This Happy Breed

Yesterday, I noticed that Channel 4 was showing the Noel Coward/David Lean collaboration This Happy Breed (1944) at midday, so I recorded it to watch in the evening while progressing slowly with my Aran knitting. Channel 4 sneered before the film started, ‘Now we go frightfully British’. The listings mag called it ‘a quaint portrait’. OK, it may be a rather sentimental portrayal of lower middle class life, but I love this film. I think it’s essential viewing for anyone who wants to understand how the British once liked to see themselves. It’s also useful for readers of inter-war novels; the interiors and clothes are fascinating.
( more )