La route joyeuse

What a delightful movie this is. "The Happy Road" was made by and starred Gene Kelly. But this comedy and somewhat family adventure shares the lead roles with two very good child actors, Bobby Clark and Brigitte Fossey. Their characters, Danny Andrews and Janine Duval, are the core of the story that centers around their sneaking away from an exclusive Swiss school to go to Paris. That's where Danny's widower father, Mike, has moved from America to set up a business. And, where Janine's mother, Suzanne, is whom she hasn't seen for three months.

The plot technique switches back and forth between the two kids and the two adults. Danny and Janine make their way across the Swiss border and then into the French countryside. Mike and Suzanne meet at the school after being called and told that their children have run away. They begin their trek together to try to find their children. The kids get help, mostly from other children after they meet a young boy who's on a family picnic. When they tell him that they have run away from a school to get to their parents, he sets into motion an amazing network of cousins and their friends who help them avoid the police and get on their way through the next couple of towns.

The parents, in their interspersing scenes, get into one funny situation after another. Their escapades account for much of the laughable comedy, but the movements of the kids provide for many smiles and much warm humor. They are always a step or two ahead of the parents and authorities who are in pursuit.

The film has some nice scenes in the French countryside, and a kaleidoscope of local people. It also has a couple of anomalies in the setting. Mike says the school is more than 400 miles from Paris which would mean it would have to be in the far northeast corner of Switzerland, near the Austrian border. They would have had a long way to go across northern Switzerland first. The second anomaly is a field exercise in France with British and American Army units, under the command of British General Medworth, played by Michael Redgrave. This segment adds some more humor to the film.

While the Army exercise may seem a strange thing to have in this movie, such training by NATO countries was frequent in Western Europe during the early years of the Cold War. I was a paratrooper in the U. S. Army in Germany, from early 1962 to late 1964. In that time we had several military field exercises. In two large NATO operations, we jumped in Denmark and Turkey.

This is a very good film that many people should enjoy. But, modern audiences who need constant fast-action may find it too slow. Here are some favorite lines from the film.

Danny Andrews, "Look, Janine. To get to Paris I'll have to walk, hitch rides, hop freight cars. Well, you're smart... for a girl. But you can't do all that." Janine Duval, "I speak French." Danny, "All right, so you speak French, for Pete's sake." Janine, "And I want to be with you."

Janine Duval, "Why do they have frontiers, Danny?" Danny Andrews, "I don't know. So we can tell one country from another, I guess."

Janine, "I don't think it's good for parents to be left alone too much."

Mike Andrews, after a crammed car ride with three French relatives, "Well, I'm glad they brought the food along. It wouldn't have been as much fun without it."

Mike, "That's over 400 miles to Paris. They don't have any money or food." David, the young Earl of Boardingham, looking at a list he has, "Oh, yes, Danny has 82 francs and 30 centimes. And he has five sandwiches - two ham, one cheese, two cucumber. He's bound to make it to Paris." Mike, "I wouldn't bet on it." David, "I already have."

Mike, after their several transport problems, "You know, our kids are smart - they're WALKING to Paris."

Mike, "For Pete's sake, wouldn't you know it - lunch time? City hall, the police station, everything's gotta close at lunch time. There's no calling. The whole place becomes a ghost town. Look! Look! Not a soul in the street. I wonder what happens if there should be a fire during lunch. No, no, don't tell me. Everybody grabs a leg of lamb and roasts it over the burning building. Hah! The French!"

Mike, "I'm a father." Suzanne Duval, "How did you keep your temper long enough to become a father?"

Mike, to the motorcycle cop giving them a ride, "Hey, what are you - a French policeman or a Japanese suicide pilot?"

Mike, "Your daughter, may I remind you, speaks French. She's getting them in and out of these towns like the Scarlet Pimpernel."

Mike, to a policeman who can't speak English, as they leave, "You big clod. You couldn't find your own nose with both hands, a full moon and radar."

Gen. Medworth, "I do assure you then, the little nippers'll be in our hands, safe and sound. Ah, tea."

Mike, "General, if you could get us a car and let us have a look..." Suzanne, "Oh yes, please general." Gen. Medworth, "My dear sir...and madame, 18 cars, 10 tanks, six weapon carriers, a dozen scout cars, hundreds of men and six aircraft are covering the area now."

