Main Cast: Malcolm McDowell, Ralph Richardson, Ralph Richardson, Rachel Roberts, Rachel Roberts, Rachel Roberts, Arthur Lowe, Helen Mirren
Release Year: 1973
Country: UK
Run Time: 186 minutes
Plot
One man's dreams of success take him on a Byzantine journey through the various stations of the British class system in this politically charged black comedy from director Lindsay Anderson. Mick Travis (Malcolm McDowell) is an ambitious young man who is looking to get his foot on the first rung of the ladder of success by landing a job as a salesman. After the death of Imperial Coffee's leading drummer in the North, Travis' charm and enthusiasm so impresses manager Mr. Duff (Arthur Lowe) that he's given the job, and after some coaching from Gloria Rowe (Rachel Roberts), Travis sets out to find his fortune in the coffee trade. Travis' desire for success quickly sets him on a curious odyssey in which he happens upon a secret sex club for businessmen, finds himself the subject of random seductions by lonely women, is captured and tortured by military intelligence agents, submits to medical experiments at a bizarre private clinic, hitches a ride with a traveling rock band led by former Animals keyboardist Alan Price, falls in love with a beautiful young bohemian named Patricia (Helen Mirren), goes to work for her father (Ralph Richardson), who happens to be a singularly corrupt political figure, and eventually lands in prison after he's implicated in a deal to sell chemical weapons to the Third World. As Mick's strange tale progresses, we periodically visit Price and his band in the recording studio or rehearsal hall, as they work on songs which serve as both mirror and counterpoint for Travis' progress. O Lucky Man! was the second film in which Malcolm McDowell would portray Mick Travis for director Lindsay Anderson, following If..., and preceding Britannia Hospital; the film's surreal undercurrent was reinforced by the casting, in which nearly all of the principle actors play two or three roles. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
Lindsay Anderson's epic-scale satire of wealth, ambition, and class in Great Britain is so dry and played with such subtlety that some viewers may wonder at times if it's really intended to be a comedy, which of course is one of its great strengths. For a film whose messages and observations are dagger sharp, O Lucky Man! never overplays its hand, no matter how bizarre the circumstances Malcolm McDowell's Mick Travis is forced to confront; and from the torture session interrupted by the tea lady to casual suicides by lower-level office functionaries, O Lucky Man! keeps one foot in reality at all times, which makes its brutal absurdities all the more telling (and hilarious). McDowell's performance is one of his very best, managing to blend Mick's sometimes cartoonish get-up-and-go with a credible sense of puzzlement and anger at the surreal events which follow him, and Anderson's stock company -- including Ralph Richardson, Arthur Lowe, Rachel Roberts and Helen Mirren -- are equally engaging in their multiple roles. Alan Price's songs offer a perfect running commentary on the narrative, and Anderson's audacious device of periodically returning to Price and his band in the studio still stands as one of the most intelligent uses of pop music in film scoring. Engaging and compelling for every moment of its three-hour running time, O Lucky Man! is a bellowing cry of bitterness and a call for cultural revolution lurking just beneath the surface of a low-key comedy of errors; and it's all but impossible to imagine any director/actor team besides Anderson and McDowell making this work nearly so well. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Alan Withy - Art Director, Elsa Fennell - Costume Designer, Lindsay Anderson - Director, David Gladwell - Editor, Alan Price - Composer (Music Score), Alan Price - Songwriter, Basil Newall - Makeup, Paul Rabiger - Makeup, Jocelyn Herbert - Production Designer, Miroslav Ondrícek - Cinematographer, Zelda Barron - Production Manager, Michael Medwin - Producer, Lindsay Anderson - Producer, Harry Cordwell - Set Designer, John Stears - Special Effects, David Sherwin - Screenwriter, Malcolm McDowell - From Idea By
Type: Soundtrack, Lyrics are included with the album
Genre: Rock
Review
Like most of his largely fantastic post-Animals work, Alan Price's soundtrack to the 1973 film, O Lucky Man!, went almost completely unnoticed in the United States at the time of its release. It is a shame too, because the soundtrack holds together as one of the best albums Price ever put out. The film's plot followed the adventures of an everyman named Mick Travis (played by Malcolm McDowell) on his surreal journey through varying class-levels of British society. Price's music was fully integrated into the film, with scenes of his band's studio performances providing a kind of Brechtian commentary on the story as it unfolded. Since the movie was a black-comedy, it stood to reason that the music (featured so prominently) would reflect that aspect, and it did. All of Price's offerings are delivered with a healthy dash of wryly-smiling, Pantagruelian cynicism lurking just beneath their pleasant, dance-hall veneers. "Look Over Your Shoulder" bounces along with its jolly chord progression, all the while warning listeners that doom and misfortune could be waiting for them around every corner. In the song "Justice," Price reminds us that it is often wealth that guarantees fair treatment under the law, while musically cavorting across the village green like a harlequin-costumed Ray Davies. Along with Davies' influence, there are also nods to Randy Newman evident on songs like "My Home Town" and (especially) the charming side-one offering "Poor People"." Price keeps his influences in their rightful place though, never channeling them into his songs directly; he, instead, sets them on top of his piano, like busts of great composers, for inspiration. ~ J. Scott McClintock, All Music Guide
