O Lucky Man!

Synopsis: Follows the literal and associated life journey of middle class Brit, Mick Travis, representing the "everyman", as he tries to make his mark in his so far young life. He is able to make great strides in his traditional view of success by being what those in authority want him to be. As such, he achieves in a few weeks what it usually take years for others, namely having his own sales territory - the northeast and ultimately Scotland - for Imperial Coffee. He is also able to garner a plethora of fringe benefits from this job, including women throwing themselves at his feet. But he will ultimately face a struggle in class and authority warfare, which culminates with his encounter with the Burgess family - wealthy Industrialist Sir James Burgess and his daughter Patricia, who Mick wants to marry - the former who is contemplating investing in the shady dealings in Zingara. Mick will also find that the class struggle not only applies in his case in an upward direction, but also in a downwar
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Director(s): Lindsay Anderson
Production: WARNER BROTHERS PICTURES
  Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 1 nomination.
 
IMDB:
7.8
Rotten Tomatoes:
82%
R
Year:
1973
178 min
696 Views


If you have a friend

On whom you think you can rely

You are a lucky man

If you found the reason

To live on and not to die

You are a lucky man

Preachers, and poets

And scholars don't know it

Temples, and statues

And steeples won't show it

If you've got the secret

Just try not to blow it

Stay a lucky man

A lucky man

If you've found the meaning

Of the truth in this old world

You are a lucky man

If knowledge hangs around your neck

Like pearls instead of chains

You are a lucky man

Takers, and fakers and talkers

Won't tell you

Teachers and preachers

Will just buy and sell you

When no one can tempt you

With heaven or hell

You'll be a lucky man

Takers, and fakers and talkers

Won't tell you

Teachers and preachers

Will just buy and sell you

When no one can tempt you

With heaven or hell

You'll be a lucky man

You'd be better by far

To be just what you are

You can be what you want

If you are what you are

And that's a lucky man

Oh, yeah, a lucky man

And that's a lucky,

A lucky, a lucky man

A lucky, a lucky, a lucky man

- Hello.

- Hello.

Do you realize this Nigerian coffee

is being packed straight back to

Nigeria?

Frightening, isn't it?

- Been here long?

- Mr. Travis?

- Long enough.

- Mr. Travis!

- Oh, see you.

- Yeah.

This Hessler is our latest machine.

It gives a four-sided seal

and runs 72 packs a minute.

Any fault in the plastic packing

can cause a break.

The coffee is returned

to our patent coffee processor.

Now, why is that? Mr. Biles?

- I've been off sick, sir.

- Eliminates waste, sir.

Absolutely correct.

Always remember, gentlemen,

that you are a failure in catering...

...if you don't know what to do

with your leftovers.

Right, I'll take them off

your hands now, Mr. Stone.

Follow me, gentlemen.

Now, gentlemen...

...you have learned

the number one truth.

That a cup of Imperial Coffee

is the only proper way to finish a

meal.

Be it in a palace or a prison.

But between the making

and the drinking must stand the

salesman.

This is where you come in.

You will be our representatives

in the frontline.

Each one of you is going to have

to prove himself on the battlefield

of sales.

It's a hard road you'll have to

travel.

There will be whole days

when you won't sell a bean...

...but you will go out the very next

day

and hit the jackpot.

Mr. Duff, may I ask a question?

- Certainly, Mr. Travers.

- Travis.

Beg your pardon.

How much does a top salesman get paid?

Your basic salary will be low, of

course,

11.50 pounds per week, before tax.

But for a good man, with commission,

the sky is the limit.

Our star salesman at the moment...

...a wonderful man called Jim

Oswald...

...takes home anything

from 75 pounds...

...to 150 pounds a week.

Now, I have never lied to you...

...never given you false hopes...

...but I believe in you.

With a coffee pack in one hand

and your sales list in the other...

...I want you to be one long line...

...of shining success.

From John O'Groat's to Land's End.

Now, selling is psychology.

A good salesman must know

something about psychology.

And in that particular field,

I can think of no better authority...

...than our chief of public relations,

Mrs. Gloria Rowe.

Mr. Spalding, please.

Come here, Mr. Spalding.

Smile.

Smile, Mr. Spalding.

Imperial product is good.

But people don't buy things

just because they're good.

They have to believe.

And you have to inspire that belief.

You have to believe.

Remember the words of William Blake.

