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 movie was based on the novel by Thomas Rogers, with a screenplay written by Jon Boothe and George L. Sherman.

College student William Popper (Michael Sarrazin) is visited by his aunt Ruth who persuades him to drive to see his father, which he opts to do rather than attend a talk with his girlfriend Jane (Barbara Hershey), later that evening, much to her annoyance.

He sets off to see his father in Connecticut in heavy rain after sunset, in a small sports car.

With limited visibility he accidentally strikes a woman who is crossing between parked cars still in the city centre.

Against the advice of the lawyer he goes to the home of the dead woman to apologise to the family, who are less than pleased by his presence.

The grandmother insists that William gets a character analysis on the dead woman, Mrs Conroy.

A new friend, George Wilson gets stabbed and killed in the showers by fellow inmate McArdle.

He sits with Jane and Melvin on a rooftop and discuss handing himself in, as he only has a week left on his sentence.