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this is a minor detail but the family is not Quebecois, the are actually French-speaking Ontarians.

The father and his brothers are French and (Protestant!!)immigrants to Ottawa (Ontario) and the mother is of Scottish descent. This explains in part why the film did not garner much enthusiasm among French Canadians who generally viewed being protestant and French as being akin to treason.

The movie is based on a series of short stories by Robert Lafontaine about his childhood in Ottawa's Lower Town. The stories were very popular in the 1940's and became a play. The play has since become a minor staple of high school productions.

The word most frequently used to describe this film is "charming". It is a clever analogy of love in various stages of incarnation from 'first innocent love' to 'new romance' to 'desire to settle down' and also 'the established couple' kind of love. This is mixed up with some lessons on truth and trust. Nicely acted, cozy settings, no bumps or dry spots. Entertaining.

The biographies on the actors here on IMDb are all fascinating, especially the sad one about Bobby Driscoll. It talks of a movie contract being canceled likely because of his severe acne. It also tells of his lonely death as a result of years of hard drug abuse. One can only speculate on whether the drug abuse was related to emotional suffering caused by acne.

This film was made during some transition years for most of the cast. You may recognize academy award nominee, Kurt Kasznar, from his later TV role in the popular Science Fiction series, "Land of the Giants".

Bobby Driscoll (as Robert "Bibi" Bonnard) is a teenager "coming of age" in 1920s Ottawa. Mr. Driscoll's uncle, traveling salesman Louis Jourdan (as Desmond Bonnard), is away when the film begins; he enjoys a "playboy" lifestyle, but returns soon, for a visit. Driscoll's father, Charles Boyer (as Jacques Bonnard) appears to have grown out of an extended career of his own, as a "ladies' man"; and his father, randy Marcel Dalio (as Grandpa Bonnard), recognizes "la puberty" is beginning for Driscoll…

Everyone in the cast is outstanding; but, "The Happy Time" is, more than anything, Driscoll's film. He more than holds his own, among the distinguished cast. Watching Driscoll perform in this film makes his sudden slide from favor all the more puzzling - he may not have grown up according to the Disney studio's specifications, but few do. As evidenced here, Driscoll should have had a long working career as, if anything, a comedian; "…only one is from the burlesque, the other was obtained privately," he says, arriving at the dinner table wearing garters.

Director Richard Fleischer does Earl Felton's smartly written play justice. The film is full of nice "symbolic" touches - the canary, the girl's braces, and the medals appearing inside more than one of the characters' jackets. While beautifully done, the film's ill-mannered presentation of sex, love, and gender roles seems very queer; probably, the film's themes held significantly more charm in the 1950s. Also worth watching for Kurt Kasznar (repeating his stage role as a possibly alcoholic neighboring uncle), Marsha Hunt (whom Driscoll seems to take after, in looks), Linda Christian (recalling of Eva Gabor), Jimmy Bishop (a young Chuck Connors), and Marlene Cameron (entering her own "happy time").

******** The Happy Time (10/30/52) Richard Fleischer ~ Bobby Driscoll, Charles Boyer, Louis Jourdan, Kurt Kasznar

I saw The Happy Time when it was first released, and I have never had the chance to see it again. Nevertheless, after a half century, I still remember it as a thoroughly delightful experience. The cast - Charles Boyer, Louis Jourdan, and especially Bobby Driscoll - is as memorable as the picture. I would be overjoyed to see it again, but a bit uneasy about whether it's as good as I remember it.

This was one of the last films starring the fabulous actor Bobby Driscoll, no longer as a child but as a teenager and already with a changed voice, exactly the same voice as in 'Peter Pan'. Despite being clearly more grown up here, he is still instantly recognizable. His face and features didn't change. Plus, come to think of it, he does look like Peter Pan. Of course that in 'Peter Pan' they exaggerated some of his traces.

Even as a teen, Driscoll was a good-looking guy. He was an actor that really loved what he did. Acting was his passion. And his dedication to it matched his extraordinary talent. Here he was still happy and healthy, certainly still far from imagining what his life was about to become. There aren't actors like him today.

I read many good things about this film. Because of that and because Bobby Driscoll is in it, I decided to watch it. It's not that I was vastly disappointed, but I found this movie somewhat trivial, although with its points of interest.

Bobby Driscoll plays a coming of age role, feeling the urge and curiosity to try and experience new things without really knowing why and without understanding what's going on with him. It happens to all teenagers. The character he portrays is Robert Bonnard (also known by the ridiculous nickname "Bibi"), member of a french-Canadian family. An interesting and different role for this fine actor who sadly is long gone.

