Let's Be Happy
| Let's Be Happy | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Original three sheet poster | |
| Directed by | Henry Levin |
| Written by | Dorothy Cooper |
| Screenplay by | Diana Morgan (screenwriter) |
| Based on | Jeannie (1940 play) by Aimée Stuart |
| Produced by | Marcel Hellman |
| Starring | Vera-Ellen Tony Martin Robert Flemyng |
| Cinematography | Erwin Hillier |
| Edited by | Edward B. Jarvis |
| Music by | Nicholas Brodszky Angela Morley |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Associated British-Pathé[2] [3] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 107 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Let's Be Happy is a Technicolor 1957 British musical film starring Tony Martin, Vera-Ellen and Robert Flemyng and directed by Henry Levin.[1] It was written by Dorothy Cooper and Diana Morgan in CinemaScope. This film was an updated remake of Jeannie (1941), starring Barbara Mullen, which itself was based on the stage play Jeannie by Aimée Stuart.[4]
The film was Vera-Ellen's final film; she later withdrew from public life after the death of her daughter, Victoria Ellen Rothschild.[5] The film is also Tony Martin's final appearance in a movie musical, although he later made a cameo appearance in Dear Mr. Wonderful, a 1982 film.[6]
Let's Be Happy premiered in London on 9 May 1957.[4]
Plot
[edit]Jeannie McLean is 28 and lives in rural Vermont. Inheriting a few thousand dollars from her Scottish-born grandfather she was looking after in his old age, she decides to travel to Scotland to see her ancestral country.
On the journey by air and train, Jeannie finds herself continuously near Stanley Smith, a brash washing-machine salesman from Idaho. Having been closely monitored and controlled by her grandfather, she's hesitant to accept his help. However, Jeannie ends up asking for Stanley's aid a few times. His extroverted ways help her through various difficulties such as experiencing turbulence without becoming too nervous, getting through customs and getting seated in the dining car.
Jeannie finally reaches Edinburgh (during the Festival). Losing her room she'd expected to have in a boarding house, she seeks Stanley in his hotel. As he's sorting out her room, the impoverished landowner Lord James MacNairn, who has overheard them talking and believes that she is wealthy, introduces himself.
When Jeannie catches out Stanley in a lie, taking out a red-headed model to dinner instead of her as agreed, she breaks off their friendship and accepts James' attentions. After they sightsee in Edinburgh, Jeannie gets herself spruced up in a beauty salon, then splurges on a designer gown.
Stanley still follows her around, with the pretty French redhead in tow, including taking seats right behind James and Jeannie at the ballet, and inviting them to join him and the model in a restaurant. However, still sore at him, she disregards his invitation.
James takes Jeannie to see Loch Lomond, then to a family wedding of her distant relative and finally to his family home - a huge castle. However, he is restricted to a very small wing of the castle with his housekeeper Miss Cathie, and the rest of the building is open to the public.
James asks Jeannie to marry him, but before she can answer him Stanley approaches them. She tells him she's engaged and he leaves upset. When James learns that she has spent all her inheritance which was only a few thousand, he confesses he originally wanted her for her money but now really does love her. However, now knowing that he is needing someone with money, she turns him down.
Jeannie returns home to Vermont, but Stanley, having made a major sales coup, tracks her down. After declaring his love, he proposes and she accepts.
Cast
[edit]- Vera-Ellen as Jeannie MacLean (singing voice was dubbed by Joan Small)
- Tony Martin as Stanley Smith
- Robert Flemyng as Lord James MacNairn
- Zena Marshall as Helene
- Helen Horton as Sadie Whitelaw
- Beckett Bould as Rev. MacDonald
- Alfred Burke as French Ticket Clerk
- Vernon Greeves as First Air France Steward
- Richard Molinas as Bearded Man
- Eugene Deckers as Diner Car Attendant
- Russell Waters as Hotel Reception Clerk
- Paul Young as Page Boy, Bobby
- Peter Sinclair as MacTavish
- Magda Miller as Mrs. MacTavish
- Brian Oulton as Hotel Valet
- Guy Middleton as Mr. Fielding
- Katherine Kath as Mrs. Fielding
- Charles Carson as Mr. Ferguson, Lawyer
- Jock McKay as Elderly Dancer
- Michael Anthony as Monsieur Fior
- Jameson Clark as MacPhail
- Eric Pohlmann as Customs Official
- Carl Duering as Customs Inspector
- Molly Weir as Flower Girl
- Ewan Roberts as Hotel Porter
- Jean Cadell as Mrs. Cathie
- Gordon Jackson as Dougal MacLean
Production
[edit]Location filming took place in Edinburgh and other locations in Scotland, Paris, and Thirlestane Castle which serves as Lord James' country house.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Let's Be Happy". BFI. Archived from the original on 22 February 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
- ^ Holmes, Su (2005). British Tv & Film Culture in the 1950s: Coming to a TVv Near You. Bristol UK & Portland, Oregon: Intellect. p. 227.
- ^ Let's Be Happy at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- ^ a b c "Let's Be Happy - Stylish Strictly showgirl pop art by Art & Hue". Art & Hue.
- ^ Lobosco, David (21 December 2012). "A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE: VERA-ELLEN: THE LATER YEARS". A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
- ^ Maslin, Janet (21 December 1983). "Lilienthal's 'Mr. Wonderful'" – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ "Let's Be Happy". REELSTREETS. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
External links
[edit]- 1957 films
- British romantic musical films
- Films shot at Associated British Studios
- 1950s English-language films
- 1957 musical comedy films
- Films directed by Henry Levin
- British films based on plays
- 1957 romantic comedy films
- British romantic comedy films
- 1950s romantic musical films
- Musical film remakes
- 1950s British films
- Films scored by Nicholas Brodszky
- English-language romantic comedy films
- English-language romantic musical films
- English-language musical comedy films