Alan Price (Arranger), Alan Price (Keyboards), Alan Price (Vocals), Alan Price (Producer), Alan Price (Main Performer), Dave Markee (Guitar (Bass)), Malcolm McDowell (Liner Notes), Keith Blake (?), Keith Blake (Digital Mastering), Gregg Geller (Producer), Keith Grant (Engineer), Colin Green (Guitar), Clive Thacker (Drums), Richie Unterberger (Reissue Liner Notes)
During his journey, Travis learns the amoral lesson, reinforced by numerous songs in the soundtrack by Alan Price, that he must abandon his principles in order to succeed, but unlike the other characters he meets he must retain a detached idealism that will allow him to distance himself from the evils of the world: a fact which causes the film to often be considered a reappropriation of Candide by Voltaire. As one of the film's songs says:
Smile while you're makin' it, Laugh while you're takin' it, Even though you're fakin' it, Nobody's gonna know.
In O Lucky Man!, Travis progresses from coffee salesman (working for Imperial Coffee in the North East of England and Scotland), a victim of torture in a government installation and a medical research subject, under the supervision of Dr Millar (Crowden), where he is almost turned into a sheep.
In parallel with Travis' experiences, the film shows 1960s Britain retreating from its imperial past, but managing to retain some influence in the world by means of corrupt dealings with foreign dictators. After finding out his girlfriend is the daughter of Sir James Burgess (Richardson), an evil industrialist, he is appointed Burgess' personal assistant.
With Dr Munda, the dictator of the fictitious Zingara, a brutal police state which nevertheless manages to be a playground for wealthy people from the developed world, Burgess sells the regime a chemical called PL45 'Honey' for spraying on rebel areas (the effects resemble those of Napalm). Burgess connives at having Travis found guilty of fraud, and he is imprisoned for five years.
The final scene of the film shows him becoming involved in a casting call for a film, with Lindsay Anderson himself playing the director of the film. He is given various props to handle, including a stack of school books and a machine gun. When asked to smile Mick continually asks why. The director slaps Travis with his script book after he fails to understand what is being asked of him. After a cut to black (a device used throughout the film) a slow look of understanding crosses Mick's face. The scene then cuts to a party with dancing which includes all of the cast celebrating.
Background and production
The film originally began as a script written by McDowell about his experiences as a coffee salesman in his late teens and early 20s. Anderson was unhappy with this treatment, and David Sherwin worked on the script. Sherwin though was undergoing personal problems at the time, which necessitated Anderson writing a few scenes himself, a skill he did not feel he had. Anderson found working with Czech cinematographer Miroslav Ondříček much less rewarding than he had on if..... He also doubted his own skills as a director during the film's making, and felt that the film had insufficient preparation. The role of Patricia was recast during production. Originally, Fiona Lewis, best known for appearing in several Horror films around this time, played the role.[2]
Britannia Hospital (1982) completes the trilogy of films featuring Mick Travis,[3] which also sees the return of Dr Millar.
Score
According to Alan Price, Lindsay Anderson had been frustrated in his efforts to make a documentary featuring Price and his band about touring in England because of the prohibitive cost to license the cover songs they frequently performed. As David Sherwin and Malcolm McDowell developed the script, Anderson decided Price should write the score and sent him the script, indicating where he would like songs to appear; nearly all the songs were written in advance of filming[4]. Anderson conceived of Price's role as a kind of Greek Chorus, both commenting on and finally appearing as part of the action.
Cast
Many of the actors play several roles and Alan Price appears in several scenes — both in music video-like numbers where he is seen performing his music, but later interacting directly with Mick Travis — adding to the film's surreal air.
A number of different edits exist, with some American prints removing around twenty minutes including the working class parody suicide just before the conclusion of the film. Even both British VHS releases delete at least one scene present in the BBC broadcast of the film (Travis testing his status in the home of his industrialist patron) in the early eighties.
A two disc special edition Region 1DVD of O Lucky Man! was released October 30, 2007.
