Review of The Happy Time

French-Canadian household in the 1920s welcomes in a womanizing, ne'er-do-well uncle as well as a sexy, out-of-work magician's assistant, the latter of whom gets hormones innocently stirring for the resident teenage boy. Earl Felton's screenplay, taken from Samuel A. Taylor's play (which in turn was adapted from Robert Fontaine's stories), is stretched out like a series of nostalgic episodes, and the stop-and-start rhythm takes a while to grab hold. Once the characters begin intermingling, there's a great deal to enjoy here, though the frivolity is laid-on a bit thick (and the title song is like precious syrup). Much of the focus is on young Bobby Driscoll, and he's a bright, likable kid, though perhaps a bit too studied and overeager. Best performances are turned in by Charles Boyer as the head of the household and Louis Jourdan as his returning brother (you can almost feel the shot of adrenaline the picture gets once Jourdan enters). Quite tolerable overall, particularly in its lively third act. ** from ****