Mick Travis trilogy
Encyclopedia
The Mick Travis films are three films directed by British
film director
Lindsay Anderson
and written by David Sherwin
, featuring English
actor Malcolm McDowell
as Mick Travis, in which Travis features not so much as a single character with a character arc
, but as an everyman
character whose role changes according to the needs of the storyteller.
In if...., his first appearance (and McDowell's film debut), Travis first appears as a disaffected public school
boy whose anti-establishment
attitude and experiences lead to armed insurrection at a public school. The film was made at Cheltenham College
, Lindsay Anderson's old school, and many of the scenes drew heavily on his experience in the Officers Training Corps
at Cheltenham, which he had joined in May 1937. It also draws heavily upon Tonbridge School
, where the two screenwriters both went, and several characters, perhaps most notably the child-abusing chaplain, are based on real people who taught at Tonbridge.
In O Lucky Man!
, cowritten by Sherwin and McDowell, Travis becomes a picaresque
character, often compared to Voltaire's ingénu character Candide
, in a satirical drama that starts with Travis's first job as a mobile coffee salesman and, after many adventures involving arms-sale scandals, experiments in human-animal genetics by the mad scientist Doctor Millar (played with relish by Graham Crowden
), and a sojourn with the musician Alan Price
, ends in his rebirth as a film star, thanks to a slap by a film director played in a cameo
by Anderson--the scene was a depiction of McDowell's first audition in which McDowell was slapped (according to script, which he had not read) by Christine Noonan, who played 'the girl' in if.... and briefly appeared (in two roles) in O Lucky Man!
In Britannia Hospital
, written by Sherwin, Travis is a reporter attempting to make an investigative documentary about a hospital where Doctor Millar, the mad geneticist from O Lucky Man! is continuing his unspeakable experiments.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Lindsay Anderson
Lindsay Anderson
Lindsay Gordon Anderson was an Indian-born, British feature film, theatre and documentary director, film critic, and leading light of the Free Cinema movement and the British New Wave...
and written by David Sherwin
David Sherwin
David Sherwin is a British screenwriter best known for his collaborations with director Lindsay Anderson and actor Malcolm McDowell on the films if.... , O Lucky Man! and Britannia Hospital .Sherwin attended Tonbridge School, a major British public school, which provided...
, featuring English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actor Malcolm McDowell
Malcolm McDowell
Malcolm McDowell is an English actor with a career spanning over forty years.McDowell is principally known for his roles in the controversial films If...., O Lucky Man!, A Clockwork Orange and Caligula...
as Mick Travis, in which Travis features not so much as a single character with a character arc
Character arc
A character arc is the status of the character as it unfolds throughout the story, the storyline or series of episodes. Characters begin the story with a certain viewpoint and, through events in the story, that viewpoint changes. A character arc generally only affects the main character in a...
, but as an everyman
Everyman
In literature and drama, the term everyman has come to mean an ordinary individual, with whom the audience or reader is supposed to be able to identify easily, and who is often placed in extraordinary circumstances...
character whose role changes according to the needs of the storyteller.
In if...., his first appearance (and McDowell's film debut), Travis first appears as a disaffected public school
Independent school (UK)
An independent school is a school that is not financed through the taxation system by local or national government and is instead funded by private sources, predominantly in the form of tuition charges, gifts and long-term charitable endowments, and so is not subject to the conditions imposed by...
boy whose anti-establishment
Anti-establishment
An anti-establishment view or belief is one which stands in opposition to the conventional social, political, and economic principles of a society. The term was first used in the modern sense in 1958, by the British magazine New Statesman to refer to its political and social agenda...
attitude and experiences lead to armed insurrection at a public school. The film was made at Cheltenham College
Cheltenham College
Cheltenham College is a co-educational independent school, located in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England.One of the public schools of the Victorian period, it was opened in July 1841. An Anglican foundation, it is known for its classical, military and sporting traditions.The 1893 book Great...
, Lindsay Anderson's old school, and many of the scenes drew heavily on his experience in the Officers Training Corps
Officers Training Corps
The Officer Training Corps is a part of the British Army which provides military leadership training to students at UK universities...
at Cheltenham, which he had joined in May 1937. It also draws heavily upon Tonbridge School
Tonbridge School
Tonbridge School is a British boys' independent school for both boarding and day pupils in Tonbridge, Kent, founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judd . It is a member of the Eton Group, and has close links with the Worshipful Company of Skinners, one of the oldest London livery companies...
, where the two screenwriters both went, and several characters, perhaps most notably the child-abusing chaplain, are based on real people who taught at Tonbridge.
In O Lucky Man!
O Lucky Man!
O Lucky Man! is a 1973 British comedy-drama fantasy film, intended as an allegory on life in a capitalist society. Directed by Lindsay Anderson, it stars Malcolm McDowell as Mick Travis, whom McDowell had first played as a disaffected public schoolboy in his first film performance in Anderson's...
, cowritten by Sherwin and McDowell, Travis becomes a picaresque
Picaresque novel
The picaresque novel is a popular sub-genre of prose fiction which is usually satirical and depicts, in realistic and often humorous detail, the adventures of a roguish hero of low social class who lives by his wits in a corrupt society...
character, often compared to Voltaire's ingénu character Candide
Candide
Candide, ou l'Optimisme is a French satire first published in 1759 by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled Candide: or, All for the Best ; Candide: or, The Optimist ; and Candide: or, Optimism...
, in a satirical drama that starts with Travis's first job as a mobile coffee salesman and, after many adventures involving arms-sale scandals, experiments in human-animal genetics by the mad scientist Doctor Millar (played with relish by Graham Crowden
Graham Crowden
Clement Graham Crowden was a Scottish actor. He was best known for his many appearances in television comedy dramas and films, often playing eccentric 'offbeat' scientist, teacher and doctor characters.-Early life:...
), and a sojourn with the musician Alan Price
Alan Price
Alan Price is an English musician, best known as the original keyboardist for the English band The Animals, and for his subsequent solo work....
, ends in his rebirth as a film star, thanks to a slap by a film director played in a cameo
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
by Anderson--the scene was a depiction of McDowell's first audition in which McDowell was slapped (according to script, which he had not read) by Christine Noonan, who played 'the girl' in if.... and briefly appeared (in two roles) in O Lucky Man!
In Britannia Hospital
Britannia Hospital
Britannia Hospital is a 1982 black comedy film by British director Lindsay Anderson which targets the National Health Service and contemporary British society...
, written by Sherwin, Travis is a reporter attempting to make an investigative documentary about a hospital where Doctor Millar, the mad geneticist from O Lucky Man! is continuing his unspeakable experiments.