''Happy Birthday, Wanda June'' is a 1971 American

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film directed by

Mark Robson Mark Robson may refer to: * Mark Robson (film director) (1913–1978), Canadian-American film director and producer * Mark Robson (American writer), Scottish-American writer and expert in United States coins and stamps * Mark Robson (footballer) ...

, based on a 1970 play by Kurt Vonnegut.

Plot

The opening of this play is "This is a simple-minded play about men who enjoy killing, and those who don't."

Big-game hunter Big-game hunting is the hunting of large game animals for meat, commercially valuable by-products (such as horns/antlers, furs, tusks, bones, body fat/oil, or special organs and contents), trophy/taxidermy, or simply just for recreation ("spo ...

and war hero Harold Ryan returns home to America, after having been presumed dead for several years. During the war, he killed over 200 men and women, and countless more animals — for sport. He was in the

Amazon Rainforest The Amazon rainforest, Amazon jungle or ; es, Selva amazónica, , or usually ; french: Forêt amazonienne; nl, Amazoneregenwoud. In English, the names are sometimes capitalized further, as Amazon Rainforest, Amazon Forest, or Amazon Jungle. ...

hunting for diamonds with Colonel Looseleaf Harper, a slow-witted aviation hero, who had the unhappy task of dropping the atomic bomb on Nagasaki. Harold finds that his wife Penelope has developed relationships with men very much unlike himself, including a vacuum cleaner salesman called Shuttle and a

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

doctor called Dr. Woodly, who later becomes Harold's foe. Harold also finds that his son, Paul, has been pampered and grown unmanly. Harold Ryan, the prolific killing machine, is very unsatisfied. It is set during 1960s America, and Harold feels the country has become weak, all the heroes have been replaced by intolerable

pacifists Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigne ...

, and that in postwar America, no proper enemy is available for him to vanquish. This is the story of his tragic attempt to find one. The "Wanda June" of the title is a young girl who died before she could celebrate her birthday. She was run over by an ice cream truck, but she is very pleased with her situation in Heaven, and feels that dying is a good thing and everyone in Heaven loves the person who sent them there. Her birthday cake was subsequently purchased by one of Penelope's lovers, for a celebration of Harold's birthday in his absence. Wanda June and several other deceased connections to Harold Ryan (including his ex-wife Mildred who drank herself to death because she could not stand Harold's premature ejaculation, and Major Siegfried von Konigswald, the Beast of Yugoslavia, Harold Ryan's most infamous victim) speak to the audience from Heaven, where Jesus, Judas Iscariot, Adolf Hitler, and Albert Einstein are happily playing shuffleboard.

Cast

Rod Steiger Rodney Stephen Steiger (; April 14, 1925July 9, 2002, aged 77) was an American actor, noted for his portrayal of offbeat, often volatile and crazed characters. Cited as "one of Hollywood's most charismatic and dynamic stars," he is closely assoc ...

as Harold Ryan *

Susannah York Susannah Yolande Fletcher (9 January 1939 – 15 January 2011), known professionally as Susannah York, was an English actress. Her appearances in various films of the 1960s, including '' Tom Jones'' (1963) and '' They Shoot Horses, Don't They?'' ...

as Penelope Ryan * George Grizzard as Dr. Norbert Woodley *

Don Murray Don Murray may refer to: * Don Murray (actor) (1929–2024), American actor * Don Murray (clarinetist) (1904–1929), American jazz musician * Don Murray (drummer) (1945–1996), American drummer and aminator * Don Murray (footballer) Donald Ja ...

as Herb Shuttle * William Hickey as Looseleaf Harper * Steven Paul as Paul Ryan * Pamelyn Ferdin as Wanda June *

Pamela Saunders Pamela may refer to: *''Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded'', a novel written by Samuel Richardson in 1740 *Pamela (name), a given name and, rarely, a surname * Pamela Spence, a Turkish pop-rock singer. Known as her stage name "Pamela" * MSC ''Pamela'', ...

as Mildred Ryan * Louis Turenne as Major von Koningswald

Productions and adaptations

''Happy Birthday, Wanda June'' originated as a play titled ''Penelope'', first performed at the Orleans Arena Theater in Orleans, Massachusetts. Vonnegut and composer

Richard Auldon Clark Richard Auldon Clark is an American conductor specializing in music by contemporary composers. He is Conductor and music director of both the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, which he founded in 1987, and the Butler Symphony Orchestra. He has premie ...

collaborated on an opera adaptation which was debuted at Butler University in 2016, nine years after Vonnegut's death. The

Gene Frankel Theater Eugene V. Frankel (December 23, 1919 – April 20, 2005) was an American actor, theater director, and acting teacher especially notable in the founding of the off-Broadway scene. Frankel served in the Army during World War II in entertainment and ...

staged an Off-Off-Broadway revival in April 2018, directed by Jeff Wise and featuring Jason O'Connell, Kate MacCluggage, and

Matt Harrington Matt Harrington (born February 1, 1982) is a former first round pick in Major League Baseball's First-Year Player Draft. Harrington was selected in the MLB draft five times in consecutive years, without coming to an agreement with his selecting t ...

. and a later off-Broadway revival, in November 2018, with the same performers, by the Wheelhouse Theater Company, at The Duke on 42nd Street.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Happy Birthday, Wanda June 1971 films American satirical films American comedy-drama films Films based on works by Kurt Vonnegut American films based on plays Films directed by Mark Robson 1960 plays Works by Kurt Vonnegut Columbia Pictures films 1970s English-language films 1970s American films

Plot

Cast

Productions and adaptations

See also

References

External links