Happy as the Grass Was Green

Happy as the Grass Was Green
Directed by	Charles Davis
Screenplay by	Charles Davis
Story by	Charles Davis, based on a story of Merle Good
Starring	Graham Beckel Pat Hingle Geraldine Page
Production company	Burt Martin Associates Production
Release date	December 1973 (1973-12)
Running time	105 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Happy as the Grass Was Green, later renamed Hazel's People, is a 1973 American drama film directed by Charles Davis and starring Geraldine Page, Pat Hingle and Graham Beckel. The film is one of the few Mennonite related films ever made.

Most of the cast other than the aforementioned consists of genuine Pennsylvanian Mennonites. The film is based on a novel by Merle Good. For many years, the film was presented nightly at the "People's Place" in Intercourse, Pennsylvania. The Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online states: "The two films Amish Grace and Happy as the Grass was Green have significant insider Mennonite contributions and come closest to presenting a valid image of Amish and Mennonites".

The original title of the film is taken from the poem Fern Hill of Dylan Thomas.

Plot

A Mennonite family's son is shot to death by police at an unnamed New York university while protesting the Vietnam War. His brother and another college student, Eric Mills, portrayed by Graham Beckel, go to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, stay on the family farm and attend his funeral. Once Mills arrives in the small town, he connects with the simple lifestyle there and discovers the Christian faith of the Mennonites. In the end, he decides to go back to the "world" instead of joining the small, religious community, in order to work on improving injustice, that now he could approach in a new way.

External links

• Happy as the Grass Was Green at IMDb
• Happy as the Grass Was Green at AllMovie
• Happy as the Grass Was Green at the TCM Movie Database