Some things I disliked about this movie were, for example, the selfish behavior of the character Peggy, who causes even more trouble for "Bibi" by falsely claiming she saw him drawing a "dirty picture". Of course, the poor guy tries to defend himself, but the school's principal does not believe him, gives him corporal punishment and threats to repeat it every day, unless he confesses. How "Bibi" still forgives Peggy is beyond me. I wouldn't.

On the other hand, one of the best bits was when "Bibi" feels the urge of kissing a woman he is attracted to and he really does it while she's sleeping (and runs away and she doesn't know it was him). That was cute.

I rate this as a 7. I think it's a fair enough rating.

Aside from "Treasure Island" (1950) this might be my favourite film featuring the charming Bobby Driscoll. He's the teenage "Robert/Bibi" who is completely oblivious to the affections of his next door neighbour because he only has eyes for the new maid "Mignonette" (Linda Christian). His obsessiveness starts to affect his schoolwork, and when the lovelorn "Peggy" (Marlene Cameron) doctors a rather risqué copy of "Paris Match" and gets him into hot water, things get so serious as to require the intervention of his dad (Charles Boyer) and two uncles (Louis Jourdan and Kurt Kasznar). They question him about the naughty photos and respect his denial whilst also clocking really quite quickly just what is troubling their young charge. Boyer is also on good form here, and I thought Richard Fleischer's amiable direction allowed the deftly adapted script to tell us a story of pubescent love mixed with familial concern and affection and peppered with some lovely, quite witty, observational humour. Driscoll was seventeen or so when he made this, so he probably had some genuine hormones to add to this genuinely quite enjoyable comedic drama. Don't be put off by the rather ropey title track, it's really quite good fun, this.

Three generations of French film charisma come together in this marvelous film about a family of French Canadians living in Ottawa (not Quebec!). Charles Boyer, in one of his earliest "character" roles after decades of being a leading-man lover, joins the up-and-coming Louis Jourdan and the old theatrical hand Marcel Dalio to make up the Bonnard family: Grandpere (Dalio) lives with Jacques (Boyer), his wife Susan (Hunt), and their son, Bibi (Driscoll). Jacques' bibulous, layabout brother Louis (Kasznar) lives across the street, with his shrewish, seamstress wife Felice and their possibly unmarriageable daughter. Desmonde, the third brother, is a traveling salesman with a rakish reputation--not unlike his father--who stays with Jacques' family when he's in Ottawa and who is a hero in the eyes of Bibi.

The story itself is small: Desmond comes to stay; Jacques, who plays violin and conducts the orchestra in a small burlesque and movie house, brings a sacked magician's assistant home to be the new maid; Louis storms out of his home and moves in on Jacques' porch; Grandpere falls ill; and Bibi deals with troubles at school and in the heart. But the writing and characterization are so true to life and moving that one gets utterly caught up.

The movie was based on a successful Broadway play (with Kasznar reprising his stage role, along with the young actress who plays girl-next-door Peggy), which in turn was based on a series of stories by Robert Fontaine about his own growing-up. The atmosphere is imbued with a certain French sophistication, but even more with the love and compassion all these members of the family have for each other. The conversation that the father, Jacques, has with his adolescent son, Bibi, as he tries to explain the tension between love and desire could be used successfully as a template for any such talk in any family on earth. But it is not just moving; much of the dialogue is as funny as in any family comedy you can think of.

I had never heard of this film, and only discovered it via Turner Classic Movies guest programmer. Sadly, it is not available in any video medium; I can't think of a better family film. If it comes around again on TCM, be sure to give it a try!

French-Canadian household in the 1920s welcomes in a womanizing, ne'er-do-well uncle as well as a sexy, out-of-work magician's assistant, the latter of whom gets hormones innocently stirring for the resident teenage boy. Earl Felton's screenplay, taken from Samuel A. Taylor's play (which in turn was adapted from Robert Fontaine's stories), is stretched out like a series of nostalgic episodes, and the stop-and-start rhythm takes a while to grab hold. Once the characters begin intermingling, there's a great deal to enjoy here, though the frivolity is laid-on a bit thick (and the title song is like precious syrup). Much of the focus is on young Bobby Driscoll, and he's a bright, likable kid, though perhaps a bit too studied and overeager. Best performances are turned in by Charles Boyer as the head of the household and Louis Jourdan as his returning brother (you can almost feel the shot of adrenaline the picture gets once Jourdan enters). Quite tolerable overall, particularly in its lively third act. ** from ****

Except maybe the title. The film has been described as heartwarming in other posts, but it's more sophisticated than it is sentimental. It is funny and charming throughout, and strongly flavored with emotion. Frank words like erection and intercourse are never used (English is more naked than French, Boyer says at one point), but the moment when the young boy has his first sexual feelings, as he watches a magician's luscious blonde assistant, leaves no doubt about the movie's sexual theme, which is handled with exquisite tenderness.

