Lord Love a Duck

I first watched this movie about one year ago without knowing anything about it other than what is written on the back of the video box. Since that first viewing this movie has...well...haunted me. I can't get the theme song out of my head for one thing. The movie itself is a bizarre story about Southern California teens in the Sixties, but read the other reviews to learn about that. I agree with all of them. It is a great movie for all those reasons but there also seems to be something else. Almost a Felliniesque other-worldliness about it. I haven't been quite able to put my finger on it. Maybe that is why this movie has burned itself into my brain. There is some kind of, for lack of a better word, magical element to it. It is interesting to me how the other reviewers see this as a very important movie in their lives as well. It is a great film discovery on all levels. One of those overlooked gems that it is so important to hang onto.

I saw this movie in the theater as an eleven-year-old boy, and maybe once on tv more than two decades ago, and it's always remained one of my favorite flicks. I was ecstatic when my sister finally found it for me on video. And after watching it many many times now, I like it just as much, but find it harder than ever to classify. It has: low production values, a love story, teens at the beach, low-budget hijinks, tragedy, sardonic wit, depth and subtlety, really dark parts of the soul, and a wonderfully catchy-shlockly theme song. But all these elements are so wickedly blended that I'm not always sure what's simply a stupid joke and what is jabbing me roughly in my subconscious. It was written, produced and directed by George Axelrod, who has some weighty credentials, including writing and producing "The Manchurian Candidate", so the movie's superficial resemblance to a very cheap 60s teen flick is deceptive, though it's great fun on that level. But the fun parts always carry jagged unseen edges, and any serious commentary is always done wildly tongue-in-cheek. I can't predict who might like this flick, it is too distinctive to categorize, but if you're the type to gamble on an unknown movie that could become a personal lifetime favorite, check this one out.

The early nineteen sixties were the great age of black comic satire in American cinema. Everyone remembers Doctor Strangelove and The Nutty Professor and Lolita and One Two Three and The Loved One.In a sense, this neglected masterpiece was the culmination. Even though Axelrod wasn't a genius like Kubrick or Wilder, this film hits its target just as unerringly. Think of it as a darker, much more savage Rushmore, in which almost all the false Gods of our civilization - phony preachers, psychoanalysis, public "education",consumerism, youth 'culture',- are weighed in the scales and found wanting. Roddy Mcdowall and Tuesday Weld give two of the great comic perfomances. Indeed, Mcdowall is inspirational to any would-be anarchist. Should be seen - and discussed - more often. Scorsese once listed this film among his "guilty pleasures": He has nothing to be guilty about-this is wonderful

Sex suffused satire on something or other that may have been cutting edge in '66, but is no longer. Sure, I get the shaking beach butts of Gidget, the drive-in religiosity of SoCal car culture, or Mom's Playboy bunny cum' prostitute. Some movie parts of course are funnier than others. Trouble is, whether funny or not, they're poorly blended, unlike the better satires of the day—The Loved One (1965), Dr. Strangelove (1964). Unfortunately, the vignettes here sprawl without adding up.

What the film does have in spades is Tuesday Weld. If there was ever a better sex kitten with bite, I haven't seen her. She injects real spunk into the often lame proceedings. Plus, who would have thought that Peter Gunn's dignified torch singer, Lola Albright, could be so funny. Then too, what an inspiration getting Ruth Gordon to do her waspish bit, as a mother, no less. On the other hand, Mc Dowell tries hard, but he's caught up in a role that borders on the incoherent. Could be that his 35-year old teenager is supposed to make a profound statement, but if so, It's beyond me

As I recall, writer Axelrod's film got a lot of buzz at the time. After all, the mid-60's were a time of growing social ferment. Thus, the long-time lid on movies was at last coming off, and what these satirical films show is that black humor was definitely in the air. Trouble is, unlike Strangelove or Loved One, this film doesn't get beyond that time period. There's no unifying theme that could compensate for the meandering lamer parts. As a result, it's more like a regional (SoCal) artifact than anything lasting-- except, of course, for us fans of Tuesday, in which case it's a permanent fan fest.

The only director I've heard give credit to this great '60's film is John Landis but this strange-funny-dark-satirical-dramatic spoof was ahead of its time -like The Loved One or Dr. Strangelove- and had to have been an influence on many others. LLAD is an adult 'teen' movie that effectively slashes what was popular fodder for teen movies -the Beach Party series, bad low-budget horror films, bad low-budget sex dramas, bad low-budget high-school comedies, etc.

Tuesday Weld as Barbara Ann gives her best performance and her scenes with Lola Albright (amazing as her bunny-suited cocktail waitress mother) make them one of the most unusual mother/daughter pairings of all time. Max Showalter -so great as the singing priest with the old housekeeper in Blake Edwards's 10- has a very funny/creepy scene as Tuesday's dad, Ruth Gordon shows off her marvelous oh-what-the-hell-I'll-do-it persona and who knew Roddy McDowell was that sexy? LLAD is more than just a buried '60's curio: it's an overlooked classic that paved the way for most underground filmmakers looking to break the ice.