''The Luck of Ginger Coffey'' is a 1964 Canadian film directed by

Irvin Kershner Irvin Kershner (born Isadore Kershner; April 29, 1923November 27, 2010) was an American film director, actor, and producer of film and television. He gained notice early in his career as a filmmaker for directing quirky, independent drama films ...

. It is based on the Governor General's Award-winning novel by

Northern Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

writer Brian Moore, published in 1960.

Plot

''The Luck of Ginger Coffey'' is about James Francis Coffey, a 39-year-old

Irishman The Irish ( ga, Muintir na hÉireann or ''Na hÉireannaigh'') are an ethnic group and nation native to the island of Ireland, who share a common history and culture. There have been humans in Ireland for about 33,000 years, and it has been co ...

who is called "Ginger" because of his reddish hair and moustache. He is unfulfilled career-wise, no matter which job he takes on. After his release from the Army, he and his wife Vera, together with their 14-year-old daughter Paulie, move to Montreal. In

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, Coffey still has trouble finding work. Vera gets very upset when she finds out that Ginger is still unemployed and has spent their ticket money home. However broke and empty-hearted they may be, they do have one friend to count on in Canada; Joe McGlade, who helps Coffey get a job working as a proofreader at the newspaper where McGlade is employed as a sports reporter. Coffey is unimpressed once again and continues to tell Vera it will all get better, but she has her own plans for improving her life. She leaves Coffey for McGlade and takes Paulie with her. She also takes all of Coffey's money and most of his belongings. Coffey gets a small place at the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

, and during his stay there he accepts a job previously offered (and refused) as a

diaper A diaper /ˈdaɪpə(r)/ (American and Canadian English) or a nappy ( Australian English, British English, and Hiberno-English) is a type of underwear that allows the wearer to urinate or defecate Defecation (or defaecation) follows dig ...

delivery driver. Coffey finds this job even more repulsive than his current one but takes it anyway, with a plan in mind: To get back Paulie and impress Vera with his selflessness. Vera is still unconvinced, but Paulie turns to her father's side and they get a flat of their own. Coffey is obsessed with Vera and begins to get sick from lack of sleep and food and an excessive work schedule. He is also obsessed with being promoted to reporter so that Vera will take him back, but unfortunately she only brings up the topic of divorce. After turning down a promising promotion at the diaper service, Ginger discovers that the reporter's job he believes he was offered never existed, and was vaguely promised to prevent his quitting and leaving the department short staffed. Enraged, Ginger engages in a scuffle in the editor's office, and is escorted from the premises, presumably fired. Later, after drinks with his former co-workers, Ginger relieves himself in an alley beside a hotel, and is arrested and charged with indecent exposure, the charges later dropped by a sympathetic judge, after a humiliating, albeit short trial, witnessed by Vera. Vera and Ginger meet outside the courthouse, as she is preparing to leave on a skiing trip with Joe McGlade. In sympathy, Vera accepts Ginger's invitation to have a cup of coffee, and there Ginger admits his shortcomings, and that he considers himself and his life as a joke. Vera then becomes the optimist, and as Ginger walks her home, she assures Ginger his promotion at the diaper service will likely still be available. Vera enters her flat, leaving the door open, as an invitation for Ginger to enter as well. Ginger enters, as the closing credits roll.

Cast

* Robert Shaw as Ginger Coffey *

Mary Ure Eileen Mary Ure (18 February 1933 – 3 April 1975) was a British stage and film actress. She was the second Scottish-born actress (after Deborah Kerr) to be nominated for an Academy Award, for her role in the 1960 film ''Sons and Lovers''. Ear ...

as Vera Coffey *

Liam Redmond Liam Redmond (27 July 1913 – 28 October 1989) was an Irish character actor known for his stage, film and television roles. Early life Redmond was one of four children born to cabinet-maker Thomas and Eileen Redmond. Educated at the Christi ...

as MacGregor *

Tom Harvey Tom Harvey MBE is a BAFTA winning creative entrepreneur and writer. Early life Harvey was born outside Stevenage New Town; his father was sculptor Mark Harvey and his grandfather was author William Fryer Harvey. He attended the Nobel School St ...

as Joe McGlade * Libby McClintock as Paulie Coffey *

Leo Leyden Leo or Léo may refer to: Acronyms * Law enforcement officer * Law enforcement organisation * ''Louisville Eccentric Observer'', a free weekly newspaper in Louisville, Kentucky * Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity Arts an ...

as Brott *

Powys Thomas Powys Thomas (25 December 1925 – 22 June 1977) was a British-born actor who played an important role in the development of theatre in Canada. History He was born in Wales in December 1925. His early education was at Rendcomb College, Cirence ...

as Fox *

Tom Kneebone Tom Kneebone, (12 May 1932 – 15 November 2003) was a New Zealand-Canadian cabaret performer and actor. Early life Born in Auckland, New Zealand, Kneebone went to England to study at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Career He moved ...

as Kenny *

Leslie Yeo Leslie may refer to: * Leslie (name), a name and list of people with the given name or surname, including fictional characters Families * Clan Leslie, a Scottish clan with the motto "grip fast" * Leslie (Russian nobility), a Russian noble family ...

as Stan Mountain * Vernon Chapman as Hawkins

Production

The film, which cost just over its budget of $500,000, was largely financed by executive producer Budge Crawley.

Casting

British co-stars Robert Shaw and

were real-life husband and wife.

Filming

It was filmed in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

and

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Reception

Writing in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', Bosley Crowther said: "Brian Moore's screenplay, written from his novel, is firm in structure and dialogue and an air of reality is given to it by dandy location shooting in Montreal... there is a subtle, important relation between the temperature of rving Kershner, the director'ssnowy streets and the piteous progression of coldness between the husband and the wife."

Stanley Kauffmann Stanley Kauffmann (April 24, 1916 – October 9, 2013) was an American writer, editor, and critic of film and theater. Career Kauffmann started with ''The New Republic'' in 1958 and contributed film criticism to that magazine for the next fifty ...

of ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...

'' wrote that ''The Luck of Ginger Coffey'' "has neither depth of character nor point".

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Luck Of Ginger Coffey 1964 films 1964 drama films Best Picture Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners Canadian drama films English-language Canadian films Films based on Canadian novels Films based on Irish novels Films directed by Irvin Kershner Films scored by Bernardo Segall Films set in Montreal Films shot in Montreal Works by Brian Moore (novelist) Films based on novels by Brian Moore 1960s English-language films 1960s Canadian films