A family reacts to the return of the patriarch who abandoned them seven years prior.
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Title: Happy Birthday, Wanda June (1971)
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Cast
| Cast overview: | |||
| Rod Steiger | ... | Harold Ryan | |
| Susannah York | ... | Penelope Ryan | |
| George Grizzard | ... | Dr. Norbert Woodley | |
| Don Murray | ... | Herb Shuttle | |
| William Hickey | ... | Looseleaf Harper | |
| Steven Paul | ... | Paul Ryan | |
| Pamelyn Ferdin | ... | Wanda June | |
 |
Pamela Saunders | ... | Mildred Ryan |
|
|
Louis Turenne | ... | Major von Koningswald |
|
|
C.C. Whitney | ... | Mrs. Kestenbaum |
|
|
Lester Goldsmith | ... | Mr. Kestenbaum (as Lester M. Goldsmith) |
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Plot Summary
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Plot Synopsis
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Storyline
A family reacts to the return of the patriarch who abandoned them seven years prior.
Plot Keywords:
screenplay adapted by author | family relationships | jungle | homecoming | based on play |Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents »
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See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
9 December 1971 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.'s Happy Birthday, Wanda June See more »Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
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[kisses Harold]
Penelope Ryan: goodnight dear
[kisses Dr Woodley]
Penelope Ryan: . Stay or go; talk or sulk; laugh or cry - as you wish. Do whatever seems called for. My mind is gone. Good night.
[she closes and locks door]
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
The original Broadway production of "Happy Birthday, Wanda June" by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. opened at the Edison Theater on December 22, 1970, ran for 96 performances and closed on March 14, 1971. See more »Quotes
Penelope Ryan: Doctor Woodley, I would like you to meet Harold, my husband. Harold, I would like you to meet Doctor Woodley, my fiancé. Goodnight dear[kisses Harold]
Penelope Ryan: goodnight dear
[kisses Dr Woodley]
Penelope Ryan: . Stay or go; talk or sulk; laugh or cry - as you wish. Do whatever seems called for. My mind is gone. Good night.
[she closes and locks door]
See more »
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Yes, I have to toss my two thumbs up into the heavens for this film as well. Seen a few times at a very young age. Bit of a slow start as Harold returns home and all. But soon as the cake is introduced with 'Happy Birthday Wanda June' on the counter, the surreal begins! A brilliantly funny, but I'm sure 'unpolitically correct' view of 'heaven' - even at my young virgin age, I was kinda shocked. Wanda June, cute as a bugs ear - but tragically hit by a truck before her birthday. Assistited by a fatherly Nazi to help explain the utopia of their afterlife. Like Nazis and Jesus playing shuffleboard all day in heaven? And you know Jesus is like really good, because he has the satin jacket and all that. Then back down to New York, where Harold and his buddy try desperately to reintegrate themselves into a world that now seems so foreign. I wouldn't say it was a 'feminist' movie, nor was it glorifying or lambasting the idea of brutality and war. I'd say it was simply about 'time' itself. As in 'time is fleeting', 'time heals all wounds', 'remember the good times and forget the bad'. As irrational and surreal as it was - long before Updike treatments. It's probably the one that comes off the most sane and human out of the lot. Kings, Heros, Madmen, and the wakes of their plunder and destruction. Queens, Innocent beauty, and youth. All but ripples on the shore that cannot stand up to natural currents and waves - only help contribute to them until the tides change. And that you can set your watch to. Brilliant film!