What's So Bad About Feeling Good? (1968)

Director:

George Seaton

Writers:

Vincent McHugh (story)
Robert Pirosh (writer)

Release Date:

24 May 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Drop the net!! It's the wildest honeymoon two lovers ever spent!

Plot:

A new infection that simply makes people feel happy is treated as a threat by the authorities while its "victims" work to spread it to others. |

Plot Keywords:

Abstract Art | Greek Dancing | German Language Spoken | Acoustic Guitar | Question In Title

Cast

George Peppard	...	Pete
Mary Tyler Moore	...	Liz
Don Stroud	...	Barney
Susan Saint James	...	Aida
Dom DeLuise	...	J. Gardner Monroe
Nathaniel Frey	...	Conrad
John McMartin	...	The Mayor
Charles Lane	...	Dr. Shapiro
Jeanne Arnold	...	Gertrude
George Furth	...	Murgatroyd
Morty Gunty	...	Sgt. Gunty
Joe Ponazecki	...	Officer Ponazecki
Frank Campanella	...	Capt. Wallace
Thelma Ritter	...	Mrs. Schwartz

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German | Greek | Russian | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:S

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Cleavon Little's first film.

Quotes:

Dr. Shapiro: What this particular virus evidentally does is cause changes in our behavior patterns. People infected become euphoric, have a sense of well-being.
The Mayor: Well, I'm not going to order the Police Commissioner to call out twenty-eight thousand cops to find some bird that makes people feel good.
Dr. Shapiro: But we have no way of knowing what it may lead to. People could feel so good they'd quit their jobs, fly kites in Times Square, block traffic, uh... stop voting...
The Mayor: Stop voting!
[picks up the phone]
The Mayor: Get me the Police Commissioner.

Haunted by the question of happiness

I saw this on TV many years ago when I was a kid and the ideas have stayed with me like no other story. I think the basic story has the core of a fable for the ages like "Groundhogs Day" or "It's A Wonderful Life". In particular I remember the Idea that some people didn't need the infection. They were capable of happiness all the time ; and some were not. Now thirty years later the research of psychiatry and psychology finds that the basic ability or disposition to be happy underlies much of what happens in our lives. If they had seen this movie. We see constant advertisements for medications to make us happy. The characters in the movie are dated but the basic question of happiness haunts each of us and all of us together. I only wish I could see it again.