Lord Love a Duck (1966)

Lord Love a Duck
Directed by George Axelrod
Written by Larry H. Johnson and George Axelrod from a novel by Al Hine
1966/USA
George Axelrod Productions
First viewing/Amazon Instant

[box] Alan: Dear sweet simple minded Barbara Ann. Barbara Ann whose deepest and most heartfelt yearnings express with a kind of touching lyricism the total vulgarity of our time.[/box]

Axelrod’s “act of total aggression” has something to offend everybody.  Some will find it funnier than others.  I am one of the others.

Alan Musgrave (Roddy McDowell) and Barbara Ann Greene (Tuesday Weld) are high school seniors.  (McDowell must have been held back at least 10 years).  Musgrave has nicknamed himself “Mollymauk” after an extinct duck and has hypnotic powers.  He discovers all of Barbara Ann’s yearnings for popularity, marriage, and stardom and sets out to fulfill these.

Anyone who gets in Mollymauk’s way ends up dead somehow or other.  The master manipulator revels in the messes he creates.  With Ruth Gordon and Lola Albright as interfering mothers.

Some will find this funny and others will find it cringe-worthy.  The most cringe-worthy part in my opinion is where Barbara Ann seduces her own father into buying her enough cashmere sweaters to qualify for a sorority she wants to join.  The movie kind of lost me after that.  On the other hand the cast and acting can’t be faulted.  I think Tuesday Weld is underrated and even when she is acting crazy you believe every minute.