''Lord Love a Duck'' is a 1966 American

teen Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discu ...

film produced, directed and co-written by

George Axelrod George Axelrod (June 9, 1922 – June 21, 2003) was an American screenwriter, producer, playwright and film director, best known for his play ''The Seven Year Itch'' (1952), which was adapted into a film of the same name starring Marilyn Mon ...

and starring

Roddy McDowall Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall (17 September 1928 – 4 October 1998) was a British actor, photographer and film director. He began his acting career as a child in England, and then in the United States, in ''How Green Was My Valley'' (1 ...

and

Tuesday Weld Tuesday Weld (born Susan Ker Weld; August 27, 1943) is an American actress and model. She began acting as a child and progressed to mature roles in the late 1950s. She won a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Female Newcomer in 1960. Over t ...

. The film was a satire of

popular culture Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...

at the time, its targets ranging from

progressive education Progressive education, or protractivism, is a pedagogical movement that began in the late 19th century and has persisted in various forms to the present. In Europe, progressive education took the form of the New Education Movement. The term ''pr ...

to beach party films. It is based on Al Hine's 1961 novel of the same name.

Plot

From his prison cell, Alan Musgrave dictates his experiences of the previous year, which he dedicated to fulfilling the unending wishes and ambitions of high school senior Barbara Ann Greene. The daughter of Marie, a cocktail waitress sinking unhappily into her forties, Barbara Ann wants every kind of success and for everyone to love her. Signing a pact with Alan in wet cement, Barbara Ann soon has the 12 cashmere sweaters needed to join an exclusive girls' club. She drops out of school to become the principal's new secretary and gets involved in church activities run by strait-laced but hyper-hormonal Bob Bernard. When Barbara Ann decides she wants Bob for her husband, Alan facilitates this by keeping Bob's eccentric mother Stella, who disapproves of Barbara Ann, perpetually drunk. Then Barbara meets producer T. Harrison Belmont, the King of Beach Party movies, and decides to become the biggest star that ever was. Bob refuses, however, to allow his wife to have a Hollywood screen test, so Barbara Ann decides she wants a divorce. Since Bob's mother frowns upon divorce, Alan takes matters into his own hands to kill Bob. Although Bob proves to be almost indestructible, by graduation time Alan has him in a wheelchair. At the graduation ceremony, Alan pursues Bob with a tractor, apparently killing him and several people on the speakers' platform. Barbara Ann goes on to Hollywood fame in her debut film ''Bikini Widow'', while Alan is sent to prison.

Cast

as Alan "Mollymauk" Musgrave *

as Barbara Ann Greene *

Lola Albright Lola Jean Albright (July 20, 1924 – March 23, 2017) was an American singer and actress, best known for playing the sultry singer Edie Hart, the girlfriend of private eye Peter Gunn, on all three seasons of the TV series ''Peter Gunn''. Early ...

as Marie Greene * Martin West as Bob Bernard *

Ruth Gordon Ruth Gordon Jones (October 30, 1896 – August 28, 1985) was an American actress, screenwriter, and playwright. She began her career performing on Broadway at age 19. Known for her nasal voice and distinctive personality, Gordon gained internati ...

as Stella Bernard *

Harvey Korman Harvey Herschel Korman (February 15, 1927May 29, 2008) was an American actor and comedian who performed in television and film productions. His big break was being a featured performer on CBS' '' The Danny Kaye Show'', but he is best remembered ...

as Weldon Emmett * Sarah Marshall as Miss Schwartz *

Lynn Carey Lynn Catherine Carey (born October 29, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, model, and actress best known as the lead vocalist in the band Mama Lion. She is also the daughter of actor Macdonald Carey. Biography Born in Los Angeles, Calif ...

as Sally Grace * Donald Murphy as Phil Neuhauser *

Max Showalter Max Gordon Showalter (June 2, 1917 – July 30, 2000), sometimes credited as Casey Adams, was an American film, television, and stage actor, as well as a composer, pianist, and singer. He appeared on more than 1,000 television programs. One ...

as Howard Greene *

Joseph Mell Joseph Mell (June 23, 1915 – August 31, 1977) was an American film and television actor. He was known for starring as Burt Stone in the 1971 film ''The Ski Bum''. Mell died in August 1977 in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 62. Partia ...

as Dr. Milton Lippman *

Dan Frazer Daniel Thomas Frazer (November 20, 1921 – December 16, 2011) was an American actor, born in a West Side neighborhood (formerly known as Hell's Kitchen) of Manhattan in New York City. He was probably best known for his role as Captain Frank McN ...