There is nothing flashy about the film-making-- the stage play was opened up rather minimally, allowing the strength of the writing and the acting to shine. And both do. It's hardly worth singling out any one performer, the ensemble works so well together, though the three Bonnard brothers-- Boyer, Jourdan, Kasznar-- are particularly fine, especially when they gang up on the schoolmaster. This is an all but forgotten movie-- witty and wise, graceful and bold-- that has true greatness in it.

I have not seen this for X decades and remember it with huge delight. I am now going to find a copy so I can see it again. A gentle, weighty movie - in my memory as long as I last. The performances of Boyer, Jourdan and all the others make it a must watch movie. For sentimentalists and for all film lovers. By modern standards this might not be a top notch film, however it is, by any standards, a really watchable and rewarding experience. You will not be able to resist the development of the characters and how they deal with the interpersonal relationships. By the skill of their acting and the subtlety of the direction this is a "must see"

I saw this film only once forty years ago, but I really enjoyed it. Charles Boyer is the head of a Quebecois family who has to face normal problems of his son's growing up, his brothers (Kurt Kazner and Louis Jourdan) and their problems. It was very heart warming. An example of this is towards the end when Boyer's son (Bobby Driscoll) has been somewhat framed by a rival at his school, and has been humiliated and punished by an unreasonable, martinet teacher (corporal punishment is allowed in Quebec in the 1920s, when the story occurs, and the teacher used a switch on Driscoll). Boyer goes to see the teacher, and discovers that the latter has made a mistake that can be misconstrued as illegal behavior. When Driscoll was whipped the teacher had insisted on him telling the truth. Grabbing the switch, Boyer starts demanding the truth from the teacher now. It was quite an enjoyable moment.

The film was later turned into a Broadway musical also called THE HAPPY TIME, starring Robert Goelet. Occasionally the theme song of that show is revived (usually Goelet's recording of it) on radio.

I just wanted to assure Roncee that this movie holds up thru multiple viewngs over decades! For fans of the period-setting, it's a wonderful antidote to the sentimentality of "I Remember Mama," and Kurt Kazner's drunken lout is far more entertaining than Oskar Homolka's curmodgeonly Uncle Chris. Take special note of director Richard Fleischer's range: everything from "Dr. Doolittle" to the ultra-creepy "10 Rillington Place." In view of his parentage though, prodigious talent is no surprise -- his pop was Max (Betty Boop et al.) Fleischer! Also recommended to fans of this film is the obscure but fabulous Beatrice Lily comedy, "On Approval."

The Happy Time (1952) is one of those little darling gems that I had no plan to watch, decided to watch due to the happy tune, knew nothing about, read nothing while watching it so that I would just enjoy it, and now deserves to be shouted from the rooftop, "Everyone should see The Happy Time!!!"

The film is set in Ottawa, Canada. It's actually a coming of age film for Bobby Driscoll. He's super darling and plays the perfect 50's teen on the cusp of manhood. He has trouble at school, a crush on the wrong female, ignores the right female, and finds himself caught in a few misunderstandings that make for some comedic moments.

But enough about Bobby. This film is so charming due to his exuberantly wonderful French-Canadian family. His grandfather is so dear, his mother and aunt are worriers, but his father and uncles really put the jewel in the crown. Charles Boyer, Louis Jourdan, and Kurt Kasznar play his father and uncles respectively. Individually they are entertaining, but when these three get together they are hilarious and happy.

Their French joie de vivre comes shining through, and they band together to help solve the teen angst dilemmas. There is a side romance with Jourdan and a beautiful woman employed by Bobby's family. Kasznar has a subplot where he keeps getting kicked out of his home for being a drunk. It sounds sinfully wrong, but it is done in such a lighthearted comical fashion that it doesn't detract from the film.

The "birds and bees" talk at the end is one of the cutest and absolute sanest explanations for sexual desire I've ever seen. Two of my sons got home about that time and I replayed it for them. They thought it was a hoot. I would never want to give it away. You just have to see it.

