The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz
Encyclopedia
The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz is a 1974 Canadian comedy-drama film directed by Ted Kotcheff
and starring Richard Dreyfuss
. It is based on the 1959 novel of the same name
by Mordecai Richler
.
man growing up poor in Montreal
, Canada. His taxi driver father Max (Jack Warden
) and his rich uncle Benjy (Joseph Wiseman
) are very proud of Duddy's older brother Lenny, whom Benjy is putting through medical school. Only his grandfather (Zvee Scooler
) shows the motherless Duddy any attention.
Duddy gets a summer job as a waiter at a Jewish resort hotel in the Laurentian Mountains
. His hustle, energy and coarse manners irritate condescending college student and fellow waiter Irwin. Irwin gets his girlfriend Linda, the daughter of the hotel's owner, to persuade Duddy to stage a clandestine roulette
game. Unbeknownst to Duddy, the roulette wheel is crooked, and he loses his entire $300 earnings to Irwin and some hotel guests. Fortunately for Duddy, the other waiters find out and make Irwin give back the money. Unaware of this, the hotel guests, led by Farber, feel bad and give him a further $500.
Duddy starts a serious relationship with another hotel employee, French-Canadian Yvette (Micheline Lanctôt
). One day, she takes him on a picnic beside a lake. Duddy is stunned by the beauty of the setting, and his ambition crystallizes: taking to heart his grandfather's maxim that "a man without land is nobody", he decides he will buy all the property around the lake and develop it. Because the current owners might not want to sell to a Jew, he gets Yvette to front for him.
Duddy sets out to raise the money he needs. He hires blacklisted
, alcoholic American director Friar (Denholm Elliott
) to film weddings and bar mitzvahs. His first customer is Farber, who drives a hard bargain. If he does not like the result, he will not pay. Despite Friar's artistic pretensions, the film is a success, and more orders are quickly forthcoming.
However, when a piece of land comes up for sale, Duddy does not have enough money. He begs his father to get him an appointment with his friend Dingleman, "the Boy Wonder", a rich, successful gangster who had equally humble beginnings. Dingleman turns down his request for a loan but later invites him to discuss his scheme on a train to New York. It turns out that Dingleman just wants a dupe to take unknowingly the risk of smuggling heroin, but Duddy gets a loan out of it.
On the train, Duddy meets good-natured Virgil (Randy Quaid
) and, ever open to a deal, offers to buy his pinball machines, which are illegal in the United States. When Virgil shows up, Duddy does not have enough money to pay him, so Duddy hires Virgil as a truck driver, even though he has epilepsy
. Tragedy strikes when Virgil has a fit while driving and crashes; he is left permanently paralyzed from the waist down. Duddy is distraught and guilt-ridden. Blaming Duddy, Yvette leaves him to care for Virgil.
Duddy becomes alarmed when Dingleman finds out about his lake. When the last piece of property Duddy needs comes on the market, Dingleman bids for it. Desperate, Duddy forges Virgil's signature on a check to buy the land, leading to a final rupture with Yvette and Virgil.
Undeterred, Duddy proudly takes Max, Lenny and his grandfather to see his property. When Dingleman shows up to offer to raise the financing for its development, Duddy tells him to get off his land. However, Duddy's grandfather refuses to pick out a plot for his farm; Yvette has told the grandfather what Duddy did to get it.
's Armchair Theatre
based on Kravitz, with Hugh Futcher
in the title role.
The film was shot in Montreal
, including the Wilensky's
lunch counter, and in the Ontario village of Elora
.
, a charitable non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the preservation of Canada’s audio-visual heritage. http://avtrust.ca/masterworks/2002/en_film_1.htm
Richard Dreyfuss
was initially horrified at his performance in the film, and fearing it would end his career, jumped at the role of Matt Hooper in Jaws
.
for the New York
stage, directed by Austin Pendleton
.
Ted Kotcheff
Ted Kotcheff , sometimes credited as William Kotcheff or William T. Kotcheff, is a Canadian film and television director, who is well known for his work on several high-profile British television productions and as a director of films such as First Blood.-Early life:Kotcheff was born William...
and starring Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Stephen Dreyfuss is an American actor best known for starring in a number of film, television, and theater roles since the late 1960s, including the films American Graffiti, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Goodbye Girl, Whose Life Is It Anyway?, Stakeout, Always, What About...
