Duffy (1968)

That was an excellent one.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

This is another flashy caper comedy starring James Coburn which, surprisingly, emerged to be much better than the last one I’d watched only a few days previously i.e. DEAD HEAT ON A MERRY-GO-ROUND (1966). Interestingly, all three male lead actors here are called James (Coburn, Mason and Fox) – recalling the three Roberts (Young, Mitchum and Ryan) of CROSSFIRE (1947)!; for the record, Coburn and Mason would appear together again in THE LAST OF SHEILA (1973) and CROSS OF IRON (1977).Coburn plays the titular Irish “hipster” (read: rogue/adventurer) engaged by wealthy but ne’er-do-well layabout half-brothers Fox and John Alderton (bearing dopey look and obnoxious laugh) to rob their unloving father (Mason)’s fortune, while it’s being transported by ship. Our hero lives modestly if not exactly inconspicuously – given the artistic bric-a'-brac that clutters his house – in Tangiers, and he even seems very much into the Swinging scene (with resulting slangy dialogue, not to mention a reference to The Beatles’ “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds”!). Similarly, the Susannah York character – the only significant female to figure in the narrative – is liberated and carries on simultaneous affairs with both Fox and Coburn (at one point, she and Duffy debate whether such a woman is technically a “slut” or not!).The film, therefore, promised to be a convoluted and pretentious bore (even more than the afore-mentioned DEAD HEAT in fact) but proved quite an engaging and enjoyable trifle – the belated robbery sequence itself is decently staged, with its trio of robbers donning ugly Halloween-type masks, and there’s an amusing supporting character in the porn-obsessed bank manager in Tangiers! The script (as always in similar outings from this cynical era, the denouement is twist-laden and heavily ironic) was co-written by the ill-fated Donald Cammell – who later that same year would re-team with Fox for the extraordinary PERFORMANCE which, however, didn’t go on general release until 1970; the whole, then, is slickly photographed by the distinguished Otto Heller and has a groovy soundtrack to match.Robert Parrish – who started out as an actor, then changed track to editor, and finally graduated to director in Hollywood – was probably assigned to this following his stint on the notorious James Bond spoof CASINO ROYALE (1967); DUFFY is as yet unavailable on DVD – but I recently obtained a decent Widescreen DivX copy of it (probably sourced from VHS), which will do just fine.

Retired master criminal in Tangiers is recruited by a hedonistic British youth and his working-stiff brother to rip off a business tycoon of nearly three million dollars; complicating matters is the kid's kittenish girlfriend, who seems to change loyalties easily. Mod, swinging caper-comedy curiously doesn't spend a lot of time on plot-exposition (the planning of the actual heist is kept mostly off-screen), yet it does putter about lazily while introducing us to these people (who end many of their sentences with "man" and "baby"). James Coburn's decadent pad is really peculiar ("pop-porno", he calls it), and yet it has almost nothing to do with what's going on or even with Duffy's character (he does possess, however, the only fish tank-cum-slot machine I've ever seen!). Once the pieces of this location-rich adventure come into play, the picture becomes a passable piece of fluff (with a twist ending that is rather far-fetched, leaving a few questions unanswered). Still, Coburn is an intriguing presence, Susannah York is flighty and flirtatious (and beautiful with a tan), and James Mason is typically suave--and silently cunning--as their victim. ** from ****

This was a very hip, very funny movie. The plot zig-zags around in completely unexpected turns, and the dialog is full of off-beat humor that you really have to pay attention to get. The photography is gorgeous as are the locales. It recreates the breezy easy-going style of the Sixties and the overall effect is like having a vacation on the Mediterranean. Susannah York never looked better. James Mason is laying down his elder statesman's foundation. James Coburn and James Fox are forsaking pretenses of movie idol-hood and are really acting. The under-rated John Alderton shines.

Right from the beginning in swinging London this film epitomizes the coolness of the sixties. Excellent performances by James to the power 3: Coburn, Fox and Mason. Especially Coburn appears to be not acting at all in his tailor-made dropout role, he is just being his natural self. The atmosphere, the images, the music and the plot each contribute to the overwhelmingly positive feeling this picture leaves me with every time I see it. Why can't they make movies like this anymore (sigh, sob)? Another thing that strikes me about this film is that there is no other film (at least that I know of) which bears only the faintest resemblance to this flick. It stands out, on its own. Incredibly, it is available neither on video nor on DVD. Please help, Mr. Duffy-owner!