Mister Drake's Duck

Mister Drake's Duck
Directed by Val Guest
Produced by Daniel M. Angel
Written by Ian Messiter
Val Guest
Starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
Yolande Donlan
Jon Pertwee
Music by Bruce Campbell
Cinematography Jack E. Cox
Edited by Sam Simmonds
Distributed by Eros Films UK
United Artists US
Release dates
  • 7 February 1951 (1951-02-07)
Running time
85 minutes
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Budget ₤100,000[1]

Mister Drake's Duck is a 1951 British science fiction comedy film directed by Val Guest and starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Yolande Donlan, Jon Pertwee, Wilfrid Hyde-White and Reginald Beckwith. The screenplay concerns Mr Drake, a farmer, who discovers that his hens have started laying radioactive eggs.[2]

Plot

Mr. Drake (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) inherits "Green Acres Farm" in Sussex, in the English countryside, and moves in with his new American bride Penny (Yolande Donlan). Through a misunderstanding, Penny unexpectedly finds herself the proud owner of 60 ducks. She is further astonished when one of the ducks begins laying radioactive eggs. As the news spreads, the Drakes find themselves under siege by the army. "Green Acres Farm" is designated a prohibited area, and all its inhabitants and visitors made prisoners. "Operation Chickweed" is formed: a bureaucratic concern wherein the army, Navy and Air Force all lay separate claims upon the atom-age duck.

Cast

Critical reception

The New York Times wrote, "Mister Drake's Duck is responsible for some chuckles, a few good-natured gibes at the British armed services and civil servants and the international race for atomic supremacy," concluding, "they do come up with enough laughs to make Mister Drake's Duck a pleasant if slight lampoon."[3]

References

  1. "Star's snap decision to play opposite unknown redhead.". Sunday Times (Perth, WA : 1902 - 1954). Perth, WA: National Library of Australia. 9 April 1950. p. 12. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  2. "Mr. Drake's Duck (1951) - BFI". BFI.
  3. "Movie Review - Mister Drake s Duck - THE SCREEN; Atomic Era Hits Farm - NYTimes.com". line feed character in |title= at position 15 (help)


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