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Released by: Twilight Time
Released on: January 19, 2016
Directed by: Richard Brooks
Cast: Jean Simmons, John Forsythe, Shirley Jones, Lloyd Bridges, Teresa Wright, Nanette Fabray, Bobby Darin, Tina Louise, Dick Shawn
Year: 1969
Purchase From Screen Archives
The Movie:
On their sixteenth wedding anniversary, Mary (Jean Simmons) flees her husband Fred (John Forsythe) for the sunny climes of Nassau, Bahamas. When she and Fred had met in the early 1950s, Mary had expected a storybook romance like those she saw in the movies, but life didn't turn out quite as expected. As her marriage woes deepened, she first turned to pills and booze for escape, then suicide, though her daughter saved her from the attempt. Now, in Nassau, she relaxes on the beach, drinks, and gambles, but it isn't until she meets Franco (Bobby Darin) that she sees an opportunity for happiness. Unknown to her, however, Franco is a hustler from the U.S. looking to swindle a wealthy woman of her money. When he learns that Mary isn't wealthy, things sour quickly. Not having found what she was looking for, Mary returns home a changed and resolute woman.
A relationship falling apart is never a pleasant thing to watch, and that's just as true in the cinematic world as it is the real world. It's not that The Happy Ending is a bad film; and there's certainly nothing wrong with telling stories about people who are inherently unlikeable. Yet, given a running time just under two hours and a plot that feels fairly repetitive, The Happy Ending just doesn't come to life, despite a major writer and director at the helm. Richard Brooks had already scripted and shot some of the best films in cinema history, including Blackboard Jungle (1955), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), Elmer Gantry (1960), The Professionals (1966), and In Cold Blood (1967) before turning to this emotionally dour pic. But for whatever reason, neither his writing nor his direction comes to life here.
Regardless, not all is lost, thanks to terrific performances from a distinguished cast. Before he became a household name (and named one of TV Guide's Sexiest Men Alive), John Forsythe proved he had what it took for posterity, and Shirley Jones as carefree but protective Flo stands her own ground. But the film's real star is Jean Simmons. The British-born actress had begun her career in her native England in 1944 with Val Guest's Give Us the Moon before establishing herself in a series of British programmers, including Meet Sexton Blake (1945), The Inheritance (1947), and Terence Fisher's masterful So Long at the Fair (1950). But it was her performance in Michael Powell's Black Narcissus (1947) that really brought her to Hollywood's attention. Soon she was starring in such hits as Guys and Dolls (1955) and Spartacus (1960). For the remainder of her career, she bounced back and forth between Hollywood and London, also making forays into television. In 1960 she met and married director Brooks, who went on to cast her in Elmer Gantry (1960) and The Happy Ending. In 1970 she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for The Happy Ending, an accolade she richly deserved. As good as everyone else is in the film, Simmons is better. It was inevitable that she didn't win, if mostly because she was up against Maggie Smith for her work in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969; another Twilight Time release, and a beautiful one at that). Regardless, The Happy Ending presents one of Simmons's best performances, one that deserves to be seen.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The Happy Ending comes to Blu-ray in 1080p high definition from Twilight Time courtesy of an MGM-supplied transfer. With an MPEG-4 AVC encode, the film is presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Brighter scenes fare better than darker ones and are frequently sharp, with a high level of detail and mostly nice color reproduction. Flesh tones are naturalistic, despite what some reviewers are suggesting. Where the image suffers is in nighttime sequences, when crush becomes prevalent and the grain structure becomes problematic. Thankfully, more of the film than not is brightly lit, and most fans of the film will find the generally organic look fairly pleasing. It certainly helps that the original elements used for the transfer were in terrific shape, with the result that there are very few instances of dirt and debris to be seen. All in all, Twilight Time's release does well by Conrad Hall's sterling cinematography, and the film and its relatively few extras are placed on a 50GB disc more than capable of holding the information without compression issues.
Make no mistake about it, The Happy Ending is a melodrama in which dialogue is front and center. As such, Michael Legrand's score is low-key and used to emphasize the melodrama, not overpower it. Twilight Time utilizes a English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track for the primary track on the BD, and it serves its purpose without a lot of unnecessary musical bombast. Dialogue is front and center, as it should be, and the music never overpowers it. Thankfully, Twilight Time has placed Legrand's compositions for the film on a second DTS-HD Master Audio track, this one in 2.0. For those who enjoy listening to the score sans interrupted dialogue, the track is pretty dynamic. For viewers who are deaf or hearing impaired, English subtitles are provided.
Extras are sparse but include the original theatrical trailer, which runs just shy of three minutes and is presented in 1080p high definition. There's also the requisite MGM 90th anniversary trailer, also presented in hi-def. Rounding out the package is an 8-page booklet with liner notes by the always reliable and insightful Julie Kirgo, a film historian with a knack for gorgeous writing.
The Happy Ending is a limited edition of 3,000 units.
The Final Word:
The Happy Ending is far from a great film, but it does feature some terrific performances, Jean Simmons in particular, and is well worth watching for that reason. Twilight Time's BD release comes from a transfer supplied by MGM and is predominantly strong, with nice colors and fine detail. If there are any complaints, it's that some of the darker sequences feature crush and an unhealthy level of grain. Thankfully, much of the film is brightly lit and looks good. Sound is also nice, as long as viewers don't go into the film expecting a modern-day, big-budget action flick. This is an intimate melodrama about a marriage falling apart, made the way only Hollywood could make them in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It won't be everyone's cup of tea, but for those who like celluloid wrapped in interpersonal tension, The Happy Ending may be for you.
Christopher Workman is a freelance writer, film critic, and co-author (with Troy Howarth) of the Tome of Terror horror film review series. Volume 2 of that series (covering the 1930s) is currently available from Midnight Marquee Press, Inc.
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