Duffy
Directed byRobert Parrish
Screenplay byDonald Cammell
Harry Joe Brown Jr.
Story byDonald Cammell
Harry Joe Brown Jr.
Pierre de la Salle
Produced byMartin Manulis
StarringJames Coburn
James Mason
James Fox
Susannah York
CinematographyOtto Heller
Edited byWilly Kemplen
Alan Osbiston
Music byErnie Freeman
Production
company
Martin Manulis Productions
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release dates
  • 6 September 1968 (1968-09-06) (United Kingdom)
  • September 16, 1968 (1968-09-16) (New York City)
Running time
101 minutes
CountriesUnited Kingdom
United States
LanguageEnglish

Duffy is a 1968 British-American comedy crime film directed by Robert Parrish and starring James Coburn, James Mason, James Fox and Susannah York.[1] Originally called "Avec-Avec", French for "with-it", according to 1967 press reports, Columbia Pictures changed the title of the movie, despite the protests of the stars.[2]

Plot

Duffy is a cunning aristocrat of criminals who is hired by Stefane, a young playboy, to hijack a boat carrying several million dollars of his father's fortune. The plot succeeds, with a little help from Segolene, Stefane's girlfriend, but also with an unexpected, sudden turn of events.

Cast

Production

It was shot at Shepperton Studios and on location in Almería. The film's sets were designed by the art director Philip Harrison.

Critical response

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "When hippydom gets the Midas touch from Hollywood finance, it's predictable that the result should be embarrassing, if not downright painful. Instead of developing an interesting plot or giving the characters plausibility, Robert Parrish's film moves jerkily through a succession of set pieces – like the white Mediterranean beach-club where everyone is coloured brown and drinks Cinzanos out of tall glasses, or Duffy's pad filled with pop-art assemblages. The waves of percussive sub-Nashville music merely add to the unfortunate impression of watching an advertisement for an international brand of tipped cigarette. Only James Coburn as Duffy is a cool enough actor to be able to remark "Just do your thing, baby" and get away with it. The rest of the cast – even James Mason as Calvert – succumb to the palpable inanity of the script."[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Duffy". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  2. ↑ Coburn Burning Brightly, The Pittsburgh Press, 13 October 1967. At Google Newspapers
  3. ↑ "Duffy". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 35 (408): 178. 1 January 1968 – via ProQuest.


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