Suzanne, "I'm not French - I'm alone. Just as you're not an American, but also alone. We're human beings and we're alone. Nationality doesn't help us there."

Mike, "I'm over here trying to start a business, all I'm starting is an ulcer." Sgt. Morgan, "That's funny. I had an ulcer on the way, when the Army took me. Since I've been in France, something's happened - no more ulcer. Yeah, I learned something. Maybe it was just how to relax."

This isn't a great movie. There's no singing, no dancing, not even any Technicolor. The story is pleasant but fairly obvious; there are no real surprises.

But it's worth watching.

Briefly, it's the story of two children in a Swiss boarding school who miss their parents and decide to head to Paris to find them. Because they don't have much money, and because the story depends on it, they set off on foot, hitching rides, etc., until they finally get to Paris.

Meanwhile, their parents try to find them and keep just missing them, all the way to Paris.

None of that is particularly interesting.

What is interesting, instead, are the vignettes of French country and small-town life that fill most of the movie. (The scenes involving the British army on maneuvers don't fit with this and are the weakest part of the movie.) I won't claim that this is a documentary; it's not meant to be. But it's a pleasantly romantic view of small-town and country life in France in the post-War years, and that is interesting.

Eventually the hard-working American businessman, father of the escaped boy, learns something from these people, and that's a little forced. *Mame* will teach the same lesson much better a year later, with much better dialogue.

But this is a pleasant way to think about what is now a lost world, and to wonder what of it might be retained today.

As I said, don't expect a masterpiece. Don't expect another *Gigot*, which is really a wonderful movie. But do expect to spend a pleasant 99 minutes.

The Happy Road was Gene Kelly's next to last film on his MGM contract and this was a personal project in which he not only starred in, but directed and produced as well. Probably something to pass the time of day while he was waiting for his final full blown musical Les Girls.

The film is best however when the kids are in front of the camera. The very simple story involves Kelly's son Bobby Clark who runs away from the Swiss boarding school his father has put him in to go to Paris and be with him. He also wants to prove how self reliant is. His good friend Brigette Fossey decides to join him on the odyssey and prove the same to her divorcée mother Barbara Laage.

Whatever else they do, the kids prove they're self reliant, they have the French police totally at their wits end, not to mention a bunch of NATO troops out on maneuvers, embarrassing their commanding officer Michael Redgrave no end.

Kelly is a concerned father, but he's also a poster child for the ugly American. He wasn't doing all that much for Franco-American relations with his exasperation about the French way of doing things. Laage kind of smooths out the rough edges in him by the time film ends.

With a title song sung over the opening credits by Maurice Chevalier and the film shot in France, The Happy Road will not rank as one of Gene Kelly's great films. But it's a pleasant diversion and very good for juvenile audiences.

Danny Andrews is running away to Paris from his Swiss boarding school. He's joined by Janine Duval. Danny's widowed father Michael Andrews (Gene Kelly) is struggling to renovate his Paris office. Suzanne Duval (Barbara Laage) is Janine's divorced French mother. The two parents put their differences aside to look for their two kids.

I like the kids' adventures. The adults are less fun even though they have Gene Kelly. The military is ridiculous. This alternates between bland silliness and fun. I want the kids to stay together more than the adults.

Gene Kelly produced, directed and starred in "The Happy Road". According to TCM when they aired it, Kelly had no work despite being under contract with MGM and so he made this movie in Europe. In hindsight, I think he should have just gone there on vacation.

The story begins with two kids sneaking away from their boarding school in Switzerland. Danny (Bobby Clark) is running away because he misses his father (Kelly) who is working in Paris. Janine (Brigitte Fossey) tags along because she thinks Danny is wonderful! Soon, the frightened parents spring into action and go in search of their kids.

There are many problems with the film--and they boil down to the script. The children and their parts worked well...the adults, on the other hand, were written badly...particularly Kelly's role. He played an overly stereotypical ugly American--who constantly was angry because the French didn't act just like Americans. Annoying, to say the least...but so was much of the interaction between the adults. The script was just not particularly good nor interesting when it came to these parents...and the nice moments with the kids wasn't enough to save this one.