The Happy Ending (1969)

★ 6.0 1h 52m IMDb

Drama

When Fred asked for Mary's hand in marriage, she thought she had the happy ending she only read about in fairy tales. Now it's 16 years later; Fred has had an affair, and Mary drowns her sorrows in pills and booze, a dangerous combination that nearly resulted in her death the year before. As Mary rushes off to the Bahamas for a relaxing escape from her crumbling marriage, she reflects on the past and wonders just where it all went wrong.

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Cast

Jean Simmons as Mary Wilson Died 2010 · Crouch Hill, London, England, UK Jean Merilyn Simmons, OBE (January 31, 1929 – January 22, 2010) was an English actress. She appeared predominantly in motion pictures, beginning with films made in Great Britain during and after World...

John Forsythe as Fred Wilson Died 2010 · Penns Grove, New Jersey, USA John Forsythe (born Jacob Lincoln Freund; January 29, 1918 – April 1, 2010) was an American stage, television and film actor. Forsythe starred in three television series, spanning four decades and thr...

Shirley Jones as Flo Harrigan Age 92 · Charleroi, Pennsylvania, USA Shirley Mae Jones (born March 31, 1934) is an American singer and actress of stage, film and television. In her six decades of television, she starred as wholesome characters in a number of well-known...

Lloyd Bridges as Sam Died 1998 · San Leandro, California, USA Lloyd Bridges (1913–1998) was an American actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. Bridges is best known for his role on Sea Hunt. He is the fath...

Teresa Wright as Mrs. Spencer Died 2005 · Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA Teresa Wright (October 27, 1918 – March 6, 2005) was an American actress. Her first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress nomination came in 1941 for her debut work in The Little Foxes. She recei...

Director Richard Brooks

Cast Jean Simmons, John Forsythe, Shirley Jones, Lloyd Bridges, Teresa Wright, Dick Shawn, Nanette Fabray, Bobby Darin, Tina Louise, Kathy Fields

CinemaSerf 6/10 Jun 03, 2023

The interesting topic for this film just about gives it enough steam to sustain the almost two hours of screen time. Jean Simmons ("Mary") is suffering from a long-term ennui with husband "Fred" (John Forsythe) and after trying drink and drugs to stimulate her existence, she absconds to the Bahamas (pawning her watch to fund this) on the evening of their wedding anniversary. It's on the plane that she encounters old friend "Flo" (Shirley Jones) and her pal "Sam" (Lloyd Bridges) and upon arrival they take the now penniless "Mary" in charge. It doesn't take long for the disillusioned lady to start to release that the grass is never really any greener, but her time in this idyllic location does allow her to recalibrate her priorities and sense of self (as well as to evaluate how her own life bears comparison with those of her friends). Simmons reminded me a little of Liz Taylor in this film. She has a confidence to portray a middle aged woman with demons and doubts; flawed and envious but kind and lonely too. Jones is good, also, as the friend whose life adds up to little more than series of relationships with wealthy men who have delivered fun and luxury, but little of substance. It falls to Bobby Darin's ("Franco") to finally help the penny to drop. Sadly, the film also focusses on the other half of this partnership a little too much, as Forsythe just had no weight as actor. Sure he was debonaire and had a certain class about him, but even at his ostensibly most impassioned in this film, his characterisation of the loving husband was more akin to that of a caring doctor. There was nothing remotely visceral about his effort, and that - I felt - really compromised the overall value of the film. Lloyd Bridges was never my favourite actor either, and here he contributes little of value by way of a foil to the kindly but selfish Jones. Plenty for us to get our teeth into, with a good strong story (though I didn't much like the ending) directed with a pace that suited the star. The dialogue is wordy, and sometimes a little melodramatic, but it is still a vehicle for fans of Jean Simmons to enjoy. Could have been much better, though.