The Happy Ending Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

The Happy Ending Blu-ray Movie Review

American Beauty, circa 1969.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III February 8, 2026

Writer/director Richard Brooks (most famous for films like In Cold Blood, Elmer Gantry, and of course Cat on a Hot Tin Roof) only sat in the director's chair a few more times after The Happy Ending, a piercing 1969 drama starring his then-wife Jean Simmons in an Academy Award-nominated role. But while the fruits of this labor aren't exactly as ripe as that introduction suggests, there's certainly some time capsule appeal and a heavy, palpable atmosphere that really places you in the mind of its main character, disillusioned suburban housewife/mom Mary Wilson (Simmons). First offered on Blu-ray by the late, great boutique label Twilight Time in 2016 (which is long out of print), The Happy Ending returns a decade later via this catalog release from MGM. But unlike its title, there's no happy ending here for hopeful fans: just a barebones Blu-ray with a creaky old master whose only strength is a more affordable price tag.

A quick synopsis: Mary Wilson is treading water as a suburban housewife who, after 16 years of marriage to Fred (John Forsythe), now feels physically and emotionally trapped in an unsatisfying, domesticated life; it's nothing like the romantic fairly tale she was sold through countless Golden Age Hollywood movies, and she even attempts to cope with alcohol and prescription pills. Not surprisingly, nothing works. In a last-ditch effort to reclaim her life, Mary impulsively buys a one-way ticket to the Bahamas on the eve of her anniversary and ends up reconnecting with her old friend Flo Harrington (Shirley Jones), meeting new ones, and all the while attempting to reckon with the slow, steady collapse of her marriage and where to go from here. Oh, and she abandoned a teenage daughter too (Kathy Fields).

For a fuller synopsis and critique of The Happy Ending, please see Jeffrey Kauffman's review of Twilight Time's Blu-ray linked above. I'm in total agreement with Jeff's take on this material: it's not without its moments but feels more like Oscar bait for Jean Simmons than a fully coherent production. Even so, it's very much a product of its time so those with a soft spot for emotionally charged 1960s melodramas may find The Happy Ending worth seeking out.

The Happy Ending Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

MGM has churned out a small but growing number of reissued catalogue titles on Blu-ray during the last few years; specifically, those originally licensed to smaller boutique labels like Olive Films and Twilight Time before their separate closures several years ago. While making these catalogue titles more widely available is technically better than nothing, MGM had a unique opportunity to expand upon those earlier releases with new masters or bonus features... but in all cases that I'm personally familiar with, they're done neither of those things. In fact, they've gone slightly backwards by omitting modest extras from those earlier titles, such as isolated score tracks and even promotional items like theatrical trailers. Case in point: this 1080p transfer is basically identical to Twilight Time's Blu-ray, which was of course provided by MGM back in 2016. Please visit Jeff Kauffman's linked review for more details... but in short, this is a pretty creaky master with unchecked noise levels and mostly dull, faded colors, which is a real shame. I've lowered the score to a more fitting 3/5 even though it's the same master, but that's honestly being a little generous.

The Happy Ending Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Not surprisingly, the DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix (which offers a split-channel presentation of the original mono for wider playback) is identical to the Twilight Time Blu-ray, which means it's a generally fine but somewhat thin effort that sells Michel Legrand's original score a little short. (This extends to his Oscar-nominated song "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?", co-written with Alan and Marilyn Bergman and sung by Michael Dees, as well as a couple of tracks by William Eaton.) As suggested earlier, Twilight Time's 2016 Blu-ray also included a lossless true stereo 2.0 isolated score track, but that option sadly hasn't been licensed for this release.

As before, optional English subtitles are included during the main feature.

The Happy Ending Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with vintage poster-themed cover artwork and no insert. Not surprisingly, no extras are included, not even the trailer or stereo isolated score from Twilight Time's out-of-print Blu-ray.

The Happy Ending Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Writer/director Richard Brooks wrote and/or directed far better films than A Happy Ending, but it's got a few modest strengths including solid time-capsule appeal, an Oscar-nominated lead performance by his then-wife Jean Simmons, and the similarly Oscar-nominated lead song "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?", which is featured several times during the course of this bristly melodrama. It's thus not exactly the strongest blind buy in recent memory, and long-time fans of the film likely own and enjoy Twilight Time's marginally superior Blu-ray. That doesn't leave a large audience for MGM's re-release (which features the same creaky old master and zero extras), but its cheap price tag may at least entice interested newcomers since A Happy Ending likely won't be revisited anytime soon.