The Luck of Ginger Coffey

If I had not known the director's name, I could have thought it was a Tony Richardson, Lindsay Anderson or Karel Reisz, or even John Schlesinger's film, the lead film makers of the kitchen sink drama period of the UK film industry, typical of this period, kind of Ken Loach before ts time. But that takes place in Canada instead of Great Britain. Social and depressing dramas of course. And it's so interesting to watch Bob Shaw in one of his earliest performances. So delightful. A movie whoch the topic is so close to reality.

When this film first appeared in 1964 I was a child of 11, newly arrived in Montreal myself from the (then) small city of Edmonton Alberta. Montreal was the 'big cosmopolitan city' , where men were men, and women were goddesses. And so they were. Even I, a small gorfy kid, got my first wolf whistle on those very streets before I was 13.

I wanted to see this vision of that time, even if in black and white, because my Montreal included only b&w TV at that time, even though Montreal was a collage of colors, snow & more snow. And this film IS my Montreal, complete with bilingual signs, belching buses and the beginnings of the English/French conflict that would eventually send me fleeing to English Toronto.

Within my own family, there were Irish, English, Polish immigrants and more - my father was French Albertan, my mother Quebec English - truly Canadian, we epitomized the Silent Revolution. Clinging to my Irish/English background, I understood the prejudices immigrants knew.

Robert Shaw is brilliant as Ginger. He is the quintessential immigrant convinced that life in Canada will be the bright future he deserves. His wife, Vera (Mary Ure) is the terrified woman who has followed her husband's dream, but longs for home. His daughter Paulie is me - scared and defiant in a new world.

Ginger can't find a good job' he's hampered by the lack of a proper college degree since he ran away to War instead of finishing school. He also believes that his age and experience qualify him beyond a training position, as he feels he's quite capable of positions above his actual education and experience. He may be right, but his employers disagree. In the one instance where his natural instincts and intelligence unite to shove him above the average, he's too particular to even see that he's found his own niche.

The story of one man's struggle in the New World is not unique; Brian Moore's belief in the essential optimism of the Irish character lifts this small tragedy to a greater good. Despite the apparent spiral into despair and alcoholism, the ending suggests that there is hope, that Ginger and Vera will persevere, and that Ginger's inherent belief that "Life is in the Living" will pull all of them through this struggle to a future that may not be of their dreams, but will be sufficient to take them to a better world than they could have hoped for in Dublin.

Ginger Coffey's story is not a tragedy, it is a monument to the people who came to Canada and the US to raise the bar for those lucky enough to be born in these countries. It's a lesson for all of us who take our birthright for granted, who will never understand what it's like to be a "Stranger in a New Land".

If you are lucky enough to see this film, most likely on television, take a moment to remember the time, and the circumstances, before political correctness allowed every Canadian and American, born or newcomer, to a piece of the pie we call the North American Dream.

Ginger Coffey (Robert Shaw) moves with his wife, Vera (Mary Ure, Shaw's real-life wife) from Dublin to Montreal, to make a new life for them and their daughter, Paulie (Libby McClintock). This film chronicles their struggle to gain acceptance, in a New World which doesn't immediately recognise Ginger's potential and leaves him to work at menial jobs to support his family.

Mary Ure made very few films during her short life, mainly working in the theatre, but here she is excellent as the worried wife who wants only the best for her family. As Ginger, Robert Shaw is excellent and fairly restrained when you compare this film with his later work which became something of self-parody. Montreal is also represented in an honest way within this film - it is a New World which has hope and opportunity, even as its immigrant population face their own problems and overcome them.

Little-seen these days, this black and white sixties gem is underrated and deserves wider exposure.

tell it all! And what a wonderful, and completely factual appraisal of what a miracle the USA/Canada have been for Immigrants--"before Political Correctness" caused us to be very much less candid about the truth of the matter--and more concerned with the superficiality of the "acceptance" of the society.

The one aspect to the Quebecois' comment at the bar, was when Ginger was asked, "Do you speak French?" and Ginger's reply was, "Well, I can parlez vous enough to get by.."; the French-Canadian summed it up perfectly: "That's the problem with this country; we learn English, you never learn French-"! This is a wonderful movie- NOTE all of the US Built Automobiles in Quebec; much before they were manufacturing them in Canada as many of them are now.

Great Comment, Roxanne; and Wonderful Movie!

Ginger Coffey (Robert Shaw) and his wife Vera (Mary Ure) with their daughter Paulie are struggling in Montreal. He can't seem to keep a good job, but keeps hoping for a break. Vera expects him to buy boat tickets back to her family in Dublin. He finally tells her the truth. He has already spent the ticket money. He cannot stop lying and she has enough.

This is a Canadian movie that feels a lot more like a British film about the lower class. Robert Shaw has a lot to do with that and he's magnificent. This feels like a Ken Loach film. The man is spinning a lot of plates and they keep falling over.