Mister Drake's Duck

2022-11-18T16:21:29Z

12.231.109.142: Most people associate "hen" with chickens

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2016}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Mr Drake's Duck
| image = "Mister_Drake's_Duck"_(1951).jpg
| image_size =
| caption =
| director = [[Val Guest]]
| producer = [[Daniel M. Angel]]
| writer = [[Ian Messiter]] <br> Val Guest
| narrator =
| music = Bruce Campbell
| cinematography = [[Jack E. Cox]]
| editing = [[Sam Simmonds (film editor)|Sam Simmonds]]
| starring = [[Douglas Fairbanks Jr.]] <br> [[Yolande Donlan]] <br> [[Jon Pertwee]]
| distributor = [[Eros Films]] (UK) <br> [[United Artists]] (US)
| released = {{Film date|df=y|1951|2|7}}
| runtime = 85 minutes
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| budget = £100,000<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article59514539 |title=Star's snap decision to play opposite unknown redhead. |newspaper=[[The Sunday Times (Western Australia)|Sunday Times (Perth, WA : 1902 - 1954)]] |location=Perth, WA |date=9 April 1950 |access-date=5 August 2012 |page=12 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
}}

'''''Misterr Drake's Duck''''' is a 1951 British [[science fiction film|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 a farmer who discovers that one of his ducks has started laying [[radioactive]] eggs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/42858?view=cast|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090119190100/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/42858?view=cast|url-status=dead|archive-date=2009-01-19|title=Mr. Drake's Duck (1951) - BFI|work=BFI}}</ref>

==Plot==
Mr. Drake inherits Green Acres Farm in [[Sussex]], in the English countryside, where he moves with his new American bride Penny. Because of a misunderstanding, Penny unexpectedly finds that she owns 60 ducks. She is astonished when one of the ducks begins laying radioactive eggs. As the news spreads, the Drakes come under siege by the army. Green Acres Farm is designated a prohibited area, and of all its inhabitants and visitors are made prisoners. The military launches Operation Chickweed to snatch the radioactive duck.

==Cast==
* [[Douglas Fairbanks Jr.]] as Donald Drake
* [[Yolande Donlan]] as Penny Drake
* [[Jon Pertwee]] as Reuben
* [[Wilfrid Hyde-White]] as Mr May
* [[Reginald Beckwith]] as Mr Boothby
* [[Howard Marion-Crawford]] as Major Travers
* [[Peter Butterworth]] as Higgins
* [[A. E. Matthews]] as Brigadier Matthews
* [[Tom Gill (actor)|Tom Gill]] as Captain White
* [[John Boxer (British actor)|John Boxer]] as Sergeant
* [[Ballard Berkeley]] as Major Deans
* [[Roger Maxwell (actor)|Roger Maxwell]] as Colonel Maitland
* [[Ben Williams (actor)|Ben Williams]] as Auctioneer

==Reception==
Upon the film's American release, [[A. H. Weiler]] of ''[[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. ... They are, of course, laboring one joke, but do come up with enough laughs to make ''Mister Drake's Duck'' a pleasant if slight lampoon."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Weiler |first=A. H. |date=1952-01-28 |title=Atomic Era Hits Farm |page=15 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0043821}}

{{Val Guest}}

[[Category:1951 films]]
[[Category:1950s science fiction comedy films]]
[[Category:British science fiction comedy films]]
[[Category:1950s English-language films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Val Guest]]
[[Category:1951 comedy films]]
[[Category:British black-and-white films]]
[[Category:1950s British films]]

{{1950s-UK-comedy-film-stub}}
{{1950s-sf-film-stub}}

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Mister Drake's Duck