Poster

The Happy Road ()


Reference View | Change View


An American boy and a French girl run away from a Swiss school making for Paris to reunite with their parents. The boy's father and the girl's mother join forces, despite cultural differences, to search for their kids.

Director:
Awards:
Reviews:

Photos and Videos

Complete, Cast awaiting verification

Edit
...
Mike Andrews
...
Suzanne Duval
...
Gen. Medworth
Bobby Clark ...
Danny Andrews
...
Janine Duval
...
Dr. Solaise
Colette Deréal ...
Hélène
...
MP Sgt. Morgan
Maryse Martin ...
The Mother
Roger Saget ...
Fat man in 4cv
...
French Motorcycle Officer
Claire Gérard ...
Patronne d'hotel in Valval
Colin Mann ...
Armbruster
...
Woodcutter
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
T. Bartlett ...
David, Earl of Boardingham (uncredited)
Charles Bouillaud ...
Driver of truck in the ditch (uncredited)
...
Workman with statue (uncredited)
...
Young lover at the Guinguette (uncredited)
Georges Demas ...
Bike racer (uncredited)
Lucien Desagneaux ...
Truck passenger (uncredited)
...
Child (uncredited)
...
Michel Bertrand (uncredited)
Paul Faivre ...
Customs officer (uncredited)
Claude Ferna ...
Mother of fat man in 4cv (uncredited)
Émile Genevois ...
Station-master (uncredited)
Corrado Guarducci ...
Ottorino Cippolata (uncredited)
...
Gendarme (uncredited)
...
TV sports announcer (uncredited)
Harry Locke ...
Emerson (uncredited)
Dominique Maurin ...
Child (uncredited)
Yves-Marie Maurin ...
Child (uncredited)
...
Gendarme at the station (uncredited)
Jacques Moulières ...
Child (uncredited)
Léon Pauléon ...
Father of fat man in 4cv (uncredited)
Jimmy Perrys ...
Workman washing hands at the fountain (uncredited)
...
Carpenter in Andrews' office (uncredited)
...
Garage manager (uncredited)
Jimmy Urbain ...
Child (uncredited)

Directed by

Edit
Gene Kelly

Written by

Edit
Arthur Julian ... (screenplay) and
Joe Morheim ... (screenplay) (as Joe Morhaim) and
Harry Kurnitz ... (screenplay)
 
Arthur Julian ... (story) and
Joe Morheim ... (story) (as Joseph Moraian)

Produced by

Edit
Noël Howard ... associate producer
Gene Kelly ... producer

Music by

Edit
Georges Van Parys

Cinematography by

Edit
Robert Juillard

Editing by

Edit
Borys Lewin

Art Direction by

Edit
Alexandre Trauner

Costume Design by

Edit
Pierre Balmain ... (uncredited)

Production Management

Edit
Julien Derode ... production manager

Location Management

Edit
Christian Ferry ... location manager (uncredited)
Crew believed to be complete

Production Companies

Edit

Distributors

Edit

Special Effects

Edit

Other Companies

Edit

Storyline

Edit
Plot Summary

While setting up a business in Paris, American widower Michael Andrews (Gene Kelly) has placed his adolescent son, Danny Andrews (Bobby Clark), in a Swiss boarding school as Mike has no time during this phase of the business set-up to look after Danny on his own. Mike receives distressing news that Danny has run away from the school with another student, Parisienne Janine Duval (Brigitte Fossey). This news does not sit well with either Mike or Janine's divorcée mother, Suzanne Duval (Barbara Laage). Suzanne believes Danny is a delinquent influence on her daughter, while Mike believes Janine is an enabler as non-French speaking Danny could not manage outside the school without some language assistance. They learn from another student that Danny is heading to Paris to show Mike that he is independent enough to live in Paris with Mike, while Janine tagged along because she sees herself as Danny's girl and as she has not seen her mother in some time. As the children have not been gone long and as there is only one road between the school and Paris, Mike and Suzanne, both who took the train to the school, decide to drive back toward Paris together to look for the children. With little to keep them going, Danny and Janine, although having some issues along the way, seem to be able to get help from whoever they meet despite the police on the lookout for them. On the other hand, Mike and Suzanne seem to get into one misadventure after another, fueled largely by a clash of the American versus French cultures, and in one specific incident, a British meatloaf thrown into the mix. Written by Huggo

Plot Keywords
Taglines A happy comic scoot along the French countryside involving an American and a Parisienne who get embroiled in a bicycle race, pique-nique (picnic), NATO, Gendarmerie and in each other - all done delightfully and amusingly. See more »
Genres
Parents Guide Add content advisory for parents »
Certification

Additional Details

Edit
Also Known As
  • La route joyeuse (France)
  • Happy Journey (United States)
  • El camino feliz (Spain)
  • Destinazione Parigi (Italy)
  • ハッピー・ロード (Japan, Japanese title)
  • See more »
Runtime
  • 99 min
Country
Language
Color
Aspect Ratio
Sound Mix
Filming Locations

Box Office

Budget $500,000 (estimated)

Did You Know?

Edit
Trivia The company that co-produced is called Kerry, after Gene Kelly's daughter. See more »
Goofs At the very beginning, when the boy is running away, he is shown throwing his knotted rope over the railing, and immediately beginning the climb down. The next shot shows him continuing his climb, but now the rope is tied with a big knot on the railing, though he didn't stop to do that. See more »
Movie Connections Referenced in Gene Kelly (1957). See more »
Soundtracks The Happy Road See more »
Quotes Mike Andrews: Your daughter, may I remind you, speaks French. She's getting them in and out of these towns like the Scarlet Pimpernel.
See more »

Contribute to This Page


Recently Viewed