Happiness Ahead

This is one of those films so popular in the 1930's in which a rich person, either intentionally or through coincidence, is mistaken for a person of modest means. As a result of this, the rich person ends up falling in love with a person of actual modest means.

In this case Joan Bradford (Josephine Hutchinson) is a wealthy heiress who is expected to marry a wealthy heir in a manner that resembles a corporate merger more than a romance. On the night that the engagement is to be announced she escapes her parents' mansion and begins walking along the streets of New York City. She goes into a night spot where she meets a group of young people, one of whom is window washing dispatcher Bob Lane (Dick Powell). Bob offers Joan a ride home at the evening's end, and she accepts. She doesn't want Bob to know she is wealthy, so she picks a random boarding house and tells him to drop her off.

Now the problems of the deception begin. Joan has given Bob a fake name - Joan Smith - and Bob is expecting to pick her up for a date in a few days at an address where she does not live. So Joan rents a place there and furnishes it, only showing up on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays right before her dates with Bob, and going back to her real home after he drops her off. She manages to fend off her mother's questions with the help of her sympathetic father (Jack Halliday). However, Joan soon finds she is in love with Bob, and with him talking about the two of them having a future together, she must face how to let him know who she really is without him feel betrayed.

This film is a bit of a departure for Dick Powell's musical films. He is not playing someone with musical abilities who is itching to be discovered. There are no big musical numbers in the film, just Powell singing a few catchy songs. This is a very fun film if you like the Warner Brothers musical comedies from the 1930's.

"Happiness Ahead" is a romance with some comedy and music that is set, as most such films were during the Great Depression, in New York City. This is another working stiff meets wealthy person, the latter who is anonymous. This one has a different twist that makes it a little more fun.

Dick Powell stars as the working man and Josephine Hutchinson is the millionairess in Cognito. This was her first film since one appearance as a child in a 1917 silent film. Hutchinson would go on to have a long career in films and then television to the mid-1970s. But it would be in supporting roles, not as a leading lady for which the First National and Warner Brothers tried to present her in the buildup for this film.

Some other familiar faces of supporting actors people this film - all of which gives it some familiarity and enjoyment. The musical aspect consists of one dance performance in a Chinese nightclub and Dick Powell singing a couple of numbers.

Cute little movie with Dick Powell, Frank Mchugh. Any movie Dick Powell sings in is alright with me.

Dick Powell and Josephine Hutchinson star in "Happiness Ahead," a 1934 film featuring John Halliday, Allan Jenkins, Frank McHugh, and directed by Mervyn LeRoy.

This is a typical class system comedy, common in the 1930s, in which a rich girl, Joan Bradford (Hutchinson) poses as a poor one and meets a window washer, Bob Lane (Powell). The usual complications arise.

This film is a cut above, thanks to the beautiful singing of Dick Powell, as well as his boyish charm. Powell became success as a serious actor and producer, so my generation was not familiar with his early persona. He's marvelous, and overall, he was so multi-talented, he's probably underrated today.

Frank McHugh gives a lively performance as Bob's best friend.

What I loved about this movie were some of the prices given -- a New Year's Eve Chinese dinner for four, plus floor show, was $12.00 and was considered "the damage." It took three years for Bob to raise $700; and to start his own business would be $2000. There was also a shot of a suitcase -- everyone had this particular suitcase, beige with brown and white stripes down the middle.

Very enjoyable.

"Happiness Ahead" is a title that might lure a citizen into a movie theater during the depression. Dick Powell and Josephine Hutchinson are the couple paired to provide the happiness in this story about an heiress (natch!) who falls for a working stiff.

The story is very basic. Fortunately, Powell (as Bob Lane) has a nifty singing voice, so the script can allow him to vocalize at regular intervals. The happy couple base their relationship on the misunderstanding that Hutchinson (as Joan Bradford)is also a member of the working class--a misunderstanding that she promotes, and that drives the tension of this story, though things are not that tense. Lightheartedness is the order of the day.

Frank McHugh plays Bob's sidekick, whose antics are like a tame version of Curly Howard's--typical for his work. John Halliday plays the aristocratic father of Joan with a light touch that is appealing.

You can guess what happens to the two lovebirds in the end. The film is a pleasant diversion.