Just after World War I, the Gibbons family moves to a nice house in the suburbs. They live an ordinary life throughout the years, but everything changes when World War II breaks out.Just after World War I, the Gibbons family moves to a nice house in the suburbs. They live an ordinary life throughout the years, but everything changes when World War II breaks out.Just after World War I, the Gibbons family moves to a nice house in the suburbs. They live an ordinary life throughout the years, but everything changes when World War II breaks out.
- Awards
- 1 win
Robin Burns
- Man in Crowd
- (uncredited)
Mabel Etherington
- Lady in Crowd
- (uncredited)
Dan Lester
- Man in Crowd
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe comment early in the movie about the cat and buttering its paws comes from a technique used when a cat moves houses. According to this, if the cat has butter on its paws it will stop and lick it off. As cats are very clean creatures, the butter on its paws and the bits of dirt/dust/debris that will inevitably stick to it will annoy the cat. The cat will sit down to clean itself and, in doing so, will take in its new surroundings creating a mental map of where its new home is and helping it to make the adjustment to its new surroundings.
- GoofsThe General Strike ended on May 12, 1926, but when Reg returns home with a bandaged head after the end of the strike the cherry tree in the back garden is still in bloom, long past its flowering period.
- Quotes
Frank Gibbons: She didn't pass on, pass over, or pass out! She died!
- Crazy creditsOpening credits prologue: This is the story of a London family from 1919 to 1939.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Jonathan Ross' Must-Watch Films: Crime Films (2023)
- SoundtracksRule Britannia
(uncredited)
Lyrics by James Thomson
Music by Thomas Augustine Arne
Sung by Robert Newton (Frank) and Stanley Holloway (Bob) coming home after their reunion
Featured review
Much like Cavalcade but more accessible
This British Technicolor domestic drama from Eagle-Lion and director David Lean charts 20 years in the life of the Gibbons family, from 1919 to 1939. Husband Frank (Robert Newton) has just returned from fighting in WW1, and he and his wife Ethel (Celia Johnson) are moving into a new home in a crowded working class neighborhood. We follow them as they have children, raise them, and deal with the various ups and downs of family life, all leading up to the outbreak of WW2. Also featuring John Mills, Kay Walsh, Stanley Holloway, Eileen Erskine, John Blythe, Amy Veness, Alison Leggatt, and the voice of Laurence Olivier.
Based on a play by Noel Coward, this bears some thematic similarities to 1933's Cavalcade. This is more accessible though, and certainly much better made. Technically the movie is a marvel, with perhaps the best looking color cinematography, courtesy of Ronald Neame, up to this point in film. Lean's direction is also very admirable, with interesting and innovative camera movement. There's one truly outstanding scene wherein a person who has bad news to share exits out of the back door into a garden to relay the message, only the camera stays inside the house, moving a bit, looking out into the backyard but not seeing the news being delivered, all the while loud, upbeat music is blaring from a radio. It's a shattering scene that depicts the often banal setting for life-changing developments. Unfortunately I found much of the rest of the movie uninvolving. The acting is good, very natural and played in the medium to low register. I just couldn't bring myself to get emotionally connected with much of it.
Based on a play by Noel Coward, this bears some thematic similarities to 1933's Cavalcade. This is more accessible though, and certainly much better made. Technically the movie is a marvel, with perhaps the best looking color cinematography, courtesy of Ronald Neame, up to this point in film. Lean's direction is also very admirable, with interesting and innovative camera movement. There's one truly outstanding scene wherein a person who has bad news to share exits out of the back door into a garden to relay the message, only the camera stays inside the house, moving a bit, looking out into the backyard but not seeing the news being delivered, all the while loud, upbeat music is blaring from a radio. It's a shattering scene that depicts the often banal setting for life-changing developments. Unfortunately I found much of the rest of the movie uninvolving. The acting is good, very natural and played in the medium to low register. I just couldn't bring myself to get emotionally connected with much of it.
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- AlsExGal
- Dec 20, 2022
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Srecna porodica
- Filming locations
- Alderbrook Road, London, Greater London, England, UK(exteriors of family house near corner with Bellamy St. - still standing in 2022)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- £200,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 55 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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