This Happy Breed

This Happy Breed was David Lean's first official credit as solo director, and the most successful film of 1944. It was adapted from Noël Coward's hit stage play (the title comes from Shakespeare's Richard II), which had opened at London's Haymarket Theatre in April 1943. Coward himself had played the role of Frank Gibbons on stage; the family's background was not unlike his own. Although he wanted to play the role on film, it was offered first to Robert Donat. By this time, Coward's adopted persona of upper-class theatrical sophistication had become far removed from his humble origins, and Lean felt he was totally wrong for the film.

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