By Anne Levin

Back when it was known as Lawrenceville Prep, the Lawrenceville School played host to Hollywood for several scenes of The Happy Years, a film based on Owen Johnson’s series of Lawrenceville-based stories set in the 1890s.

Johnson was a member of the class of 1895. His years at the school inspired the series that, in 1949, was turned into a feature film. In celebration of Lawrence Township History Month, The Happy Years will be screened on Thursday, October 19 at 5:30 p.m. at the Lawrence Headquarters Branch of Mercer County Library System. Jacqui Haun, Lawrenceville School archivist, will introduce the film and be on hand after the screening to answer questions.

“The stories were originally published serially, in magazines like the Saturday Evening Post,” Haun said. “They were made into a series of books, which were widely read, sort of like Tom Brown’s School Days. So Lawrenceville became well known because of those books.”

Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) bought the rights to the stories in 1945. Producer Carey Wilson, known for the Andy Hardy movies and classics like The Postman Always Rings Twice, wasn’t a Lawrenceville graduate. But he was a fan of the stories, and he wanted to bring them to the screen. After the film was released, Wilson was made an honorary member of the class of 1950.

“He said, if I’m going to make the movie, I want to do it on campus,” said Haun. “It finally got all worked out, and in the fall of 1949, Hollywood came to Lawrenceville.”

Those familiar with the leafy campus will recognize certain building and details. “You can identify things like the wrought iron fence that runs along Main Street,” said Haun. “One of the major sections involves Green House on Main Street, which is actually the childhood home of Norman Schwarzkopf. There really were students living there, and in other houses nearby. But they didn’t film anything inside.”

Several students acted as extras in the film, which stars a very young Dean Stockwell, Darryl Hickman, Leo G. Carroll, and Scotty Beckett. Robert Wagner has a small role. William A. Wellman directed.

Stockwell plays Humperdink Stover, who is enrolled at Lawrenceville as a last chance after being expelled from both a public school and another prestigious private school. Though he manages to ostracize himself from the boys in his dorm, and make himself a target for the headmaster, young Stover finally realizes he has to straighten himself out.

The Lawrenceville campus is a National Historic Landmark known for its architecture, and in particular for its landscape by Frederick Law Olmsted. “I’ve actually had landscape architects interested in Olmsted who would come to campus and watch the film, to see how the landscape has changed,” Haun said.

The Happy Years is most directly based on The Varmint, which is part of Johnson’s series of stories. Several incidents in the story, and the film, are based on actual events and real people. “We actually have lists of who was based on who,” Haun said. “The main character in the film is fiction, though, as is his main opponent. The teacher is based on the actual person. So there is a lot of reality, but put to comic effect.”

Lawrenceville alumni used to be shown the film on occasion. But problems with getting a copy in the right format resulted in fewer screenings in recent years.

“Fortunately, it was finally digitized and made into a DVD,” said Haun. “For us, that was huge exciting news. We can keep it alive for Lawrenceville history.”

Admission to the screening is free, but registration is appreciated at mcl.org or by emailing lawprogs@mcl.org. The library is located at 2751 Brunswick Pike.