The Happiest Days of Your Life

1950 1h 21m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

★6.7TMDB · 43

Comedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Nutbourne College, an old established, all-boys, boarding school is told that another school is to be billeted with due to wartime restrictions. The shock is that it's an all-girls school that has been sent. The two head teachers are soon battling for the upper hand with each other and the Ministry. But a crisis (or two) forces them to work together.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

BFI Player Amazon ChannelSubscription

Cast

Alastair Sim
Wetherby Pond
Margaret Rutherford
Muriel Whitchurch
John Turnbull
Conrad Matthews: Staff of Nutbourne
Richard Wattis
Arnold Billings: Staff of Nutbourne
John Bentley
Richard Tassell: Staff of Nutbourne
Guy Middleton
Victor Hyde-Brown: Staff of Nutbourne
Percy Walsh
Monsieur Joue: Staff of Nutbourne
Arthur Howard
Anthony Ramsden: Staff of Nutbourne

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Frank Launder
Writers: Frank Launder, John Dighton
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

81 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

76 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Frank Launder, shot by Stanley Pavey. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Mischa Spoliansky. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Oswald Hafenrichter shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Alastair Sim and Margaret Rutherford and John Turnbull carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0042541 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 43 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Frank Launder directs. Stanley Pavey behind the camera. Mischa Spoliansky scores. Oswald Hafenrichter cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

181 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
276 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Frank Launder, shot by Stanley Pavey. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Mischa Spoliansky. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Oswald Hafenrichter shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Alastair Sim and Margaret Rutherford and John Turnbull carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0042541 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 43 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Stanley Pavey
Original score: Mischa Spoliansky
Editing: Oswald Hafenrichter
Costume design: Joan Ellacott
Makeup / hair: Dorrie Hamilton
Runtime: 81 min · 1h 21m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: The Happiest Days of Your Life (1950)

Also by

Frank Launder

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-04-25
★ 7/10
"Wetherby Pond" (Alastair Sim) is the headmaster of a boy's school who really just wants a peaceable life with his miscreant pupils at "Nutbourne" school. It's the war, though, and the useless mandarins at Whitehall decide that he is going to have to share his premises with another school. Thing is, they get all caught up in their own red tape and next thing he finds the intimidating "Miss Whitchurch" on his doorstep, armed with hundreds of girls, luggage, hockey sticks - you name it. They are there and there to stay. Before he can blink, "Pond" and his staff have been outmanoeuvred and his shirts are now in the filing cabinet! A sort of truce breaks out, cemented a little more when they realise that their charges have pens and paper and stamps. Letters to the parents about sharing send shivers down their spines. They must collaborate. A sudden inspection spells disaster for both of their careers unless they can institute some facility sharing legerdemain in double quick time. Will it work? Can it? Well we spend much of the rest of this amiable comedy demonstrating a degree of precision the would have made the D-Day landings blush. Sim and Rutherford both had super comedy timing and Frank Launder and John Dighton have adapted the latter man's play to ensure they get ample opportunity to demonstrate that to us. A solid supporting cast including the always entertaining Joyce Grenfell help keep this eighty minutes of mischief and mayhem working well.

Production companies

Who made it

IN
Individual Pictures
GB
LO
London Films Productions
GB
LO
London Films
BR
British Lion Films
GB

Key crew

ProducerFrank Launder
ProducerSidney Gilliat
EditorOswald Hafenrichter
Theatre PlayJohn Dighton
Associate ProducerE.M. Smedley-Aston
Art DirectionJoseph Bato
Production ManagerCecil R. Foster Kemp
Assistant DirectorCecil F. Ford
Camera OperatorMonty Berman
Sound RecordistLeonard Bulkley
Makeup ArtistDorrie Hamilton
HairstylistBetty Sherriff
ContinuityAngela Allen
ContinuityCarole Acason
Costume DesignJoan Ellacott
Title DesignerRonald Searle
ConductorHubert Clifford
Clapper LoaderDesmond Davis
Wardrobe MasterBert Rooke
Assistant Makeup ArtistTom Smith
Second Unit DirectorGeorge More O'Ferrall
Third Assistant DirectorClifford Price
Assistant Art DirectorWilliam Hutchinson
Scenic ArtistPeter Wood

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

black and white

Release history · US

When it landed

Theatrical1950-09-16

6.3