Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff
Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff

Vinegar Syndrome

Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff

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Set in the small town of Freedom, Kansas in 1954, GOOD LUCK, MISS WYCKOFF stars Anne Heywood as Evelyn Wyckoff, a virginal high-school teacher who learns that she has started early menopause. Feeling hopeless and isolated, she is advised by her doctor (Robert Vaughn) and psychiatrist (Donald Pleasance) to find a lover, which results in a series of brutal and horrifying events.

Based on a novel by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright William Inge (Picnic, Splendor in the Grass), GOOD LUCK, MISS WYCKOFF is a haunting story of ill-fated lust and sexual repression set against a backdrop of American racism.

Directed by Marvin Chomsky (Roots, Holocaust), written by Academy Award nominee Polly Platt (Targets, Pretty Baby), with a score by Oscar winning composer Ernest Gold (Exodus), and featuring Dorothy Malone. Ronee Blakley, Carolyn Jones and the feature film debut of John Lafayette, GOOD LUCK, MISS WYCKOFF is being presented uncut for the first time on home video.

directed by: Marvin Chomsky
starring: Donald Pleasence, Earl Holliman, John Lafayette, Robert Vaughn, Anne Heywood, Carolyn Jones, Doris Roberts, Dorothy Malone
1978 / USA / 106 minutes + extras / 1.85:1 / Color

Additional info:

  • Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Combo Pack | Region Free | 1.85:1 AR | MONO
  • Restored in 2K from 35mm original camera negative
  • Soundtrack CD (Composer, Ernest Gold)
  • Re-issue cut "THE SIN" (DVD only)
  • Theatrical trailers (DVD only)
  • Television spots (DVD only)
  • Still gallery (DVD only)
  • "Thoughts on William Inge" video interview with Academy Award nominated actress Shirley Knight (DVD only)
  • English subtitles

Overall rating: 4.3333335 / 5 from 66 reviews.

AI Generated Review Summary

Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff is a haunting drama set in 1954 Freedom, Kansas, starring Anne Heywood as a high-school teacher facing early menopause. The film challenges societal norms and explores themes of ill-fated lust and sexual repression. Customers praise its stellar drama, great performances, and the uncut presentation on home video.

Summary topics

  • cinematic quality: 27%
  • dramatic elements: 16%
  • film presentation: 10%
  • acting performances: 17%

Review topics: ["quality","feel","looks","film","deal","packaging","upgrade","release","movie","drama","performances","watch","viewing","cast","story","presentation","relationship","teacher","themes","soundtrack","transfer","pacing","edition","characters","subject matter","atmosphere","sequences","place","restoration"].

Review highlights

  • "A powerful and searing look at race relations, good luck, Miss Wyckoff is an absolutely shocking and powerful film!" — Ewan G.
  • "The presentation is solid, I like the artwork, and the included soundtrack CD is a very nice touch." — Leif F.
  • "This early VS release still does a good job with the content and amazing film more so for it’s time." — Josh N.

Reviews

Really great package for a uncomfortable but compelling character drama

"Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff is an uncomfortable but compelling character drama that confronts loneliness, repression, and racial tension with a bleak late-’70s sensibility. Its provocative themes and uneven tonal shifts can make for a difficult watch, but the film remains fascinating as a piece of challenging adult cinema from the era. The Blu-ray restoration gives the film a welcome visual upgrade, preserving its muted small-town atmosphere and strong performances with impressive clarity. The package also comes with the movie in DVD format, plus the CD of the soundtrack, so overall this is a really great package!"

— Roberto P. (5/5)

Racial tension and illicit romance in '70s drama

"Not immediately the kind of film you expect VS to release yet one of their best. High quality acting from a superb cast and a story that depicts a relationship between 2 people in a time where this was problematic, and that's not even counting the genesis of said relationship! Not immediately a film that would be made today in this manner. For lovers of dangerous material and '70s movies, the restoration is superb and the extra's are plentiful, with a CD for the soundtrack (I wish VS would do this more)."

— Tim V. (4/5)

The teacher and the black rapist

"Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff (1979), directed by Marvin J. Chomsky, explores the complex relationship between Evelyn Wyckoff (Anne Heywood), a respected 35-year-old teacher in the small town of Freedom, Kansas, and Rafe Collins (John Lafayette), a 24-year-old black janitor with a criminal past. The film’s formal approach creates a nuanced, almost kaleidoscopic point of view. The music and the slow transition of a sequence involving one of the encounters between Evelyn and the black janitor feel strangely “tender”, while other moments are raw, degrading, and humiliating. Maybe Evelyn despises herself and can only find pleasure in a masochistic dynamic? She has a supportive circle of friends ready to help, yet she chooses to confide in a stranger, Dr. Steiner. After being raped, she refuses to call the police, seemingly more concerned with the well-being of her attacker than with her own community. She risks her reputation to protect a communist homosexual colleague from being fired, but when her own indiscretions with Rafe threaten her job, that same colleague offers no support. At the same time how could a school hire a black criminal? Is the ability of scoring a touchdown above everything else? Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff was a great film, with an amazing cast, cinematography and music. It was especially nice seeing Donald Pleasence and Robert Vaughn! This is an essential VS release! I would love to see Iconoscope bring us another Marvin J. Chomsky film, Telling Secrets (1993)!"

— Pedro G. (5/5)

Melodramatic to the max

"Sheesh this is very melodramatic and sad. Great performances and just a really heavy hitting and emotional film."

— Jon B. (5/5)

70s drama worth a watch

"Great race drama from 1979. Unique edition from the VS line. 4/5 stars!"

— Stephen H. (4/5)

Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff

"Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff is one of those uncomfortable, hard-to-categorize 70s dramas that sticks with you more than you expect. The film handles taboo subject matter with a seriousness that feels very “of the era,” and even when it falters, the ambition is fascinating. The new transfer looks far better than earlier editions I’ve seen — it finally feels like the film can be evaluated on its own merits instead of through poor presentations"

— Thomas L. (4/5)

Decent Movie

"Just an okay movie."

— Nicholas D. (3/5)

Great transfer, seamless restoration(s)

"Well-acted and well-drawn characters, storyline manages to hit on every social taboo of its time, but with tact (well, mostly). The score by Ernest Gold accented the film wonderfully. The cast here is to-die-for, so many wonderful actresses! Carolyn Jones and Dorothy Lamour are great here, and Doris Roberts and Jocelyn Brando, too. Donald Pleasance and Robert Vaughn do well with their "doctor"ing. The plot gets convoluted, and both the 1954 setting and 1978 film vintage make this to be a very different time and place, yet if the specificity of the prejudices in play (racism, homophobia, Communist scare) get taken away, it's an engaging story altogether. VinSyn did a great transfer here, this "uncut" new version is seamless. The packaging includes a DVD with an alternate version for TV and there's a CD of the score which is very nice."

— Donald M. (4/5)

Takes an intense turn

"Solid drama that takes some turns I did not see coming. It becomes very visceral and intense, and the film will definitely leave its’ mark on the audience. Great leading performance as well by Anne Heywood, who’s all in. Rest of the cast is also solid. A pretty great release all in all!"

— Lasse P. (4/5)

Devastating

"A very blunt and tragic look at race relations in a small town during the 1950s. A hard watch but an essential one if you have any interest in small drama films."

— Summer M. (5/5)

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