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O Lucky Man!
Directed by	Lindsay Anderson
Produced by	Lindsay Anderson
Written by	David Sherwin and Malcolm McDowell (Story)
Starring	Malcolm McDowell Ralph Richardson Rachel Roberts Arthur Lowe Helen Mirren Graham Crowden
Music by	Alan Price
Distributed by	EMI
Release date(s)	1973
Running time	183 min.
Language	English
Preceded by	if....
Followed by	Britannia Hospital
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

O Lucky Man! (1973) is a surreal British film, intended as an allegory on life in a capitalist society. Directed by Lindsay Anderson, it stars Malcolm McDowell as Mick Travis, the schoolboy from Anderson's 1968 film if..... Some critics consider this film one of the best British films ever.^{[1] [2] [3] [4]} A number of different edits exist, with some American prints removing around twenty minutes including the working class parody suicide just before the conclusion of the film. Even both British VHS releases delete at least one scene present in the BBC broadcast of the film (Travis testing his status in the home of his industrialist patron) in the early eighties. The BBC broadcast of the complete film in the early eighties appears to have been a strong influence on many artists in different spectrums, being incorporated into the work of Grant Morrison and the pop group The Times, which sampled the film in their song "Pure".

A two disc special edition Region 1 DVD of O Lucky Man! was released Oct 30th, 2007.

In O Lucky Man!, Travis progresses from coffee salesman (working for sleazy boss Mr Duff) to personal assistant to Sir James Burgess, an evil mastermind. During his journey, Travis learns the amoral lesson, reinforced by numerous songs in the soundtrack by Alan Price, that he must abandon his principles in order to succeed, but unlike the other characters he meets he must retain a detached idealism that will allow him to distance himself from the evils of the world: a fact which causes the film to often be considered a reappropriation of Candide by Voltaire. As one of the film's songs says:

Smile while you're makin' it. Laugh while you're takin' it. Even though you're fakin' it. Nobody's gonna know.

In parallel with Travis' experiences, the film shows 1960s Britain retreating from its imperial past but managing to retain some influence in the world by means of corrupt dealings with foreign dictators.

The film originally began as a script written by McDowell about his experiences as a coffee salesman in his late teens and early 20s.

The final scene of the film show him becoming involved in a casting call for a film, with Lindsay Anderson himself playing the director of the film. He is given various props to handle, including a stack of school books and an automatic rifle. When asked to smile Mick continually asks why. The director slaps Travis with his script book after he fails to understand what is being asked of him. After a cut to black (a device used throughout the film) a slow look of understanding crosses Mick's face. The scene then cuts to a party with dancing which includes all of the cast celebrating.

Britannia Hospital (1982) completes the trilogy of films.^[5]

Many of the actors play several roles and Alan Price appears in several scenes — both in music video-like numbers where he is seen performing his music, but later interacting directly with Mick Travis — adding to the film's surreal air.

• Malcolm McDowell as Mick Travis
• Ralph Richardson as Monty/Sir James Burgess
• Arthur Lowe as Mr. Duff/Charlie Johnson/Dr. Munda
• Helen Mirren as Patricia
• Graham Crowden
• Dandy Nichols
• Warren Clarke
• Bill Owen
• Geoffrey Palmer
• Brian Glover

• O Lucky Man! at the Internet Movie Database
• O Lucky Man! at BritMovie.co.uk
• Analysis of O Lucky Man! by Pete Hoskin