If you get a chance to see this delightful gem with some very handsome and talented Frenchmen, then look for The Happy Time. You'll be humming the little ditty and not be taking the little things too seriously afterward.

"The Happy Time is a very good coming of age comedy and family movie about a young boy growing up in Ottawa, Canada, in the early 20th century. The story takes place in the 1920s, just before the advent of sound movies. Bobby Driscoll plays Robert 'Bibi' Bonnard, the 12-or-13-year-old boy around whose family the story takes place. And, it is a family movie in two senses of the word. Bibi's father is Jacques Bonnard, a violinist who leads the pit band that plays in a major cinema theatre. The Bonnard family of brothers is very close, with one living across the street and one a traveling salesman who has just returned home for a stay.

Charles Boyer heads the cast as Bibi's father, Louis Jourdan plays his uncle, Desmond, and Kurt Kasznar plays his uncle, Louis. Oh, yes, there's also the grandfather - Marcel Dalio plays Grandpere Bonnard. The three women who enliven or put up with the male bunch, as the case may be at any time, are Marsha Hunt as Bibi's mom, Susan; Linda Christian as Mignonette Chappuis, and Peggy O'Hare as Bibi's admiring school pal and girlfriend.

This is a wonderful comedy that has a good showing of the accompaniment in top theaters of early cinema before sound. In smaller towns and theaters the musical accompaniment to films was often just a piano player. The film is based on a 1945 novel of the same title by Robert Fontaine. It was first made into a highly successful play by Samuel Taylor.

Here are some favorite lines from the film.

Bibi Bonnard, when Grandpere gives him a parakeet in a cage, "Does he sing?" Grandpere Bonnard," Only when he's in the mood." Bibi, "And when is he in the mood?" Grandpere, "Ah, when he sings, naturally."

Susan Bonnard, "How did she lose her job with the magician?" Jacques Bonnard," Well, I'll tell you.... Bibi, you'd better wash your hands before dinner." Bibi Bonnard, "Why is it every time things get interesting my hands get dirty?"

Peggy O'Hare, "I was watching. I saw her kiss you. She's pretty old."

Jacques Bonnard, "Desmond, you don't need wine. You're entirely into yourself."

Uncle Desmond Bonnard, "So, you think I'm a rogue, don't you?" Mignonette Chappuis, "If I said 'yes,' it would only flatter you."

Mignonette Chappuis, "I don't believe you'll have any trouble finding someone, Desmond. There are lots of women in Canada, and you seem to have met most of them."

Uncle Louis Bonnard, "Believe me, there was a butterfly watching me on the porch."

Uncle Louis Bonnard, "Mademoiselle, to a man in my condition, the bite of a butterfly can be fatal."

Mignonette Chappuis, "Yes, I've decided if I must live in a tent, I'd rather do it with Desi."

Ottawa teacher scene sim to HGWMV healty attitudes about sex driscol---sad

"The Happy Time" is unusual in that it's about a nice family that lives in Ottawa, Canada. Not only did Hollywood rarely talk about Canada...but setting the story in French-speaking Canada...that's unusual. I can only think of one or two other films like this.

If you look past the fact it's set in Canada, the story is essentially a slice of life tale much like other Hollywood products. If you enjoyed watching "Life With Father", "Meet Me in St. Louis" or "How Green Was My Valley", you pretty much should like this one as well.

The story is about the Bonnard family--made up of French and American actors (though no French Canadians, sadly). They are decent folk and the story centers on the adolescence and blooming sexuality in Robert Bonnard (Bobby Driscoll) but you enjoy seeing various other family members and their predicaments. Overall, very enjoyable and well made.

By the way, it was a bit sad watching the film because I knew about the life of Bobby Driscoll. He went from a young star in Disney films to dying alone and unidentified at age 31....what a waste.

Charles Boyer, Louis Jourdan, Marsha Hunt, Kurt Kaszner and child star Bobby Driscoll star in this charming coming-of-age story called The Happy Time. Boyer and Hunt are the parents of Bobby, while Louis is an uncle known as a Casanova and Kaszner is another uncle who lives across the street who drinks all day while his wife (Jeanette Nolan) makes the money as a seamstress. The film shows the uncles with all their eccentricities, but the young boy is at the heart of the film with his being picked on at school, a young girl with braces liking him, and his own infatuation of an ex-vaudeville star hired to help around the house. And, even Grandpa is a fanciful man who tries to keep young by being interested in the opposite sex. Boyer and Hunt, as the parents, provide much of the film's stability, and the film has some of its best moments centering on the boy. But it seems a bit uneven, because some of their characters are not as interesting as others. And, I found myself thinking it was a bit too whimsical with not enough depth. But then in the end, Boyer has a great talk with young Bobby about the right kind of love and how the world suffers from having our natural urges without love. All in all, I feel I discovered a good little film, which I think I will love more and more each time I see it. The film's success lies in showing a family made up of different personalities all looking for the same thing and their young-at-heart hope they share for tomorrow.

