Good concept, poorly executed.

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

Ray Milland had plenty of experience coming off as a drunkard in this 1951 film from his 1945 Oscar winning performance in "The Lost Weekend."As an English professor, College secretary Nancy Davis, runs in to inform him in front of the class that his house exploded. Of course, in this type of situation, he would have been called out privately. He is devastated by the loss of child and his wife.Milland is again terrific as always. While he descends into heavy drinking, he is still able to maintain his position, though he becomes an embittered and quite nasty at times. As the secretary who is sympathetic to his plight, because she lost her husband to World War 11, Nancy Davis is marvelous here and it's probably by far the best performance she has given on screen. John Hodiak plays a member of the faculty who is involved with Davis, but feels threatened by her overly sympathetic embrace of the Milland character.It is only when he is involved in a car accident helped by his not being sober does Milland come to grips with the problem and speaks in a memorable way to his outgoing class at term's end.

Ray Milland reprises his drunken "Lost Weekend" routine in this typical drama about a professor who mourns the accidental death of his wife and 10-year-old boy, and then instead of adequately grieving over the loss, takes to drowning his sorrows in the bottle and becomes an alcoholic. His two best friends who care about him constantly try to set him on the straight and narrow path. I found this to be pretty standard with predictable results, with a stagnant plot that really doesn't go anywhere. What set this above average and worth one look is the good performance from Milland as well as a young Nancy Davis (Reagan) as one of the thoughtful friends who's devoted to him and can relate, having lost a spouse herself. **1/2 out of ****

Nancy Davis (later Reagan) gives a surprisingly good, sympathetic performance playing platonic friend to well-respected but troubled teacher Ray Milland. Life's woes have caused Ray to hit the bottle hard, but his loved ones quickly rally and offer their support. Heartfelt drama, written by Karl Tunberg and Leonard Spigelgass, is set partially (and quite amiably) at the professor's work-place, an idyllic college campus. Perhaps unintentionally, the filmmakers show that an innocent locale such as this doesn't always guarantee happiness or security, and Milland's personal tragedy leads him to depression and booze. The finale is a bit melodramatic, but the characters are vividly drawn. Not up to "The Lost Weekend" standards, but workmanlike, efficient and quite good. **1/2 from ****

Well this is a little movie about human tragedy, and surprisingly, it´s almost free from sentimental cliches. But that doesn´t mean that it is very concrete in its conviction (after all it was made in the early 50´s)The main character is played by Ray Milland (I know nothing about this guy). He is an professor that one day loses his home and family. He hides the tragedy deep inside and sternly carries on with his work - at his friends concerns. But now the feelings gets too overwhelming and he starts drinking and becomes suicidal. But as the title says, this film has a happy ending.What make this pretty dull movie worth watching, is the great performance from Milland. He acts his roll with great dignity, and although his age, he is quite convincing in it (specially in the "attempted suicide scene") . He stands clearly miles away from the sentimental intellectual drunkard acting of likes such as Van Hefling or Van Johnson etc.