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United Kingdom
5.4 1h 35m

Lucky Jim

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

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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Top Cast

  • Ian Carmichael

    Ian Carmichael

    Jim Dixon

  • Terry-Thomas

    Terry-Thomas

    Bertrand Welch

  • Hugh Griffith

    Hugh Griffith

    Professor Welch

  • Sharon Acker

    Sharon Acker

    Christine Callaghan

  • Jean Anderson

    Jean Anderson

    Mrs. Welch

  • Maureen Connell

    Maureen Connell

    Margaret Peel

  • Clive Morton

    Clive Morton

    Sir Hector Gore-Urquhart

  • John Welsh

    John Welsh

    The Principal (as John Welch)

  • Reginald Beckwith

    Reginald Beckwith

    University Porter

Overview

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.

Rating

5.4 / 10
25 Reviews
1 Popular

1 Reviews

  • CinemaSerf
    CinemaSerf
    6 Feb 15, 2023

    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.

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