O Lucky Man! - Definition and Overview

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 20's.

Britannia Hospital (1982) completes the trilogy of films.

Cast (partial list)

Many of the actors play several roles, 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

References

Detailed review on Geocities site (but beware pop-up windows!) 2003-09-13 (http://www.geocities.com/malcolmtribute/olm.html)