Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff

'The emotional explosion is here/ The emotional experience is yours.'

I first heard of the 1979 film Good Luck Miss Wykoff last spring.  I read an article where it was referenced, and found a copy to download on Rare Lust. I thought of doing a piece then, but there wa so much about the film I struggled with, I decided to put it aside.  Recently, the film, the it's scenes of male nudity, were again brought up on DC.  I decided to give it another look.

The film, based on 1970 novel by William Inge is set in 1954 and featured the rape of a teacher by a scholarship student who cleans classrooms at the end of the school day.  There are so many disturbing themes in the film, that I wasn't sure about featuring it.  The male nudity, although plenty, is both disturbing and incredibly exploitative.   Although FH's focus is the male form, and one could argue, much movie nudity is exploitative, if you see the film, you'll know exactly what I mean.

First off the teacher, Evelyn Wyckoff is white. The male student, Rafe Collins, is black.  Although the film tries to juggle it's racist elements by writing Evelyn as a progressive activist, one who fights for integration within the school, it doesn't really make up for the racial stereotypes depicted.   In addition, although Rafe, played by actor John Lafayette, is a rapist, he is filmed to also be an object of desire.  Each sex scene begins with Rafe slowly stripping in front of Evelyn, each time shown fully naked before he strikes.

Even more however, than the racism, is the sexism and depiction of rape reinforce negative and damaging ideas that for awhile, surrounded rape and sexual assault.  The initial rape in the film is shot not in a romantic way, but in a realistically frightening, and brutal way.  The aftermath however is not.  Evelyn is a virgin, and struggling with coping and depression.  Her doctor recommends, in addition to prescribing a sleeping pill and some hormones, suggests a man would also be helpful.

The rape becomes almost like medicine for Evelyn, medicine she repeats again and again with subsequent unhealthy and reluctant consensual sexual encounters with Rafe.  I say reluctant, as all of their encounters are initiated by Rafe, yet the film makes it clear, that Evelyn is in need a regular dose.

I had never heard of actress Anne Heywood (Evelyn) or actor John Lafayette (Rafe) before, but both, especially Lafayette, were compelling in their roles.  Heywood's career seemed to diminish and peter out after the film, but Lafayette continued to work steadily including recent appearances on shows including; JAG, The West Wing, The Closer, E.R, Weeds, Supernatural and The Following.

The film also has a lot of recognizable faces from television and movies including Donald Pleasence, Robert Vaughn, Earl Holliman, Carolyn Jones, Dorthy Malone and Doris Roberts playing a Marie, long before playing Marie Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond.  The film also features Jocelyn Brando, Marlon' sister. Her role was noteworthy as there's a scene where she and Evelyn seem quite excited to head to the movies to see Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire.

Even though there were many questionable themes in the film, there was also something fascinating about it.  Fascinating, in that the movies still pulls you in, with a premise, that in 2020, seems almsot unbelievable. The film at times feels like a soap opera or a bad TV movie, but then there's a scene that lets you know clearly, it is not. As gratuitous as the nude scenes are filmed, there is also something strikingly beautiful about how the camera spends so much time on John Lafayette's incredible body.

Yes, of course the character is horrible, and the film does not try to redeem him, but as exploitative as it is, there were so few movies at the time in which a black male is not only written, but filmed as the sexual object of desire.  The film doesn't shy away from showing Rafe completely naked, in several scenes, and although Rafe is raping, abusing and humiliating Evelyn, his nakedness is both shocking and disturbing but at the same time... completely compelling.