The Marsh House from “Happy Land”

Since we’re on the subject of McDonald Avenue (you can read Wednesday’s post about the McDonald Mansion from Pollyanna here), I figured I should write about another of its famous homes.  While doing research on the picturesque Santa Rosa street, one of the area’s most oft-filmed spots, prior to my trip up to Northern California last October, I came across a post on the Dear Old Hollywood website about Happy Land filming locations.  I had never heard of the 1943 drama prior to reading the post, but was immediately taken with one of the locales mentioned – a gorgeous Victorian dwelling that portrayed the Marsh family residence in the film.  So I made sure to add it to my NorCal Must-Stalk List.

In person, the house did not disappoint.  I mean, look at the place!  It’s stunning!

All that detailing is sublime!

The 2-story pad, which was originally built in 1890, is much larger than it appears to be from the street, boasting 5 bedrooms, 4 baths, and a whopping 3,594 square feet of living space.

Amazingly, the dwelling still looks pretty much exactly the same today as it did when Happy Land was shot 74 years ago.

I finally sat down to watch the movie earlier this week.  While a sweet film, Happy Land is, ironically enough, extremely sad.  The storyline centers around Lew (Don Ameche) and Agnes Marsh (Frances Dee), a couple trying to come to grips with the death of their son, Rusty (Richard Crane), who was killed in World War II.  Told via flashbacks, Happy Land reminds me a bit of A Christmas Carol, but without the Christmas theme.

The Marsh’s idyllic home, said to be located at 1127 Willson Avenue in Hartfield, Iowa, was featured throughout the film.

I absolutely love that the property’s real life address number was visible in the movie.  The address placard that appeared in Happy Land even looks to be the same one that is still installed above the front door today!

Dear Old Hollywood founder Robby Cress set about tracking down the Happy Land house prior to a 2013 trip to Northern California. Though he had heard that the movie was shot in Santa Rosa, he had no idea how to begin searching the area for the Marsh’s stately Victorian.  It was none other than Alfred Hitchcock who wound up giving him an assist.  The Master of Suspense filmed his famed 1943 thriller Shadow of a Doubt on McDonald Avenue and Robby figured Happy Land might have done the same.  So he began searching the street and, sure enough, found the pad just three blocks north of the property Hitch used.

While the exterior of the residence was utilized extensively in Happy Land, I do not believe that the interior made an appearance onscreen.  I cannot find any interior photographs of the actual dwelling to compare to what was shown in the movie, but it is my hunch that inside of the Marsh home was a set built on a soundstage.

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Big THANK YOU to the Dear Old Hollywood website for finding this location!

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The Marsh family home from Happy Land is located at 1127 McDonald Avenue in Santa Rosa.  Many famous movie houses can be found on the same street.  The McDonald Mansion, aka Mableton, from Pollyanna is located one block south at 1015 McDonald.  The Newton home from the 1943 Alfred Hitchcock thriller Shadow of a Doubt can be found three blocks south at 904 McDonald Avenue.  [The kitchen of that residence was also used as Tatum Riley’s (Rose McGowan) kitchen in Scream.]  And the Newton house from the 1991 made-for-television Shadow of a Doubt remake is located at 815 McDonald.

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