. It is based on the 1959 novel of the same name
The Apprenticeship Of Duddy Kravitz (book)
The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz is the fourth novel by Canadian author Mordecai Richler. It was first published in 1959 by André Deutsch, then adapted to the screen in 1974.-Plot and setting:...
by Mordecai Richler
Mordecai Richler
Mordecai Richler, CC was a Canadian Jewish author, screenwriter and essayist. A leading critic called him "the great shining star of his Canadian literary generation" and a pivotal figure in the country's history. His best known works are The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, Barney's Version,...
.
Plot
"Duddy" Kravitz (Richard Dreyfuss) is a brash, restless young JewishJudaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
man growing up poor in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada. His taxi driver father Max (Jack Warden
Jack Warden
Jack Warden was an American character actor.-Early life:Warden was born John Warden Lebzelter in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Laura M. and John Warden Lebzelter, who was an engineer and technician. He was of Irish and Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry...
) and his rich uncle Benjy (Joseph Wiseman
Joseph Wiseman
Joseph Wiseman was a Canadian theater and film actor, best known for starring as the titular antagonist of the first James Bond film, Dr. No, his role as Manny Weisbord on Crime Story, and his career on Broadway...
) are very proud of Duddy's older brother Lenny, whom Benjy is putting through medical school. Only his grandfather (Zvee Scooler
Zvee Scooler
Zvee Scooler was an American actor and radio commentator. He was born in Kamenets-Podolsky . He performed in both Yiddish and English, on the stage, television, and film. He is probably best known for his roles in Fiddler on the Roof, playing the innkeeper in the Broadway play and the rabbi in the...
) shows the motherless Duddy any attention.
Duddy gets a summer job as a waiter at a Jewish resort hotel in the Laurentian Mountains
Laurentian mountains
The Laurentian Mountains are a mountain range in southern Quebec, Canada, north of the St. Lawrence River and Ottawa River, rising to a highest point of 1166 metres at Mont Raoul Blanchard, north east of Quebec City in the Reserve Faunique des Laurentides. The Gatineau, L'Assomption, Lièvre,...
. His hustle, energy and coarse manners irritate condescending college student and fellow waiter Irwin. Irwin gets his girlfriend Linda, the daughter of the hotel's owner, to persuade Duddy to stage a clandestine roulette
Roulette
Roulette is a casino game named after a French diminutive for little wheel. In the game, players may choose to place bets on either a single number or a range of numbers, the colors red or black, or whether the number is odd or even....
game. Unbeknownst to Duddy, the roulette wheel is crooked, and he loses his entire $300 earnings to Irwin and some hotel guests. Fortunately for Duddy, the other waiters find out and make Irwin give back the money. Unaware of this, the hotel guests, led by Farber, feel bad and give him a further $500.
Duddy starts a serious relationship with another hotel employee, French-Canadian Yvette (Micheline Lanctôt
Micheline Lanctôt
Micheline Lanctôt is an actress, film director, screenwriter, and musician.-Biography:Lanctôt's post-secondary education was in music, fine arts and theatre at Collège Jésus-Marie in Outremont, and in art history before switching to film animation, which she...
). One day, she takes him on a picnic beside a lake. Duddy is stunned by the beauty of the setting, and his ambition crystallizes: taking to heart his grandfather's maxim that "a man without land is nobody", he decides he will buy all the property around the lake and develop it. Because the current owners might not want to sell to a Jew, he gets Yvette to front for him.
Duddy sets out to raise the money he needs. He hires blacklisted
Hollywood blacklist
The Hollywood blacklist—as the broader entertainment industry blacklist is generally known—was the mid-twentieth-century list of screenwriters, actors, directors, musicians, and other U.S. entertainment professionals who were denied employment in the field because of their political beliefs or...
, alcoholic American director Friar (Denholm Elliott
Denholm Elliott
Denholm Mitchell Elliott, CBE was an English film, television and theatre actor with over 120 film and television credits...
