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The Happy Time (1952)

1952 • 1h 34m • Comedy, Romance • NR
On October 3, 2026
#71011
71011th by Pulse movie online
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CinemaSerf on The Happy Time

7/10 · Dec 8, 2024

This film, apart from "Treasure Island" (1950), stands out as one of my favorites starring the appealing Bobby Driscoll. He portrays the adolescent “Robert/Bibi,” who is entirely unaware of his neighbor’s feelings because he's captivated by the new housemaid, "Mignonette" (Linda Christian). His infatuation begins to impact his studies, and when the lovesick "Peggy" (Marlene Cameron) manipulates a provocative version of “Paris Match” magazine, leading to complications, the situation escalates enough to necessitate involvement from his father (Charles Boyer) and two uncles (Louis Jourdan and Kurt Kasznar). They question him about the scandalous pictures while also quickly realizing the source of his distress. Boyer delivers a strong performance as well, and I felt Richard Fleischer’s pleasant direction enabled the skillfully adapted screenplay to present a story combining early adolescence, family worry, and warmth, all with some delightful, genuinely funny observations. Driscoll was around seventeen when this movie was made, so he likely brought some authentic hormonal energy to what is truly an entertaining comedic drama. Ignore the somewhat awkward opening song; it's actually pretty good fun.

Source on TMDB