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The Pursuit of Happiness (1970)

Director: Robert Mulligan

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From Time Out Film Guide

Too shapeless, too drawn out, too much reliance on symbols - that is part of what is wrong with Mulligan's entry in the youth movie stakes. The plot is melodramatic but not incredibly so: the hero (Sarrazin) finds himself college boy one moment, prisoner (by virtue of a collision with an old lady who steps out in front of his car on a dark and rainy night) and prosecution witness in a prison murder trial the next. Mulligan seems to have intended exploring his innocent hero's 'pursuit', or rather flight, on a physical level - his opting out of student politics to indulge his model boat hobby is merely the first step - but instead the subject escapes, losing itself in getting Sarrazin from A to B rather than really looking at why. There is a serious point to it all - it shouldn't look faintly silly, but it does.

Author: VG 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide

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Cast & crew

Director: Robert Mulligan

Producer: David Susskind

Cast: Michael Sarrazin, Barbara Hershey, Robert Klein, Sada Thompson, Ralph Waite, Arthur Hill, EG Marshall full cast

Duration: 98 mins


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