Feature1957·95m·5.4

Lucky Jim

A Rollicking Lampoon of University High- and Low-Life!

Comedy

Jim Dixon feels anything but lucky. At the university he has to do the bidding of absent-minded and boring Professor Welch to have any hope of keeping his job. Worse, he has managed to get entangled with unexciting but neurotic Margaret Peel, a friend of the Professor's. All-in-all, the pub is the only friendly place to be. His misery is completed at a dreadful weekend gathering of the Welch clan by the arrival of son Bertrand. Not so much that Betrand is loud-mouthed and boorish - which he is - but that he has as companion Christine Callaghan, the sort of marvellous and unattainable woman Jim can only dream about.

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Cast

Ian Carmichael

Jim Dixon

Terry-Thomas

Bertrand Welch

Hugh Griffith

Professor Welch

Sharon Acker

Christine Callaghan

Jean Anderson

Mrs. Welch

Maureen Connell

Margaret Peel

Clive Morton

Sir Hector Gore-Urquhart

John Welsh

The Principal (as John Welch)

Reginald Beckwith

University Porter

Kenneth Griffith

Cyril Johns

Jeremy Hawk

Bill Atkinson

Ronald Cardew

Registrar

Penny Morrell

Miss Wilson

John Cairney

Roberts

Ian Wilson

Glee Singer

Charles Lamb

Contractor

Henry B. Longhurst

Professor Hutchinson (as Henry Longhurst)

Jeremy Longhurst

Waiter

Al Fernhead

Singer of "Lucky Jim" (voice)

Details

Status: Released
Original language: English
Languages: English
Budget: —
Revenue: —
Age rating: —
Quality: 4K UHD · HDR10 · Dolby Vision
Production: British Lion FilmsCharter Film ProductionsBoulting Brothers

Crew

Director

John Boulting

Writers

Kingsley Amis, Patrick Campbell

Max Greene

Director of Photography

John Addison

Original Music Composer

Max Benedict

Editor

Gallery

Reviews

CinemaSerf

2/15/2023

6.0

I think this is what they call a "loose" adaptation - this time of Kingsley Amis' eponymous novel - that follows the largely mis-adventures of young schoolmaster Ian Carmichael ("Jim Dixon") as he tries to teach his pupils, keep his job, arrange a vice-chancellor's ceremony and get the girl! The comedy is quickly paced, if a bit too obvious for my liking, and a great ensemble of British stalwarts including Hugh Griffith as his boss ("Prof. Welch) who bears a startling resemblance to the school gargoyle; Sharon Acker as the object of his clumsy affections ("Christine"), Margaret Connell, Reginald Beckwith and a scene-stealing performance from Terry-Thomas as the gently obnoxious "Bertrand" keep this heading, albeit somewhat bumpily, in the right direction until a bit of an excruciating ending. It's unlikely fans of the book with appreciate Patrick Campbell's adaptation here, but it's still a watchable semi-farce with some good efforts to enjoy.