) to film weddings and bar mitzvahs. His first customer is Farber, who drives a hard bargain. If he does not like the result, he will not pay. Despite Friar's artistic pretensions, the film is a success, and more orders are quickly forthcoming.
However, when a piece of land comes up for sale, Duddy does not have enough money. He begs his father to get him an appointment with his friend Dingleman, "the Boy Wonder", a rich, successful gangster who had equally humble beginnings. Dingleman turns down his request for a loan but later invites him to discuss his scheme on a train to New York. It turns out that Dingleman just wants a dupe to take unknowingly the risk of smuggling heroin, but Duddy gets a loan out of it.
On the train, Duddy meets good-natured Virgil (Randy Quaid
Randy Quaid
Randall Rudy "Randy" Quaid is an American actor perhaps best known for his role as Cousin Eddie in the National Lampoon's Vacation movies, as well as his numerous supporting roles in films, including his Oscar nominated performance in The Last Detail, Independence Day, Kingpin and Brokeback Mountain...
) and, ever open to a deal, offers to buy his pinball machines, which are illegal in the United States. When Virgil shows up, Duddy does not have enough money to pay him, so Duddy hires Virgil as a truck driver, even though he has epilepsy
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...
. Tragedy strikes when Virgil has a fit while driving and crashes; he is left permanently paralyzed from the waist down. Duddy is distraught and guilt-ridden. Blaming Duddy, Yvette leaves him to care for Virgil.
Duddy becomes alarmed when Dingleman finds out about his lake. When the last piece of property Duddy needs comes on the market, Dingleman bids for it. Desperate, Duddy forges Virgil's signature on a check to buy the land, leading to a final rupture with Yvette and Virgil.
Undeterred, Duddy proudly takes Max, Lenny and his grandfather to see his property. When Dingleman shows up to offer to raise the financing for its development, Duddy tells him to get off his land. However, Duddy's grandfather refuses to pick out a plot for his farm; Yvette has told the grandfather what Duddy did to get it.
Cast
- Richard DreyfussRichard DreyfussRichard Stephen Dreyfuss is an American actor best known for starring in a number of film, television, and theater roles since the late 1960s, including the films American Graffiti, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Goodbye Girl, Whose Life Is It Anyway?, Stakeout, Always, What About...
as Duddy - Micheline LanctôtMicheline LanctôtMicheline Lanctôt is an actress, film director, screenwriter, and musician.-Biography:Lanctôt's post-secondary education was in music, fine arts and theatre at Collège Jésus-Marie in Outremont, and in art history before switching to film animation, which she...
as Yvette - Jack WardenJack WardenJack Warden was an American character actor.-Early life:Warden was born John Warden Lebzelter in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Laura M. and John Warden Lebzelter, who was an engineer and technician. He was of Irish and Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry...
as Max, Duddy's father - Randy QuaidRandy QuaidRandall Rudy "Randy" Quaid is an American actor perhaps best known for his role as Cousin Eddie in the National Lampoon's Vacation movies, as well as his numerous supporting roles in films, including his Oscar nominated performance in The Last Detail, Independence Day, Kingpin and Brokeback Mountain...
, Virgil, Duddy's friend - Joseph WisemanJoseph WisemanJoseph Wiseman was a Canadian theater and film actor, best known for starring as the titular antagonist of the first James Bond film, Dr. No, his role as Manny Weisbord on Crime Story, and his career on Broadway...
as Uncle Benjy - Denholm ElliottDenholm ElliottDenholm Mitchell Elliott, CBE was an English film, television and theatre actor with over 120 film and television credits...
as Friar - Henry Ramer as Dingleman
- Joe Silver as Farber
- Zvee ScoolerZvee ScoolerZvee Scooler was an American actor and radio commentator. He was born in Kamenets-Podolsky . He performed in both Yiddish and English, on the stage, television, and film. He is probably best known for his roles in Fiddler on the Roof, playing the innkeeper in the Broadway play and the rabbi in the...
as Grandfather
Production
The film was actually Kotcheff's second adaptation of Richler's 1959 novel. In 1961, he had directed a television play for the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Armchair Theatre
Armchair Theatre
Armchair Theatre is a British television drama anthology series, which ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by Associated British Corporation, and later by Thames Television after 1968....
based on Kravitz, with Hugh Futcher
Hugh Futcher
Hugh Futcher is an English actor in theatre, television, and film. He was a member of the stock company of the Carry On films, with notable parts in Carry On Spying, Carry On At Your Convenience, and Carry On Behind...
in the title role.
