The Happy Years

Director: William A. Wellman William A. Wellman

Overview

Owen Johnson's novel The Lawrenceville School Stories (compiled from short stories originally published in The Saturday Evening Post) was the basis for The Happy Years. The film is set at an early 20th-century boy's prep school; Dean Stockwell plays an habitual troublemaker sent to this school as a means of straightening him out and making a man of him. At first bullied by the older kids, the pugnacious Stockwell stands his ground until he earns his fellow students' respect. The film adheres strictly to MGM's factory-tested Boys Town formula by having Stockwell cleaning up his act and becoming a worthwhile Lawrenceville student. Watch The Happy Years carefully and you'll spot an unbilled Robert Wagner, in his film debut.

Product Details

Release Date:	12/01/2009
UPC:	0883316225561
Original Release:	1950
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Archives
Presentation:	[Full Frame]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	1:50:00
Sales rank:	52,001

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Dean Stockwell	Dink Stover
Darryl Hickman	Tough McCarty
Scotty Beckett	Tennessee Shad
Leon Ames	Samuel H. Stover Sr.
Margalo Gillmore	Mrs. Stover
Leo G. Carroll	The Old Roman
Donn Gift	The Big Man
Peter Thompson	Sambo
Jerry Mickelsen	Cheyenne Baxter
Alan Dinehart III	Coffee-Colored Angel
David Bair	White Mountain Canary
Danny Mummert	Butsey White
Eddie LeRoy	Poler Beekstein
George Chandler	Johnny
Claudia Barrett	Miss Dolly Travers
Robert Wagner	Actor
Jacqueline de Wit	Actor
Frank Reicher	Actor

Technical Credits

Gregory La Cava

Allan Scott

Harry Ruskin

William A. Wellman	Director
Gregory La Cava	Screenwriter
Allan Scott	Screenwriter
Harry Ruskin	Screenwriter
Carey Wilson	Producer

Editorial Reviews

A warm but not stickily sentimental piece of nostalgia, The Happy Years creates a bygone era that never really was and makes it a pretty spiffy place to spend 90 minutes or so. Some modern viewers will definitely find it a bit too manufactured, and it's hard to dispute that claim; but many others will forgive it this flaw for the rosy glow it evokes in them. It's also hard to argue with the criticism that the screenplay rambles and that events don't always add up to the intended impact. Again, however, many viewers will be more than happy to overlook these shortcomings. Fortunately, Happyhas a number of definite, tangible assets, including a winning lead performance by young Dean Stockwell, a child actor whose instincts were among the best of his time and who brings a great deal of charisma to the part of the tough kid that has to be reformed. Darryl Hickman and Scotty Beckett are also definite pluses among the child actors, and Leo G. Carroll is appropriately crusty on the outside and soft on the inside. William Wellman's muscular direction also helps to keep the sentimentality in check, as well as to keep the pace moving along briskly.

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler