Summer Under the Stars: Shirley Jones

Star of the Day: Shirley Jones

The Happy Ending (1969): "A middle-aged woman leaves her husband and children in search of herself."

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Oof. This one hit me right in the feelings, considering Jean Simmons is playing a woman having a mid-life crisis at the ripe old age of 38... which I currently am. Baby, I wish you could've grown up with the freedom and access of modern women. It broke my heart that she was so deeply unhappy and it was only Shirley Jones (playing a college friend) and her maid, Agnes (played by Nanette Fabray), who really paid attention to her.

I also really appreciated Shirley Jones in this film. She plays a woman who exclusively has affairs with married men and acts as something of a jaded realist to Jean Simmons's character. It's a departure from the sugary musicals that played yesterday (except maybe Carousel, a movie I loathe).

I think... off the top of my head... that this is the first movie I've watched so far during Summer Under the Stars that'll be immediately added to my favourites list!