Just after World War I, the Gibbons family moves to a nice house in the suburbs. They live an ordinary life throughout the years, but everything changes when World War II breaks out.Just after World War I, the Gibbons family moves to a nice house in the suburbs. They live an ordinary life throughout the years, but everything changes when World War II breaks out.Just after World War I, the Gibbons family moves to a nice house in the suburbs. They live an ordinary life throughout the years, but everything changes when World War II breaks out.
- Awards
- 1 win
Robin Burns
- Man in Crowd
- (uncredited)
Mabel Etherington
- Lady in Crowd
- (uncredited)
Dan Lester
- Man in Crowd
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe comment early in the movie about the cat and buttering its paws comes from a technique used when a cat moves houses. According to this, if the cat has butter on its paws it will stop and lick it off. As cats are very clean creatures, the butter on its paws and the bits of dirt/dust/debris that will inevitably stick to it will annoy the cat. The cat will sit down to clean itself and, in doing so, will take in its new surroundings creating a mental map of where its new home is and helping it to make the adjustment to its new surroundings.
- GoofsThe General Strike ended on May 12, 1926, but when Reg returns home with a bandaged head after the end of the strike the cherry tree in the back garden is still in bloom, long past its flowering period.
- Quotes
Frank Gibbons: She didn't pass on, pass over, or pass out! She died!
- Crazy creditsOpening credits prologue: This is the story of a London family from 1919 to 1939.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Jonathan Ross' Must-Watch Films: Crime Films (2023)
- SoundtracksRule Britannia
(uncredited)
Lyrics by James Thomson
Music by Thomas Augustine Arne
Sung by Robert Newton (Frank) and Stanley Holloway (Bob) coming home after their reunion
Featured review
A very British class act
Old-fashioned? Arch dialogue? Stiff acting? Viewable only as an historical document? Guilty on all counts, but this film still captivates. Made during the second World War, it was probably intended as a flag-waver, a morale booster for the worn-down citizens of Britain, but in fact is much more than that. The story (Noel Coward) deals with the lives and times of an ordinary family in 'between the wars' London. There is nothing dramatic, just the everyday events and the weddings, births and funerals that visit us all. However, there are some wonderfully quiet scenes - the father-to-son talk before the son's wedding is especially notable for its old-fashioned moral uprightness, the way the camera lingers in an empty room when the family learns of a terrible road accident, and Frank's gentle chat with his neighbour over a few glasses of whisky as they prepare to go their separate ways. Director David Lean handles these with care and reserve. The way the family deals with the mini-dramas that beset them was no doubt meant to say to the war-weary people that we may be a middling, grey little society with predictable ways, but it was worth fighting for. The film always leaves me a little melancholy, missing an age that still existed in many ways when I was a youngster. No doubt to a modern cinema audience that can't manage without an explosion or car-chase every ten minutes this would be regarded as dull and boring, but I love its charm.
helpful•340
- g-hbe
- Oct 15, 2006
- How long is This Happy Breed?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Srecna porodica
- Filming locations
- Alderbrook Road, London, Greater London, England, UK(exteriors of family house near corner with Bellamy St. - still standing in 2022)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- £200,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 55 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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