Duffy (film)

Duffy
Duffy
Directed by	Robert Parrish
Screenplay by	Donald Cammell; Harry Joe Brown Jr.
Story by	Donald Cammell; Harry Joe Brown Jr.; Pierre de la Salle
Produced by	Martin Manulis
Starring	James Coburn; James Mason; James Fox; Susannah York
Cinematography	Otto Heller
Edited by	Willy Kemplen ; Alan Osbiston
Music by	Ernie Freeman
Production; company	Martin Manulis Productions
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release dates	6 September 1968 (United Kingdom); September 16, 1968 (New York City);
Running time	101 minutes
Countries	United Kingdom; United States
Language	English
Budget	$3 million

Duffy is a 1968 British-American comedy crime film directed by Robert Parrish and starring James Coburn, James Mason, James Fox and Susannah York.^[2] The screenplay was by Donald Cammell and Harry Joe Brown Jr. 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.^[3]^[1]

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

James Coburn as Duffy
James Mason as Charles
James Fox as Stefane
Susannah York as Segolene
John Alderton as Antony Calvert
Guy Deghy as Captain Schoeller
Carl Duering as Bonivet
Tutte Lemkow as Spaniard
Marne Maitland as Abdul
André Maranne as Inspector Garain (credited as Andre Maranne)
Julie Mendez as belly dancer
Barry Shawzin as Bakirgian

Production

The script was originally written by Donald Cammell, but was rewritten. Cammell later said he thought the fiinal film "might have been done a little better. I should never criticise other people’s movies actually, because I know how hard it is to be faithful to a story, and you can actually transform a story making a film and make it much better. So anybody who tries that. I’m aU for it. I don’t believe in being specifically faithful to any scripts." Out of the experience Cammell mate James Fox which led to the latter being ast in Performance.^[4]

Coburn's casting was announced in August 1966.^[5] He was reportedly paid $534,000 for his role.^[1]

It was shot at Shepperton Studios and on location in Almería.^[1] The film's sets were designed by the art director Philip Harrison.

Coburn, Fox and York were all unhappy with the new title. Coburn refused to do any publicity for the film until it was called Avec Avec again.^[1]

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."^[6]

Variety felt if the film "did not try so hard in its compulsion to be supergroovy and switched-on... [t] might have been a more entertaining story... Instead, weak writing, heavy-handed direction... eliciting only tepid performances by James Coburn, James Mason, James Fox and Susannah York combine to snuff out much interest before the genuinely perky climactic switcheroo. End result is an over-produced, overlong programmer."^[7]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Coburn sulks about title of new film". The Memphis Press-Scimitar. 26 September 1967. p. 11.
^ "Duffy". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
^ Coburn Burning Brightly, The Pittsburgh Press, 13 October 1967. At Google Newspapers
^ "Interview with Douglas Cammell". British crime cinema. 1999. p. 110.
^ "Coburn signed for Avec Avec". The Morning Call. 3 August 1966. p. 24.
^ "Duffy". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 35 (408): 178. 1 January 1968 – via ProQuest.
^ "Duffy". Variety film reviews 1968-1970. Vol.12. 18 September 1968.