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This Happy Breed [1944]
![This Happy Breed [1944]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51DmAsDX1VL._SL160_.jpg)
RRP: £12.99
Classic British Drama
Review date: 2008-09-13 Rating: 10 out of 10
Don't let the b/w sleeve fool you, this film is in colour and the quality has held up fairly well. Where did they find all that colour film in 1944? This must have been regarded as an important national project.
It tells the story of a typical British family between the two world wars. It is almost trying to prepare people for the coming peace, like a reminder that it was not that far away.
Important historical events are weaved into the plot. The victory parades after world war 1, the general strike of 1926, and growing threat of war in the late 30s, are shown with music and fashions and advances in technology (radio, electric light in ordinary homes, talkies etc) contemporary to their time.
Blink and you could miss the one fleeting reference to the abdication of Edward VIII, when mother removes a 1936 calander of him. The event was too fresh to be dealt with fully during the war years.
Celia Johnson takes a good part as the mother. The character is a class or two below her parts in 'Brief Encounter' and 'In Which We Serve', but she seems just as comfortable and convincing here.
Robert Newton as the father displays typical British values of moderation and tolerance. While lecturing his son the night before his marriage, he even countenances the odd discrete affair, should the marriage become stale. What did our grandparents get up to? Perhaps they were not that different to us!
A well watchable movie and an interesting view of social history.
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- Hobson's Choice [1953]
- The Passionate Friends [1948]
- Brief Encounter [1945]
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- Madeleine [1949]
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Kay Walsh
Celia Johnson
Robert Newton
Stanley Holloway
John Mills
Creators:
Robert Newton (Primary Contributor)
Celia Johnson (Primary Contributor)
Director(s):
Recording label: ITV DVD
Manufacturer: ITV DVD
EAN: 5037115302434
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Colour, PAL,
Release date: 2008-09-15
Audience rating: Universal, suitable for all
Region code: 2
Running time: 106 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1944