This Happy Breed (1944)
- Starring:
- Robert Newton, Celia Johnson, (more)
- Director(s):
- David Lean
- Format(s):
- DVD
View All Versions to rent and buy
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, Rovi
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
- Laurence Olivier - Narrator
- Celia Johnson - Ethel Gibbons
- Kay Walsh - Queenie Gibbons
- Amy Veness - Mrs. Flint
- Eileen Erskine - Vi
- Merle Tottenham - Edie
- Guy Verney - Sam Ledbetter
- Director(s):
- David Lean
- Writer(s):
- Ronald Neame, David Lean, Anthony Havelock-Allan
- Producer(s):
- Noël Coward, Anthony Havelock-Allan
- 1947 - National Board of Review - Best Actress
- Looking for special editions of This Happy Breed?
- See All Versions
- Subtitles:
- Check All Versions
- Closed Captioning:
- Check All Versions