as Honest Joe *

Martine Bartlett Martine Bartlett (April 24, 1925 – April 5, 2006) was an American actress. A life member of The Actors Studio, Bartlett is best-remembered, albeit not by name, for her chilling performance as Hattie Dorsett, the seriously disturbed, abusive mot ...

as Inez * Jo Collins as Kitten * David Draper as Billy Gibbons * Donald Foster as Mr. Beverly *

Martin Gabel Martin Gabel (June 19, 1911 – May 22, 1986) was an American actor, film director and film producer. Life and career Gabel was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Rebecca and Isaac Gabel, a jeweler, both Jewish immigrants. He married Arlen ...

as T. Harrison "Harry" Belmont (uncredited)

Production

The film was based on a novel published in 1961. The ''New York Times'' called the book "hilarious at times and often charmingly wicked." Film rights were bought in December 1964 by Gordon Carroll and George Axelrod under the banner of their company, Charleston Enterprises. Axelrod called the book "a cross between Andy Hardy and

Dr Strangelove ''Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb'', known simply and more commonly as ''Dr. Strangelove'', is a 1964 black comedy film that satirizes the Cold War fears of a nuclear conflict between the Soviet Union and t ...

." Larry Johnson wrote the script along with Axelrod. In May 1965 Roddy McDowall signed to play the lead. United Artists agreed to finance and Axelrod decided to direct. Axelrod had directed three plays on Broadway, ''

Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? ''Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?'' is a 1957 American satirical comedy film starring Jayne Mansfield and Tony Randall, with Betsy Drake, Joan Blondell, John Williams, Henry Jones, Lili Gentle, and Mickey Hargitay, and with a cameo by Groucho M ...

'', ''Once More With Feeling'' and ''Goodbye Charlie'' but this was his first film. Axelrod said he asked George S. Kaufman how to direct and Kaufman said "you get good actors. He was right. And if it's a comedy you don't get Actors Studio actors". "I'm not really sure why I'm making this picture," said Axelrod. "Maybe I'm just trying to get revenge on my own teenagers. ''Lord Love a Duck'' will not be made specifically for the teenage market but teenagers will probably dig it. It puts everything down - society, vulgarity, adolescents. Teenagers like being put down." Axelrod called the film "pop porn or Dirty Disney. It may yet give bad taste a bad name."

Shooting

Axelrod used as a music score the sound of teenagers with transistor radios. He based his visual style on the films of Richard Lester such as '' A Hard Day's Night'' and ''

The Knack The Knack was an American rock band based in Los Angeles that rose to fame with its first single, " My Sharona", an international number-one hit in 1979. History Founding (1977–1978) Singer Doug Fieger was a native of Oak Park, Michigan, a ...

''. "Lester has shown us a freer form," said Axelrod. "I want to get away from the Hollywood syndrome of trying to make every shot look pretty and orderly." The film was shot over 30 days for $850,000 (). "There's this gruesome prejudice in Hollywood that a picture made between $750,000 and $1 million cannot make a profit," said Axelrod. "I want to prove that this is nonsense. If I could do that and find new ways of saying things the film at least will serve the useful purpose of puncturing a hole in Hollywood's adolescent mystique."

Release

"We were worried about Lord Love a Duck," said Axelrod before the film came out. "We were afraid it might give bad taste a bad name. But I think we're alright. If the picture comes off well I may get an Oscar. If it comes off very well I may get deported." The film was a financial failure. "I can't imagine why it wasn't a hit," said Axelrod. "It got no reaction. I couldn't get anybody into the theaters to see it. It was one of those pictures that died. United Artists sold the shit out of it. I went on the road with it. I got reams of press. I ran what I thought was a clever ad campaign, parodying all the other campaigns."

Awards

won the

Silver Bear for Best Actress The Silver Bear for Best Actress (german: Silberner Bär/Beste Darstellerin) was an award presented at the Berlin International Film Festival from 1956 to 2020. It was given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance and was chos ...

award at the 16th Berlin International Film Festival in 1966.

References

*Hine, Al. ''Lord Love a Duck'' ( Atheneum, 1961)

External links

* * {{tcmdb title, 17204, Lord Love a Duck 1966 films 1960s black comedy films 1960s teen comedy films American black-and-white films American black comedy films American high school films American satirical films American teen comedy films Films based on American novels Films directed by George Axelrod Films scored by Neal Hefti Films set in Los Angeles United Artists films Films with screenplays by George Axelrod 1966 directorial debut films 1966 comedy films 1966 drama films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films