Lord Love a Duck (1966)

Director:

George Axelrod

Writers:

George Axelrod (writer)
Al Hine (novel)

Release Date:

29 July 1966 (West Germany)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

This motion picture is an act of pure aggression

Plot:

A bright satirical comedy about an innocent high school girl granted her wishes by a student prodigy. A broad satire of teenage culture in the sixties, its targets ranging from progressive education to beach movies.

Plot Keywords:

Father Daughter Relationship | First Love | Murder | Lolita | Misfit

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Roddy McDowall	...	Alan 'Mollymauk' Musgrave
Tuesday Weld	...	Barbara Ann Greene
Lola Albright	...	Marie Greene
Martin West	...	Bob Bernard
Ruth Gordon	...	Stella Bernard
Harvey Korman	...	Weldon Emmett
Sarah Marshall	...	Miss Schwartz
Lynn Carey	...	Sally Grace
Max Showalter	...	Howard Greene
Donald Murphy	...	Phil Neuhauser
Joseph Mell	...	Dr. Milton Lippman (as Joe Mell)
Dan Frazer	...	Honest Joe
Martine Bartlett	...	Inez
Jo Collins	...	Kitten
Judith Loomis	...	Mrs. Neuhauser

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:18 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

George Axelrod Productions

Trivia:

Tuesday Weld told film critic Rex Reed that this was her favorite film and that she thought she gave her best performance in it.

Quotes:

Alan: Dear sweet simple minded Barbara Ann. Barbara Ann whose deepest and most heartfelt yearnings express with a kind of touching lyricism the total vulgarity of our time.

Soundtrack:

Lord Love a Duck

Ahead of Its Time

I put this movie in a category with other slightly anarchic anti-establishment movies such as "The Graduate," "If..." and "The Magic Christian." The only difference is that it pre-dates all of them. Being the first of its kind, its a slightly awkward film that doesn't always know what to do with itself. There are plenty of holes in the plot, and, if its a comedy the dramatic scenes are too strident, if its a drama then it is all done with too much flippancy.

On the whole, though, I really enjoyed it. I don't claim to be an expert on the culture of the mid-sixties, but it tackles a lot of topics that seemed to be taboo at the time, like Marie's death, and their rather self-conscious use of the word prostitute.

The acting is all excellent, I was particularly impressed with Tuesday Weld's performance. I had never really thought of her as anything more than the vapid lead to a bunch of teen movies, but I was really surprised at what a good actress she was. Roddy McDowall is excellent as Mollymauk, but the uneveness of the film doesn't do the character justice, and you get the feeling with a little more work on the plot and the pacing, he could have made the film hysterical.

Anyway, it was a good film, particularly impressive when you think of it as the prototype of a genre of film which is still being produced today.