This Happy Breed (1944)

This Happy Breed (1944)

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.

Director: David Lean
Writers: David Lean (adapted for the screen by), Ronald Neame (adapted for the screen by), Anthony Havelock-Allan (adapted for the screen by)
Stars: Robert Newton, Celia Johnson, John Mills

Trivia
The 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.

Goofs
The 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 credits
Opening credits prologue: This is the story of a London family from 1919 to 1939.

Connections
Features The Broadway Melody (1929)