This Happy Breed

Released Apr 12, 1947

1h 55m

Drama

List

100%

13 Reviews

Tomatometer

78%

500+ Ratings

Audience Score

In 1919, Frank Gibbons (Robert Newton) returns home from army duty and moves into a middle-class row house, bringing with him wife Ethel (Celia Johnson), carping mother-in-law Mrs. Flint (Amy Veness), sister-in-law Sylvia (Alison Leggatt) and three children. Years pass, with the daily routine of family infighting and reconciliation occasionally broken by a strike or a festival. By the time the children have grown into adults, another war is looming.

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David Parkinson

Empire Magazine

While not exacty up to contemporary standards of social realism this domestic saga was ground-breaking in its day and still captivates.

Rated: 4/5

May 1, 2013

Full Review

James Agee

TIME Magazine

This Happy Breed is Noel Coward's proud and loving tribute to the unbreakable British backbone.

May 1, 2013

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

Film's excellence comes mainly in the performances.

Feb 23, 2012

Full Review

Roger Moore

Movie Nation

It’s not Lean’s showiest picture or particularly impressive in any cinematic regard, at least partially owning to the limitations of Technicolor and Lean’s status as a newish director unfamiliar with color.

Rated: 2.5/4

Jul 18, 2023

Full Review

Mattie Lucas

From the Front Row

A powerful piece that hammers its message home without any kind of overt propagandizing.

Rated: 3.5/4

Aug 6, 2019

Full Review

MFB Critics

Monthly Film Bulletin

From the brilliant opening shot to the end, director Lean and photographer Ronald Neame have worked together, with originality and imagination, to produce some fine examples of camera angles and timing.

Feb 17, 2016

Full Review

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david f

This film tells the story of a humble British family from the years 1919 to 1939, situates them in the context of British national life at the time and relives their joys, heartbreaks and sorrows through the two decades with vignettes of striking and everyday events. It's a masterpiece, kind of an English "Our Town" and never fails to be of interest. The characters are richly drawn in the segments and you truly feel the passage of time going by.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This is a very good film. However, it's a bit like watching EastEnders, and it took me an hour just to workout who was who. But for its time it's a wonderful look on life between the two world wars. It's very well made, excellently scripted, and well acted.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

Full Review

Audience Member

(1944) Adequate if inauspicious debut of director David Lean, tracing the ups and downs of a British family between the first and second World Wars. Stagey in parts, given its base of a Coward play, with the stiff upper lip of the English amidst even the most dour clearly its most-endearing quality.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A wonderful, perfect film that just makes you feel so alive.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Beautifully shot film by Ronald Neame in Technicolor, but lacking a cohesive plot. There are some really fine moments at the end, but a lot of the family's chemistry was hardly fleshed out, and I didn't see a lot of interesting dynamics that could've been there. There are a lot of manufactured conflicts and outbursts that come out of nowhere. Still worth watching though, for Robert Newton and Celia Johnson's performance as the parents.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

Full Review

spencer p

A dramatic masterpiece with stark honesty and beautiful depth to spare, this is a sweeping trip through time both in a country and in family.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

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David Lean

Director

Robert Newton

Frank Gibbons

Celia Johnson

Ethel Gibbons

John Mills

Billy Mitchell

Kay Walsh

Queenie Gibbons

Stanley Holloway

Bob Mitchell

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Synopsis

In 1919, Frank Gibbons (Robert Newton) returns home from army duty and moves into a middle-class row house, bringing with him wife Ethel (Celia Johnson), carping mother-in-law Mrs. Flint (Amy Veness), sister-in-law Sylvia (Alison Leggatt) and three children. Years pass, with the daily routine of family infighting and reconciliation occasionally broken by a strike or a festival. By the time the children have grown into adults, another war is looming.

Director: David Lean
Screenwriter: Noël Coward, Anthony Havelock-Allan, David Lean, Ronald Neame
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Two Cities Films Ltd., Prestige Productions, Noel Coward-Cineguild
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 12, 1947, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 11, 2017
Runtime: 1h 55m
Sound Mix: Mono

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