The Happy Ending

1969
R
1h 57m

IMDb RATING

6.3/10

1.3K

YOUR RATING

A middle-aged woman walks out on her husband and family in an desperate attempt to find herself.

Play trailer2:58

1 Video

11 Photos

Tragedy Drama

A middle-aged woman walks out on her husband and family in an desperate attempt to find herself.A middle-aged woman walks out on her husband and family in an desperate attempt to find herself.A middle-aged woman walks out on her husband and family in an desperate attempt to find herself.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.3/10

1.3K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 5 nominations total

Videos1

Trailer 2:58

Trailer

Photos11

Top cast32

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Jean Simmons

Mary Wilson

John Forsythe

Fred Wilson

Shirley Jones

Flo Harrigan

Lloyd Bridges

Teresa Wright

Mrs. Spencer

Dick Shawn

Harry Bricker

Nanette Fabray

Agnes

Bobby Darin

Franco
(as Robert Darin)

Tina Louise

Helen Bricker

Kathy Fields

Marge Wilson

Karen Steele

Divorcee

Gail Hensley

Betty

Eve Brent

Ethel

William O'Connell

Minister
(as Wm. O'Connell)

Barry Cahill

Handsome Man

Miriam Blake

Cindy

Eleanor Bender

Alice
(uncredited)

Ingrid Bergman

Self - Actress in 'Casablanca'
(archive footage)
(uncredited)

Director
- Richard Brooks
Writer
- Richard Brooks
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Teresa Wright was just 11 years older than Jean Simmons, who was playing her daughter.

Goofs
During the opening-credit sequence, many late-model 1960's cars are seen in flashback scenes supposedly set 15 years earlier.

Quotes
[last lines]
Mary Wilson: If... if right now we were not married, if you were free, would you marry me again ?

Alternate versions
The film was originally submitted to the MPAA for an R rating. After United Artists found Richard Brooks' intended cut too depressing, the studio forced to cut the film into a "moviegoer friendly" cut that was rated M. Brooks' R-rated cut was released in other countries as intended but was not released in the United States until 2016.

Connections
Features Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise) (1931)

Soundtracks
What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?
Music by Michel Legrand
Lyrics by Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman
Sung by Michael Dees

User reviews29

Review

Featured review

9/10

One of my favorite films

When I first saw THE HAPPY ENDING, back in 1970, I was blown over by the film's sensitive portrayal of an unhappy housewife trying to decide what to do with her life. I took family and friends to see it and most people liked the film, finding it unusually frank as a portrayal of a failed marriage. I still find THE HAPPY ENDING very good. It is aesthetically rooted in the late sixties but that does not diminish its essential value. The all-star cast is excellent (Jean Simmons, John Forsythe, Teresa Wright, Nanette Fabray, Shirley Jones, Bobby Darin, Lloyd Bridges, Tina Louise) and Jean Simmons might have shared the Oscar with Maggie Smith that year. Both actresses deserved to receive acting honors for their respective roles. I love the jazzy music score by Michel Legrand; Marilyn & Alan Bergman's beautiful song-theme for the film is a perennial favorite of mine as far as romantic songs are concerned. All in all, I will always have a special place in my heart for THE HAPPY ENDING.