Monday, November 2, 2009
Tuesday Weld ~ Lord Love a Duck (1966)
This is one bizarre film. There is no other way around it, this film is very weird. And if you hear Tuesday Weld stars as Barbara Ann, a high school teen that aspires to be a movie star. She was named after Barbara Stanwyck and Ann Sheridan. Her mother, Marie (Lola Albright) is a cocktail waitress who has a drunken penchant of taking her customers home with her. Barbara Ann meets Mollymauk (Roddy McDowell) another high school student who seems to know everything about Barbara before they even met. In the beginning of the film we learn that Mollymauk (Alan or the "duck" referred to in the title) is mentally insane. Great! Mollymauk/Alan/duck follows around Barbara Ann trying to make all her wishes come true. She wants 12 cashmere sweaters, he convinces her to put a guilt trip on her estranged father to get them. She wants to get married to a rich man, he works that out for her. But every step of the way, Mollymauk/Alan/duck makes sure that all her granted wishes turn awry. This is when the movie really gets dark with suicide and attempted murder.
From what I understand, this film is supposed to be a spoof but I didn't find it very funny. Especially the darker parts towards the end seemed disturbing, even if they were ridiculous. This film pokes fun at bikini movies, high school, teenage-parent relationships in the 1960s, the movie industry, American culture (drive-in church?!) etc. It's an interesting satire but I can't say that I enjoyed this film. It may be too late in the decade. I seem to gravitate more towards the earlier half of the 1960s when films are becoming more experimental but haven't reached the state of utter bizareness!
One reviewer said that Tuesday Weld was very Tuesday Weld-ish in this film. However, this is only my second Tuesday Weld film so I'm not very sure what Tuesday Weld-ish means. She is very cute, pixie-ish and vibrant in the film and these qualities are what draw me to her as an actress. Please enjoy some screenshots of the lovely Tuesday Weld.
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I saw this in its first run, and enjoyed it quite a bit. But when I finally tracked it down a few years ago and watched it again, I thought "What was I thinking?" It's a film that really has not stood the test of time. You said it quite well, Raquelle: "This is one bizarre film."
ReplyDeletei wonder how it would compare to "Eraserhead" on the bizarre scale, lol!
ReplyDeletepjowens75 - i had the same experience when i re-watched the original "Invaders from Mars" several months back. i LOVED it as a kid but it sure doesnt hold up to me now. real cheeserama!
This reminds me of stuff like The Magic Christian, very much a product of their changing times. I still want to see it, but I can see how it might not hold up!
ReplyDeleteAw so you've seen it now! And you can see what I mean about how bizarre it is. I had high hopes, but in the end, it was just a baffling spectacle. Still, I loved Tuesday Weld. She is fearless--and for that reason she never bores me. I'm glad I saw it, and I may even see it again someday. But now I'm bummed because that repetitive theme song is in my head!
ReplyDeleteOn the contrary (I love saying that..) I love 60's bizarre-ness! The weirder, the better for me. The one scene that really weirded me out though was that sweater scene where her father buys them and then they start making like animal noises...
ReplyDeleteBut I really liked it anyhow:D I liked you post though!
Roddy plays a high schooler? Wasn't he in his 30s already by then?
ReplyDeleteSomehow I don't think you'll be surprised to hear I like this film. It is an example of the sort of left of centre movies that could only be made in the mid-Sixties. I do have to agree. Tuesday Weld is very Tuesday Weld in this movie--vibrant, pixie-ish, a strange brew of innocence and sexuality. What's funny is that while she plays a teenager, she was already 23 when she made this film!
ReplyDeletePJowens - I can see how this farce may have done well back then but doesn't translate now. All those contemporary spoof movies may look idiotic a few decades from now.
ReplyDeleteArtman - I've never seen Eraserhead. Should I stay away?
Tommy - Let me know what you think of it if you see it.
KC - THat's why I'm drawn to Tuesday Weld. It doesn't matter what she's doing on screen, she's always captivating.
Sarah - your love for 60's bizareness makes you ultra-cool!
Tom - Oh no! Sounds like many other teen films. Wasn't Olivia Newton John in her early 30s when she made Grease?
Mercurie - It doesn't surprise me that you liked this film. I like what you say about Weld about her blend of innocence and sexuality. I think she's kind of like Sandra Dee but with more of a healthy balance between the two aspects.