"I don't want to run anymore..."

William Popper (Michael Sarrazin) is the son of a stockbroker and is thoroughly disenchanted with "the system." So much so that even though he can prove that he ran over a woman in his car entirely by accident, he accepts a sentence for manslaughter. His participation in some prison violence motivates him to attempt to escape, though he has only a week to go on his sentence. Having escaped, he and his old girlfriend (Barbara Hershey) make a run for Canada. The story is adapted from the novel The Pursuit of Happiness by Thomas Rogers. As William's starchy grandmother, Ruth White, notable for her work in To Kill a Mockingbird and Midnight Cowboy makes her last film appearance. ~

The Pursuit of Happiness is a 1971 American drama film about a student who goes on the run to avoid serving his full prison sentence for vehicular manslaughter. The film was directed by Robert Mulligan. The producer was David Susskind and the associate producer, Alan Shayne. The screenplay was written by Jon Boothe and George L. Sherman.
This movie bears no relation to the similarly titled 2006 movie The Pursuit of Happyness starring actor Will Smith.

Release Date: February 21, 1971


Distrib: Columbia Pictures