O Lucky Man! (1973) on Netflix
Mick Travis is an ambitious coffee salesman for Imperial Coffee in North East England, and he encounters a series of improbable and ironic adventures.
- Netflix3.4/5
- IMDb7.6/109,354 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes78%
Trailer
Plot summary
Follows the literal and associated life journey of middle class Brit, Mick Travis, representing the "everyman", as he tries to make his mark in his so far young life. He is able to make great strides in his traditional view of success by being what those in authority want him to be. As such, he achieves in a few weeks what it usually take years for others, namely having his own sales territory - the northeast and ultimately Scotland - for Imperial Coffee. He is also able to garner a plethora of fringe benefits from this job, including women throwing themselves at his feet. But he will ultimately face a struggle in class and authority warfare, which culminates with his encounter with the Burgess family - wealthy Industrialist Sir James Burgess and his daughter Patricia, who Mick wants to marry - the former who is contemplating investing in the shady dealings in Zingara. Mick will also find that the class struggle not only applies in his case in an upward direction, but also in a downward direction with the working class and the truly down and out. Through it all, Alan Price and his small combo act as a Greek chorus of sorts providing commentary of Mick's travails through song.
Cast
Show all 20 cast
- Michael Bangerteras William / Interrogator / Assistant / Released Prisoner
- Wallas Eatonas John Stone (Coffee Factory) / Col. Steiger / Prison Warder / Meths Drinker / Film Executive
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about O Lucky Man! (1973)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The 168-minute cinema cut of O Lucky Man! (cut down from an original 183-minute editor's version at the distributor's demand) was reportedly reached partly by accident, after a reel labeled "roll 16" was accidentally left out during an editing session.
- Director Lindsay Anderson first wanted to make a straight documentary following musician Alan Price's band on tour, but abandoned the idea when music licensing costs proved too high, deciding instead to have Price write and perform the film's songs as a kind of on-screen Greek chorus.
- The soundtrack's song "Changes," built on the tune of the hymn "What a Friend We Have in Jesus," became a real chart hit for Alan Price fifteen years after the film, once it was used in a 1987 Volkswagen Golf television advertisement.
