The National Health (film)

The National Health is a 1973 British black comedy film directed by Jack Gold and starring Lynn Redgrave, Colin Blakely and Eleanor Bron.[1] It is based on the play The National Health by Peter Nichols, in which the staff struggle to cope in a NHS hospital. The film satirically interweaves the story of the real hospital with a fantasy hospital which exists in a soap-opera world where all the equipment is new and patients are miraculously cured – although the only "patients" seen are doctors or nurses who are themselves part of the soap opera plots. In the real hospital, the patients die while the out-of-touch administrators focus on impressing foreign visitors.

The National Health
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJack Gold
Written byPeter Nichols
Based onThe National Health
by Peter Nichols
Produced byTerry Glinwood
Ned Sherrin
StarringLynn Redgrave
Colin Blakely
Eleanor Bron
Donald Sinden
Jim Dale
CinematographyJohn Coquillon
Edited byRalph Sheldon
Music byCarl Davis
Color processEastmancolor
Production
company
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release dates
  • 6 March 1973 (1973-03-06) (London)
  • 10 August 1979 (1979-08-10) (USA)
Running time
98 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Plot

Overworked doctors and nurses do their best to cope in a depressing and poorly-equipped National Health Service hospital.

Cast

Production

Producer Ned Sherrin said that he wanted Michael Blakemore, who had directed the play on stage, to direct the film but Columbia would not approve him.[2]

Reception

According to Sherrin, the film "did well" in England but was not released in the US for another decade.[2]

References
  1. "The National Health (1973)". Archived from the original on 17 January 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  2. Sherrin, Ned (2006). Ned Sherrin : the autobiography. Time Warner. p. 214.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.