The Luck of Ginger Coffey

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The Luck of Ginger Coffey
DVD Cover
Directed by	Irvin Kershner
Produced by	Leon Roth
Written by	Brian Moore
Starring	Robert Shaw Mary Ure
Music by	Bernardo Segall
Cinematography	Manny Wynn
Distributed by	Continental Distributing Inc.
Release date(s)	1964
Running time	100 min.
Language	English
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

The Luck of Ginger Coffey is a 1964 film by Irvin Kershner. It was filmed in Montreal. It was originally written by Brian Moore and published in 1960.

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The Luck of Ginger Coffey is about an aged man of forty by the name of James Francis Coffey. He is only called 'Ginger' because of his reddish hair and mustache. He is always unfufilled career-wise, no matter which job he takes on. After being released from the Army and fails at his whiskey job, he and his wife Veronica, and his daughter Paulie, move to Canada.

Here Coffey still encounters many hardships concerning employment and his horrible habits of spending money. Veronica becomes extremely irritated and is sick of wild ways. It finally blows her top when she finds out that he still hasn't settled on a job and has blown their ticket money home.

However broke and empty-hearted they may be, they do have one friend to count on in Canada and that is Gerry Grosvenor, whom, unlike the Coffey's, is very rich. He lands Coffey a job working as a galley slave (or a proof reader) for forty-five dollars a week at the Tribune. Coffey is unimpressed once again and continues to tell Veronica it all will get better, but Veronica has her own plans for making life in Canada better. She leaves Coffey for Grosvenor and takes Paulie with her. Not only does she do that but she also takes all of Coffey's money and most of his belongings, and not to mention she told the tenant they would all be out of the house by the next day. Coffey gets a small place at the Y.M.C.A, and during his stay there he encounters a man who offers him a diaper delivery and pick up job at Tiny Ones.

Coffey finds this job even more repulsive than his current job but takes it anyway with a plan in mind; to get Paulie back and impress Vera with his selflessness. However, he does not win Vera back. She is still unconvinced but Paulie turns to her fathers side and they get a flat of their own. Coffey is obsessed with Veronica and is beginning to turn sickly with a lack of sleep and food, and an excessive work schedule. He is also obsessed with being promoted to a reporter so Veronica will take him back, but unfortunately she only brings up the topic of divorce. After many drunk excursions, fist fights with Gerry,a run in with the police and promotion battles, Vera finally sees how hard Ginger is working and fighting for her, and it's the moment when he finally decides to let her go, that she sees just how much he really loves her.

Spoilers end here.

v • d • e Irvin Kershner
1950s	Stakeout on Dope Street • The Young Captives
1960s	Hoodlum Priest • Face in the Rain • The Luck of Ginger Coffey • A Fine Madness • The Flim-Flam Man
1970s	Loving • Up the Sandbox • SPYS* • The Return of a Man Called Horse • Eyes of Laura Mars
1980s	Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back • Never Say Never Again
1990s	RoboCop 2
Productions	American Perfekt (1999)
Television	Naked City (1958–1963) • The Rebel (1959–1961) • Cain's Hundred (1961–1962) • Ben Casey (1961–1966) • Kraft Suspense Theatre (1963–1965) • Raid on Entebbe (1977) • Amazing Stories (1985–1987) • SeaQuest DSV (1993)