The Happy Road

The Happy Road is a 1957 French-American comedy film starring Gene Kelly, Barbara Laage, Michael Redgrave and Bobby Clark. The plot involves two runaway students and the efforts of their respective parents to locate them.

Plot

Two students escape from their Swiss private school and make for Paris. Their respective parents, an American father and a French mother, together embark on a wide journey around the countryside, getting local police involved in finding them, with many whimsical situations, including riding on a police motorcycle, and encountering military maneuvers and a bicycle race.

Cast

Mike Andrews — Gene Kelly
Suzanne Duval — Barbara Laage
Danny Andrews — Bobby Clark
Janine Duval — Brigitte Fossey
General Medworth — Michael Redgrave
Doctor Salaise — Roger Tréville
Hélène — Colette Dereal
Madame Fallière — Maryse Martin
Motorcycle Officer — Van Doude
Armbruster — Colin Mann
The Woodcutter — Alexandre Rignault
David, Earl of Bardingham — T. Bartlett
Carpenter — Paul Préboist
Critical reception

wrote, "The Happy Road tends to bludgeon its audience with whimsy at time," but noted, "Gene Kelly, as always, is charming, and less affected than usual"; while The [New York Times] praised the film as "a lively and charming little tale" concluding, "Mr. Kelly rates a good hand for this picture. So does Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer."

Box office

According to MGM records, the film earned $325,000 in the US and Canada and $625,000 elsewhere, resulting in a loss of $117,000.

The Happy Road

Plot

Cast

Critical reception

Box office