''Mister Drake's Duck'' is a 1951 British

science-fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, sp ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Val Guest Val Guest (born Valmond Maurice Grossman; 11 December 1911 – 10 May 2006) was an English film director and screenwriter. Beginning as a writer (and later director) of comedy films, he is best known for his work for Hammer Film Productions, ...

and starring

Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Douglas Elton Fairbanks Jr. (December 9, 1909 – May 7, 2000) was an American actor, producer, and decorated naval officer of World War II. He is best-known for starring in such films as '' The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1937), '' Gunga Din'' (1939), ...

Yolande Donlan Yolande Donlan (June 2, 1920December 30, 2014) was an American-born British-based actress who worked extensively in the United Kingdom. Early life and career Donlan was the Jersey City, New Jersey-born daughter of James Donlan, a character ...

Jon Pertwee John Devon Roland Pertwee (; 7 July 1919 – 20 May 1996), known professionally as Jon Pertwee, was an English actor. Born into a theatrical family, he became known as a comedy actor, playing Chief Petty Officer Pertwee (and three other roles) in ...

Wilfrid Hyde-White Wilfrid Hyde-White (né Hyde White; 12 May 1903 – 6 May 1991) was an English actor. Described by Philip French as a "classic British film archetype", Hyde-White often portrayed droll and urbane upper-class characters. He had an extensive stage ...

and

Reginald Beckwith William Reginald Beckwith (2 November 190826 June 1965) was an English film and television actor, who made over one hundred film and television appearances in his career. He died of a heart attack aged 56. Beckwith was also a film critic and ...

. The screenplay concerns a farmer who discovers that one of his ducks has started laying

radioactive Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is conside ...

eggs.

Plot

Mr. Drake inherits Green Acres Farm in

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

, in the English countryside, where he moves with his new American bride Penny. Because of a misunderstanding, Penny unexpectedly finds that she owns 60 ducks. She is astonished when one of the ducks begins laying radioactive eggs. As the news spreads, the Drakes come under siege by the army. Green Acres Farm is designated a prohibited area, and of all its inhabitants and visitors are made prisoners. The military launches Operation Chickweed to identify and seize the radioactive duck.

Cast

as Donald Drake *

as Penny Drake *

as Reuben *

as Mr. May *

as Mr. Boothby *

Howard Marion-Crawford Howard Marion-Crawford (17 January 1914 – 24 November 1969), was an English People, English character actor, best known for his portrayal of Dr. Watson in the Sherlock Holmes (1954 TV series), 1954 television adaptation of Sherlock Holmes ...

as Major Travers *

Peter Butterworth Peter William Shorrocks Butterworth (4 February 1915A. E. Matthews Alfred Edward Matthews (22 November 186925 July 1960), known as A. E. Matthews, was an English actor who played numerous character roles on the stage and in film for eight decades. Already middle-aged when films began production, he enjoyed incr ...

as Brigadier Matthews * Tom Gill as Captain White * John Boxer as Sergeant *

Ballard Berkeley Ballard Blascheck (6 August 1904 – 16 January 1988), known professionally as Ballard Berkeley, was an English actor of stage and screen. He is best remembered for playing Major Gowen in the British television sitcom ''Fawlty Towers''. Life a ...

as Major Deans * Roger Maxwell as Colonel Maitland * Ben Williams as Auctioneer

Production

The film was based on a radio sketch by Ian Messiter called ''The Atomic Egg'' which Val Guest liked. He wrote it for Yolande Donlan and it was originally called ''Mrs Drake's Duck'' but the title changed when Douglas Fairbanks Jr agreed to star. "They got on very well Yo and Doug and we all had a lot of laughs," said Guest. Nat Cohen invested in the film.

Reception

Upon the film's American release, A. H. Weiler of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' wrote: "''Mister Drake's Duck'' is responsible for some chuckles, a few good-natured gibes at the British armed services and civil servants and the international race for atomic supremacy. ... They are, of course, laboring one joke, but do come up with enough laughs to make ''Mister Drake's Duck'' a pleasant if slight lampoon."

References

External links

* 1951 films 1950s science fiction comedy films British science fiction comedy films 1950s English-language films Films directed by Val Guest 1951 comedy films British black-and-white films 1950s British films English-language science fiction comedy films {{1950s-sf-film-stub