A happily married father of two, who hates TV, brings a wedding anniversary gift for his wife, with the desire of a romantic interlude. Nonetheless, daily life chaos ensues, leading to TV screens being kicked in and everybody being angry.
Check out some of our favorite Hollywood couples who found romance together on screen and in real life.
Take a look back at the TV series that took home Golden Globe Awards for Best Television Series in the categories of Drama and Comedy.
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Title: Happy Anniversary (1959)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| David Niven | ... | Chris Walters | |
| Mitzi Gaynor | ... | Alice Walters nee Gans | |
| Carl Reiner | ... | Bud | |
 |
Loring Smith | ... | Arthur Gans / Grandpa |
| Monique van Vooren | ... | Jeanette Revere | |
| Phyllis Povah | ... | Lillian Gans / Grandma | |
| Elizabeth Wilson | ... | Millie the Maid | |
| Patty Duke | ... | Debbie Walters | |
| Kevin Coughlin | ... | Ockie Walters | |
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Don Grusso | ... | Johnson TV delivery man |
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William Dwyer | ||
| David Doyle | ... | Hotel Earle Desk Clerk (as David F. Doyle) | |
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Don De Leo | ||
| John Call | |||
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Sam Locante | ||
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Storyline
Living in the Gramercy Park neighborhood of New York City, lawyer Chris Walters and his wife, the former Alice Ganz, are celebrating their thirteenth anniversary in wedded bliss with their two children, Ockie and Debbie. On the anniversary day, Chris and Alice even decide on the spur of the moment to recreate a romantic tryst they had from years earlier. The only major disagreement Chris and Alice seem to have in their life is on the presence or not of a television set in the house, Chris who believes one will ruin the family dynamic. Things for the Walters take a turn for the worse when first Alice's parents buy their daughter and son-in-law a television set as a gift, and second, while in a drunken stupor at the anniversary party, Chris divulges a secret to Alice's parents that was kept solely between Alice and himself for fourteen years. Both incidents result in an argument between Chris and Alice. Going from bad to worse, daughter Debbie believes her parents may be headed for a ... Written by Huggo
Plot Keywords:
new york city | family relationships | based on play | television | party |Taglines:
It bounces convention right out the window! See more »Genres:
ComedyParents Guide:
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Music by Robert Allen
Lyrics by Al Stillman
Sung behind the credits by chorus
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Did You Know?
Crazy Credits
Animated anniversary cards are opened in between the opening credits. See more »Soundtracks
I Don't Regret a ThingMusic by Robert Allen
Lyrics by Al Stillman
Sung behind the credits by chorus
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
24 March 1960 (Sweden) See more »Also Known As:
Happy Anniversary See more »Filming Locations:
New York City, New York, USACompany Credits
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Happy Anniversary which was known as Anniversary Waltz on Broadway had a good 611 performance run on Broadway in 1954-55 season. Authored by Jerome Chodorov who was having blacklist problems in Hollywood it finally made it to the big screen in 1959 probably for that reason. But the delay knocked the props out of the big gag of the play.
David Niven and Mitzi Gaynor after 13 years of marriage and 14 year of kanoodling with two kids to show for it are having some wear and tear on the marriage. A big issue is Niven's old fashioned views on television, he hates it and won't have it in his house.
In 1954 a lot of people still didn't own a set. But by 1959 when I was 12 years old just about every family did. It was the major medium of entertainment and news and the two hadn't quite blended yet. Niven was not funny, in fact he was downright ludicrous.
And heavens to Betsy he actually admits that he and Gaynor were kanoodling even before it became official. That gets a good row going with her parents.
Gaynor got to sing a song in the film while she and Niven were dancing on their anniversary. Musicals were rapidly disappearing and good thing she got a number in here. But Happy Anniversary will not go down as a great David Niven or Mitzi Gaynor film.