The Happy Ending
| The Happy Ending | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
|
|
| Directed by | Richard Brooks |
| Produced by | Richard Brooks |
| Written by | Richard Brooks |
| Starring |
Jean Simmons John Forsythe Shirley Jones Lloyd Bridges Teresa Wright |
| Music by | Michel Legrand |
| Cinematography | Conrad L. Hall |
| Edited by | George Grenville |
|
Production
company |
Pax Enterprises
|
| Distributed by | United Artists |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
117 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Happy Ending is a 1969 drama film written and directed by Richard Brooks, which tells the story of a repressed housewife who longs for liberation from her husband and daughter. It stars Jean Simmons (who received an Oscar nomination), John Forsythe, Shirley Jones, Lloyd Bridges and Teresa Wright.
1953: Through the course of a Colorado autumn and winter, Mary Spencer (Simmons) and Fred Wilson (Forsythe) lead an idyllic existence. Mary drops out of college (with 6 months to go) to marry Fred. Their perfect wedding mirrors the happy endings of the films Mary loves.
1969: It is the Wilsons' 16th wedding anniversary. On his way to work, Fred, a successful tax consultant, tells their maid Agnes (Nanette Fabray) that he has found vodka hidden in Mary's wardrobe and asks Agnes to keep an eye on his wife. Mary sets out for the beauty parlour. At an airline office, however, Mary buys a one-way ticket to Nassau, Bahamas.
On the flight she recalls the horrors of last year's anniversary party, when Fred had drunkenly flirted with a blond divorcee, and she had taken refuge in the bottle and a rerun of Casablanca. At a stop-over, she calls home and learns this year's anniversary party has been a different sort of disaster. Her daughter Marge (Kathy Fields) is scared by Mary's call—it reminds her of the time she had found her mother unconscious after an overdose.
En route to Nassau, Mary meets Flo (Jones), an old college friend she has not seen since 1953. While Mary settled down to married life, Flo has been the mistress of a series of married men. She is on her way to Nassau to meet her latest beau, Sam (Bridges). Mary tells her she has had to get away from Fred, so Flo promises to look after her.
In the Bahamas, Mary enjoys the sun and long, empty stretches of beach. At a casino, she meets Franco (Bobby Darin), a hustler from Los Angeles who is down on his luck. Franco mistakenly assumes that Mary is wealthy. He affects an Italian accent and tells Mary he is a journalist who writes about film stars. She agrees to go to "his" boat, but Franco quickly loses interest when it transpires Mary is not wealthy, confessing his scam.
...
Wikipedia