"A sincere belief that anything is so,

will make it so."

Sincerity. Honesty.

Mr. MacIntyre, Mr. Travis,

Mr. Greasy.

- Thank you, Mr. Spalding.

- Thank you.

Hello, Mr. MacIntyre.

Smile.

Give with all your heart.

Don't think of yourself.

Relax those cheek muscles.

Smile, Mr. MacIntyre.

Mr. Travis.

Morning, Mrs. Rowe.

Now, that is sincerity.

That is a completely sincere smile.

If I was a buyer

and these were two travellers...

...Id definitely buy from the guy I

like.

I'd definitely buy

from the sincere personality.

I'm definitely going to buy from you,

Mr. Travis.

Lecture hall here. Duff speaking.

Now, Mr. Travis,

I want you to smile at Mr. Greasy.

Mr. Greasy, smile back

and give Mr. Travis a firm handshake.

Certainly. Right away, sir.

Mr. Greasy,

don't think I'm being personal...

...but we're when dealing with food

products, hygiene must be our motto.

Make sure you've got clean

fingernails.

- Mrs. Rowe?

- Yes.

The chairman wants to see us

immediately.

Take a break, gentlemen.

I'll see you on the shop floor in 20

minutes.

Gentlemen, I have very bad news.

Oswald has left the Northeast.

Left?

Vanished. Disappeared.

No notice. Nothing.

Just one ruddy great hole on the map.

And that's not all.

Oswald is suspected of trafficking in

stolen goods under imperials name.

- My God.

- Oh, God.

Well, I need an immediate replacement.

Mr. Duff, how are your trainees?

They're very good, sir.

But they need another two weeks.

No, no, I can't wait.

Mrs. Rowe.

Now, what's your instinct say?

Who's my man?

Can you sniff him?

Travis.

That's your man.

Travis, we're in a jam.

You heard about Oswald?

It's a case of all hands to the pumps.

I understand, sir.

Now, Mrs. Rowe

has spoken highly of you...

...and I have never known her wrong...

...so I'm going to play her hunch.

I'm giving you the Northeast.

Now, that's as far north as the

border...

...as far west as Lancashire...

...and as far south as the Humber.

It's a big challenge.

Do you think you're up to it?

I know I am, sir.

Normally, an opportunity like this

wouldn't come your way for 10 or 20

years.

Men far more experienced than you

have had their shot at it...

...and been broken by it.

But you've got guts...

...and you've got ambition...

...and that gives you a head start.

Good luck.

Now, there's your card.

Never travel without it.

Your map...

...your compass...

...and your car keys.

Now go out there and fight.

I will, sir. Every inch of the way.

You can rely on me.

Good man.

He's all yours now, Mrs. Rowe.

Oh, and Travis...

Thank you very much, sir.

Come here, Mr. Travis.

I am going to give you a simple test.

Be very careful how you answer.

I want you to taste

these cups of coffee...

...and tell me what they do for you.

Sturdy...

...plebian...

...plenty of body.

A vigorous robusta?

Spicy.

Now this.

The future is in your hands, Mr.

Travis.

Take it.

Now.

Poor people are poor people

And they don't understand

A man's got to make whatever he wants

And take it with his own hands

Poor people stay poor people

And they never get to see

Someone's got to win in the human race

If it isn't you then it has to be me

So smile while you're making it

Laugh while you're taking it

Even though you're faking it

Nobody's gonna know

Nobody's gonna know

No use mumbling

It's no use grumbling

Life just isn't fair

There's no easy days

There's no easy ways

Just get out there and do it

Rate this script:5.0 / 2 votes

David Sherwin

David Sherwin-White (24 February 1942 – 8 January 2018) was a British screenwriter best known for his collaborations with director Lindsay Anderson and actor Malcolm McDowell on the films if.... (1968) (for which Sherwin was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay), O Lucky Man! (1973) and Britannia Hospital (1982). Sherwin attended Tonbridge School, which provided much of the inspiration for the content of if..... In 1996, Sherwin published a memoir, Going Mad in Hollywood: And Life with Lindsay Anderson, (Andre Deutsch) ISBN 978-0-233-98966-2. more…

All David Sherwin scripts | David Sherwin Scripts

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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  • mj_h
    a movie about reincarnation
    LikeReply1 year ago

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"O Lucky Man!" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 5 Nov. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/o_lucky_man!_15049>.

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