Society heiress Joan Bradford rebels against her mother's choice of a future husband by masquerading as a working class girl and dating a window washer.Society heiress Joan Bradford rebels against her mother's choice of a future husband by masquerading as a working class girl and dating a window washer.Society heiress Joan Bradford rebels against her mother's choice of a future husband by masquerading as a working class girl and dating a window washer.
- Policeman
- (uncredited)
- Window Washer
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe airplane seen at the end of the film is a 1929 Lockheed Vega, registration NC48M. It was owned by Paul Mantz, a famous stunt pilot and aviation entrepreneur. He was a friend of Howard Hughes and a technical advisor to Amelia Earhart. He owned United Air Services that provided aircraft and pilots for many films, in addition to having an air ambulance service. This particular aircraft was named the "Honeymoon Express" as it flew newlywed couples to Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada and Yuma, Arizona - honeymoon hot-spots at the time. This aircraft was being used for the film "Only Angels Have Wings" (1939) when it crashed upon landing at St. George, Utah and was damaged beyond repair.
- Quotes
Bob Lane: [angrily to Joan as he leaves] You know, I'm pretty good about that cheating business myself! And all that junk I fed you about being in love with ya was just a lot of conversation! Give me a buzz if you want some windows washed! I'm goin' into business! You know, you may not look so bad from the outside!
- Crazy creditsQuite unusually for this era, there's a short pre-credit sequence: a complete refrain of the title song is sung before the main title card is shown. The First National logo zooms toward us out of clouds (just as the WB logo more familiarly does) then Dick Powell is superimposed over the same clouds singing "Happiness Ahead" directly to us.
- ConnectionsRemade as Here Comes Happiness (1941)
- SoundtracksBeauty Must Be Loved
(1934) (uncredited)
Music by Sammy Fain
Lyrics by Irving Kahal
Played on piano and sung by Dick Powell
The setting: New York. Time: New Year's Eve. The plot: Joan Bradford (Josephine Hutchinson, the central character to the story) is a lonely rich girl who prefers to mingle with the common people instead of her parent's rich but boring socialites. Granted permission by her understanding father (John Halliday), she walks about the city streets surrounded by happy-go-lucky people waiting for that big stroke of midnight. She comes into a Chinese night club where she sits alone. In the table next to her is Bob Lane (Dick Powell), a window washer, accompanied by his friends (Frank McHugh, Dorothy Dare and others). When the lights go out at the stroke of midnight, the lights come back on and Bob is seen mistakenly kissing Joan. Feeling sorry for the girl because she is alone, Bob invites her to his table. This becomes the beginning of a beautiful friendship, but Joan hides the fact of who she really is, pretending to be an unemployed girl living in a tenement apartment under the surname of Smith.
Also featured in the cast are Allen Jenkins and Ruth Donnelly as the Bradford chauffeur and maid; Marjorie Gateson as Joan's mother; Gavin Gordon as Joan's stuffy suitor; and Jane Darwell as the nosy landlady. HAPPINESS AHEAD relies more on plot than songs, but there's enough to go around, including the title tune sung by Powell prior to the opening credits as he's presented transposed through the clouds; "Pop Goes Your Heart," "All on Account of Strawberry Sundae" (sung by Dorothy Dare and Powell); "Beauty Must Be Loved" and "Massaging Window Panes" (sung by Powell and McHugh as they wash windows)
In 1938, Powell starred in another "rich girl/common man" story for Warner Brothers titled HARD TO GET with Olivia De Havilland as the heiress and Powell as a gas station attendant. Hutchinson's performance from this earlier film is more refined while the refine DeHavilland herself in HARD TO GET is more madcap and spoiled, making that story more amusing and fun. Both films, similar in theme, are quite enjoyable in spite their lack of production numbers famous in Warners musicals during that time.
HAPPINESS AHEAD would be reworked again by Warner Brothers as HERE COMES HAPPINESS (1941), a "B" comedy featuring Edward Norris and Mildred Coles (including the "Happiness Ahead" theme song), and as LOVE AND LEARN (1947) with Jack Carson and Martha Vickers. All three versions can be seen from time to time on cable TV's Turner Classic Movies. As Powell would say throughout the movie, "Well, that's taken care of." It certainly is. (***)
- lugonian
- Jan 4, 2001
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Posledice poljubaca
- Filming locations
- Bob Hope Airport, Burbank, California, USA(Airport - exterior view)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 26 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1