O Lucky Man!

Stylistically bold, wildly entertaining, with a cast of British greats—Rachel Roberts, Helen Mirren, Ralph Richardson, and Mona Washbourne, often in dual or triple roles—O Lucky Man! is an epic road movie and modern-day Candide that stars Malcolm McDowell once again as Mick Travis, the everyman character made famous in If… (1968). McDowell suggested the idea of Mick as a coffee salesman, based on his own working experience. Lindsay Anderson’s response: “Well, then you had better bloody well write it yourself.” This McDowell did, producing a treatment that was then turned into a screenplay by David Sherwin and Anderson, with a major assist from composer/musician Alan Price. A sprawling comedy-drama with musical interludes and surrealist touches, Anderson’s fourth feature runs into a bizarre cast of characters and situations that enliven each surprising episode.