An unscheduled afternoon's rest put me back in touch with The Happy Time. The film was several minutes into itself, but I recognized a good thing when I saw it again. To be honest, not quite. For a moment I was remembering Charles Boyer in another comic-drama whose title I've never been able to recall. In it he says "Nuts to the squirrels" several times so that it becomes a catch-phrase for "Live and let live." So here I am getting reacquainted with Boyer, Louis Jourdan, Kurt Kazner, Marsha Hunt, and the growing-up Bobby Driscoll. Along comes a scene which is one of filmdom's best for sorting the difference between morality and moralizing. Driscoll, as the son entering puberty, reveals a strop beating by his school master. Not severe physically, but emotionally hurtful. He had taken to school a sort of French postcard. It was in the house as one of an uncle's possessions. At school, someone had sketched it "dirty," so to speak. But it's merely risqué. This French-Canadian family has retained all of its French. Therein is the theme of tolerance for humanity's differences, including love in its varieties explained in our Classical history by the Greek three of agape, philos, and eros. In a scene which could be used for a father-son banquet, Boyer is at his best in a dialog with his son Driscoll, composed by film writers:

-- Robert 'Bibi' Bonnard: There is something more, but I don't know what it is. Jacques Bonnard: Ah. Well. It is this 'something more' of which we shall speak. Now you see, Bibi, this... desire you have, it's a natural one, and since it is natural, it cannot be bad. It becomes bad only when the reason is bad. That is why so many people are mixed up Robert 'Bibi' Bonnard: I, too, am mixed up. Jacques Bonnard: Well, of course! So am I. Well, let's try to unmix ourselves, shall we? Now, Bibi, we speak now of love. And where there is love, there is also desire; they go together. Love must have the desire; I don't believe there can be love without it. But, it is possible to have the desire without love, and this is where the world falls apart. For instance, you don't understand why the principal of your school beat you. Robert 'Bibi' Bonnard: No, papa. Jacques Bonnard: Well, it is because he has been brought up to believe that the desire is wrong. And since he himself has the desire, he's even more mixed up than we are! He has been brought up in a world where the desire has been used so badly--so badly, believe me--that it itself is thought to be bad; and this is wrong. This is wrong, Bibi. And you know the reason for this condition? It is because so many people are without love. ... In a way, the world comes down to a house, and a room, and a bed. And if there are two people in love there, then that is the whole world. Of course you won't know this for many years. You know, it is possible never to know it? I hope you will. If you are as lucky as I am, you will. ...the secret is not to imitate. Look for your heart's need, and then she will come. Well, I've talked enough, and still you don't know what I wish to say. ... Well, perhaps, when we speak again, I will find better words. --

This, of course, is merely a taste of the whole fruit delivered so deliciously by Boyer. And of course a girl has put Bibi into these troubles at school as she works her way into his attention. Of course, also, this young thing appears in the next the scene. She and Bibi stand alone and gaze, and they kiss. And the mother, of course, walks in on them, of course. While there is surprise, there is no trouble because they are French. They understand.

a seductive story about love, hope and joy. fine humor, right acting, interesting cast. and, sure, the young Bobby Driscoll. a film like a song - seductive, melancholic, full of energy and profound nuances. not surprising because each actor use his specific tricks and tools for create the character. but, like many other movies from same period, the mixture of innocence and idealism is the key of the magic in this case. a different image about basic values, delicate irony, French stereotypes, the teenager universe, the charm of Boyer, the good guy in the right proportions by Jourdan and Jeanette Nolan as mother - axis for a bohemian family. a lovely movie. seductive in smart manner. and useful, to.

film of a flavor more than film of script, seductive story about love, family, grow up and eccentric men who influence education of a teenager, it is amusing, serious, a childish game and pure delight. one of films who permits to actors the best way to define , in free style, their art. Charles Boyer is the example of a performance who seems almost improvisation . and Bobby Driscoll gives more than a good primes but use the clichés about an age for explore each nuance of it with high precision. a film about family, it is the genre of comedy who propose, in delicate manner, a lot of questions, advices and a sunny sketch of life. so, a charming work.