normstobert I reviewed this back in 2001 and since then I have found it on DVD. I did a Google search for the title and I eventually came up with a place that sells self-copied movies that have fallen into the public domain. These folks had a ton of movies I never even heard of! I purchased a copy and it came in a case with a "home-made" cover insert as well. The quality of the copy was good. Sorry but it has been several years since I purchased it so I cannot give you a link - but Google it and you will most likely find it. Will also throw in a comment on another post- I loved the old AMC - uncut, no commercials, no colorized movies. What happened along the way? It was great having all those movies with no interruptions. I suppose they figured out that you can make a lot more $$$ by doing it the way they do now. It's a shame cause they played movies you absolutely cannot find.

Alonzo Church Don Ameche's son is killed in WW II. Can grandpa Harry Carey, returning from the dead, convince a grieving Ameche that his life, his son's life, and this whole war is worth his son's sacrifice, and get Ameche to believe his small town is indeed HAPPY LAND?Despite a wonderful opening sequence, reminiscent of the homespun melancholy of the better parts of Our Town and Since You Went Away, this is a rather superficial and bland treatment of the grief of a good, if temporarily embittered man, whose son has died in the war. Ameche, a decent enough actor, does not have skill to bring off his role, and Harry Carey, with his mono-tonal voice, and facial expressions running the gamut of emotions from A to B, makes conversations about life and death as enchanting as a conversation about whether to pick up milk at the store. The result might be truly Midwestern in its emotions, but it's questionable whether that's a good thing.Much of the movie is flashbacks to the life of Ameche's child (though, interestingly, we do not see the kid actually fighting in the war). There's nothing especially interesting in the flashbacks, nor, really, is there much there that would provide comfort to Ameche. A final scene, where Ameche learns from a young Harry Morgan how his son died heroically, works somewhat better, simply because Morgan's flat Midwestern delivery and Ameche's flat Midwestern delivery grounds what has been rather leaden supernatural stuff in a bit of reality. Whether Ameche, under these circumstances, would find the will to go on again after all this, is questionable.A comparison between this film and It's A Wonderful Life is inevitable, as they deal with the same basic situation. This film, far more low key and far less extreme than the Stuart/Capra collaboration, might be more appealing to folks who prefer their fantastic/supernatural cinema to be realistic. But to this viewer, the far more dramatic events and emotional acting of Stuart makes his movie more fun to watch and, oddly enough, more believable.Assessment -- Don't avoid this movie. You might like it. Alas, I did not.

schaz Years ago (1980's) I happened on this film just as it was beginning on AMC. At that time I was a newly licensed pharmacist (less than 5 years experience.) I couldn't stop watching it. There on the screen was the story of a druggist like I'd always thought it should be--respected in his community, devoted to his fellow citizens' health, and always available night and day. This was the life I'd thought I was supposed to have before the reality of modern health insurance had fully settled on me. Don Ameche played the role perfectly. Harry Carry as the ghost of 'Gramps', Ameche's grandpa and druggist mentor, could not have been better cast. The central role of the Marsh drugstore was also perfectly set. This was like being in the era. Even a non-pharmacist would find this to be a charming look at an older generations' simpler life. Even with a world-war raging, the drugstore with its soda fountain and variety of dry goods was always there. People met their future spouses at the soda fountain, were able to find just the right remedy for what ailed and could get there favorite bath oils,etc. This is a must-see film for any pharmacist or anyone else who longs for the good-old-days. Anyone would find the story moving and even though most scenes take place in the drugstore, there is plenty of story to keep your attention. This film should be released on DVD. I know every pharmacist would want a copy.

xerses13 We saw this film sometime in the late 1980's on the old AMC. You remember AMC, the station that didn't like colorized or edited movies. That showed films how they were meant to. Well enough of that.The HAPPY LAND was one (1) of those fine WWII films that gave you a peek of what the home front was like and the effects the war had upon it. This was effectively and economically done. Not as long as SINCE YOU WENT AWAY or the HUMAN COMEDY more in line with the FIGHTING SULLIVANS another seldom seen home front film. Or at least seldom seen since AMC went to seed.The importance of these films is to give a glimpse into the lives of our parents or grandparents and not just the war, but the effects of rationing, personal loss and the fear that we could lose. Many young people have no concept what a close run thing WWII was. Not that we would have been conquered. But that Asia and Europe would have been dominated by two (2) powers both with a race superiority agendas. The NAZI Germans who wanted to create a master race and Imperial Japan who thought they WERE the master race.The film as far as we know is unavailable on any video format. Seems like a shame when so much bad material is rushed to DVD. 20th Century Fox should do something about this. After all they have released A YANK IN THE R.A.F which main claim to fame is Betty Grable and Tyrone Power.