Movies - O Lucky Man!

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	Movies - O Lucky Man!

O Lucky Man! (1973) is a surreal British film directed by Lindsay Anderson. It stars Malcolm McDowell as Mick Travis, the schoolboy from Anderson's 1969 film If...
.

In O Lucky Man!, Travis progresses from coffee salesman (working for sleazy boss Mr Duff) to personal assistant to Sir James Burgess, an evil mastermind. 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. 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 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.

The movie originally began as a script written by McDowell about his experiences as a coffee salesman in his late teens/early 20s.

Britannia Hospital
(1982) completes the trilogy of films.

Cast (partial list)

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.

Malcolm McDowell
as Mick Travis
Ralph Richardson
as Monty/Sir James Burgess
Arthur Lowe
as Mr. Duff/Charlie Johnson/Dr. Munda
Helen Mirren
as Patricia
Graham Crowden
Dandy Nichols
Warren Clarke
Bill Owen
Geoffrey Palmer
Brian Glover

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for O Lucky Man! ]

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