Let's Be Happy

Let's Be Happy is a Technicolor 1957 British musical film starring Tony Martin, Vera-Ellen and Robert Flemyng and directed by Henry Levin.[2] It was written by Dorothy Cooper and Diana Morgan in CinemaScope. This film was an updated remake of Jeannie (1941), starring Barbara Mullen, which itself was based on the stage play Jeannie by Aimée Stuart.[1]

Let's Be Happy
Original three sheet poster
Directed byHenry Levin
Produced byMarcel Hellman
Written byDorothy Cooper
Screenplay byDiana Morgan (screenwriter)
Based onJeannie (1940 play)
by Aimée Stuart
StarringVera-Ellen
Tony Martin
Robert Flemyng
Music byNicholas Brodszky
Angela Morley
CinematographyErwin Hillier
Edited byEdward B. Jarvis
Production
company
Marcel Hellman Productions
Distributed byAllied Artists Pictures (USA)
Associated British-Pathé (UK)
Release date
  • 9 May 1957 (1957-05-09)
[1]
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The film is notable as star Vera-Ellen's final film; she later withdrew from public life after the death of her daughter, Victoria Ellen Rothschild.[3] The film is also Tony Martin's final appearance in a movie musical. He later made a cameo appearance in Dear Mr. Wonderful, an obscure 1982 film starring Joe Pesci.[4]

Filmed on location at Edinburgh as well as at Elstree Studios, Let's Be Happy premiered in London on 9 May 1957.[1]

Plot

Jeannie McLean, who lives in rural Vermont, inherits some money from her Scottish-born grandfather. She decides to travel to Scotland to see her ancestral country. On the journey by air and train, she finds herself continuously sitting near Stanley Smith, a brash washing-machine salesman, whose pushy ways help her through various difficulties.

Finally reaching Edinburgh (during the Festival). Jeannie makes the acquaintance of Lord James MacNairn, an impoverished landowner, who takes her to see Loch Lomond and also his ancestral castle. Stanley gets to know a French blonde named Helene, but also manages to follow Jeannie around.

James asks Jeannie to marry him, but when he learns that she has spent all her inheritance, he breaks it off. Jeannie flees back to Vermont, but Stanley, having made a major sales coup, follows her and proposes to her.

Cast

References
  1. "Let's Be Happy - Stylish Strictly showgirl pop art by Art & Hue". Art & Hue.
  2. "Let's Be Happy (1957)". BFI.
  3. Lobosco, David (21 December 2012). "A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE: VERA-ELLEN: THE LATER YEARS". A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  4. Maslin, Janet (21 December 1983). "Lilienthal's 'Mr. Wonderful'" – via NYTimes.com.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.