The film was shot in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, including the Wilensky's
Wilensky's
Wilensky's, officially known as Wilensky's Light Lunch, is a lunch counter and soda fountain in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded by Moe Wilensky in 1932, the restaurant was immortalized in Mordecai Richler's novel, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz...
lunch counter, and in the Ontario village of Elora
Elora, Ontario
Elora is a community in the township of Centre Wellington, Wellington County, Ontario, Canada. It is well known for its 19th-century limestone architecture, its artistic community and the geographically significant Elora Gorge.-History:...
.
Legacy
Duddy Kravitz has an important place in Canadian film history because it was the most commercially successful Canadian film ever made at the time of its release, and has thus been described as a 'coming of age' for Canadian cinema. The film has been designated and preserved as a "masterwork" by the Audio-Visual Preservation Trust of CanadaAudio-Visual Preservation Trust of Canada
The Audio-Visual Preservation Trust of Canada was a charitable non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the preservation of Canada’s audio-visual heritage, and to facilitating access to regional and national collections through partnerships with members of Canada's audio-visual community...
, a charitable non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the preservation of Canada’s audio-visual heritage. http://avtrust.ca/masterworks/2002/en_film_1.htm
Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Stephen Dreyfuss is an American actor best known for starring in a number of film, television, and theater roles since the late 1960s, including the films American Graffiti, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Goodbye Girl, Whose Life Is It Anyway?, Stakeout, Always, What About...
was initially horrified at his performance in the film, and fearing it would end his career, jumped at the role of Matt Hooper in Jaws
Jaws (film)
Jaws is a 1975 American horror-thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name. In the story, the police chief of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, tries to protect beachgoers from a giant man-eating great white shark by closing the beach,...
.
Prizes
- Berlin International Film Festival24th Berlin International Film FestivalThe 24th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from June 21 to July 2, 1974.-Jury:* Rodolfo Kuhn * Margaret Hinxmann* Pietro Bianchi* Gérard Ducaux-Rupp* Kurt Heinz* Akira Iwasaki* Arthur Knight* Manfred Purzer...
– Golden BearGolden BearAccording to legend, the Golden Bear was a large golden Ursus arctos. Members of the Ursus arctos species can reach masses of . The Grizzly Bear and the Kodiak Bear are North American subspecies of the Brown Bear....
Award - Canadian Film Awards - Film of the Year
- Writers Guild of America Award for Best Comedy Adapted from Another MediumWriters Guild of AmericaThe Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....
– (Mordecai RichlerMordecai RichlerMordecai Richler, CC was a Canadian Jewish author, screenwriter and essayist. A leading critic called him "the great shining star of his Canadian literary generation" and a pivotal figure in the country's history. His best known works are The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, Barney's Version,...
& Lionel ChetwyndLionel ChetwyndLionel Chetwynd is a London-born Canadian-American screenwriter, motion picture and television film director and producer.-Life and career:...
)
Nominations
- Academy Award for Writing Adapted ScreenplayAcademy Award for Writing Adapted ScreenplayThe Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source...
– (Mordecai RichlerMordecai RichlerMordecai Richler, CC was a Canadian Jewish author, screenwriter and essayist. A leading critic called him "the great shining star of his Canadian literary generation" and a pivotal figure in the country's history. His best known works are The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, Barney's Version,...
& Lionel ChetwyndLionel ChetwyndLionel Chetwynd is a London-born Canadian-American screenwriter, motion picture and television film director and producer.-Life and career:...
) - Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign FilmGolden Globe AwardThe Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
Stage adaptation
In 1987, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz was adapted into a musicalMusical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
for the New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
stage, directed by Austin Pendleton
Austin Pendleton
Austin Pendleton is an American film, television, and stage actor, a playwright, and a theatre director and instructor.-Life and career:...
.