - Best Actress
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