The Happy Years
The Happy Years
Based on a collection of stories with the focus on young John Humperdink "Dink" Stover, a student at the Lawrenceville Prepatory School, in 1896, whose family, in Eastcester, New York, have just about given up on his education because he is an incorrigible student. He gets into one situation after another and incurs the dislike of his classmates, who think he is cowardly but he changes their opinion when he challenges several of them to a fight. When he returns home for the summer, he meets Miss Dolly Travers and increases his 'hatred of women' because she does not accept his schoolboy pranks. Back at school, in the fall, he is more difficult than ever until his philosophy is changed by a teacher.
Mister Arn reviewedMay 22, 2025
The movie is well-made, except that it takes place over two years, and the protagonist is a child. He doesn't change, and I found it unsettling. There are many warm fuzzies if you can identify with a rich preppy kid coming of age at the turn of the century.