The Happy Family – 1952 – Stanley Holloway

The Story …

In 1951, the House of Lords is a grocery shop that sits on the South Bank of the River Thames close to the site of Festival Hall, which is noisily under construction.

It is owned by the Lord family, a husband and wife with several children. Lillian Lord runs the shop, while Henry is a British Railways train driver who has worked on the railways for over 30 years and who is just about to retire. He is looking forward to enjoying a quiet retirement at the family shop, looking after his pet hare, Winston, though his spiritualist sister-in-law Ada has had supernatural visions of “men in black” bringing discord.

Their plans are disrupted by the arrival of Filch, a senior civil servant dressed in a black suit. He announces that he is overseeing work on the Festival of Britain, due to begin in just six weeks.

He explains that, due to an error by one of the planners, the Lords’ shop and house will have to be demolished to allow an entrance route to be built, assuring them that they will be financially compensated and will be moved to a new house in South Harrow.

He expects this to settle the matter. However, the Lords are reluctant to leave their house, with Henry demanding £6 million if he is to move; an amount he calculates by Mr Filch’s account of the estimate of the monetary value the Festival of Britain will bring. Filch goes away, hoping either to buy them off eventually or to forcibly evict them.

Filch has underestimated how attached they are to their property, which is a symbol of security and family to them after their years of hardship during the Great Depression and the Second World War, where they lost a son. In an attempt to halt their eviction, the Lords appeal to a series of politicians, including their councillor, mayor and MP.

They are eventually sent to the official in charge of the work, who insists it must go ahead. They are served with eviction notices, and demolition is due to begin in a few days. However, they are undaunted, declaring that they would rather go to jail than South Harrow.

When it becomes clear that their appeals from political channels are not working, the Lords turn to more active resistance at the urging of Cyril, their daughter’s fiancé. They begin barricading their house and preparing to fight the government’s attempts to turn them out. At the appointed hour, Filch demands they leave, but they refuse.

They are joined by Maurice Hennessey, an ambitious BBC broadcaster hoping to use the case to further his career. He begins a running commentary on the events to the outside world.

Filch brings in a large number of police who attempt to storm the shop, but are driven off by missiles and flour bombs. After the assault descends into chaos, Filch launches a prolonged siege in the hope of starving them out.

The Lords soon become a cause célèbre, with support coming in from across the world, putting further pressure on the civil servants who are desperate to get work completed before the Festival begins.

The plot thickens …

Credits :

Directed by : Muriel Box
Written by : Muriel Box and Sydney Box
Based on : The Happy Family by Michael Clayton Hutton
Produced by : Sydney Box and William MacQuitty
Cinematography : Reginald H. Wyer
Edited by : Jean Barker
Music by : Francis Chagrin
Production Company : London Independent Producers
Distributed by : Apex Film Distributors
Release Date : 31 March 1952

Genre : #Comedy – #Drama – #FamilyLife

Cast :

Stanley Holloway as Henry Lord
Kathleen Harrison as Lillian Lord
Naunton Wayne as Mr Filch
Dandy Nichols as Ada
John Stratton as David
Eileen Moore as Joan
Shirley Mitchell as Marina
Margaret Barton as Anne
George Cole as Cyril
Tom Gill – Maurice Hennessey
Miles Malleson as Mr Thwaites
Geoffrey Sumner as Sir Charles Spanniell
Laurence Naismith as Councillor
Edward Lexy as Alderman
Cameron Hall as Mayor
Hal Osmond as BR Shop Steward
John Salew as Mr Granite
Ernest Butcher as Neighbour
Lyn Evans as Neighbour
Michael Ward as BBC announcer
Richard Wattis as M.P.
David Keir as Process Server
Anthony Oliver as Fireman
Campbell Singer as Policeman
Peter Martyn as Policeman
Arthur Hambling as Granger
Eileen Way as Mrs Potter

Film Information Source :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Happy_Family_(1952_film)

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