Britannia Hospital
| Britannia Hospital | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Lindsay Anderson |
| Produced by | Clive Parsons Davina Belling |
| Written by | David Sherwin |
| Starring |
Malcolm McDowell Leonard Rossiter John Moffatt Fulton Mackay Joan Plowright Robin Askwith |
| Music by | Alan Price |
| Cinematography | Mike Fash |
| Edited by | Michael Ellis |
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Production
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Release date
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Running time
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116 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $2.5 million |
| Box office | $375,713 |
Britannia Hospital is a 1982 black comedy film by British director Lindsay Anderson which targets the National Health Service and contemporary British society. It was entered into the 1982 Cannes Film Festival and Fantasporto.
Britannia Hospital is the final part of Anderson's critically acclaimed trilogy of films, written by David Sherwin, that follow the adventures of Mick Travis (portrayed by Malcolm McDowell) as he travels through a strange and sometimes surreal Britain. From his days at boarding school in if.... (1968) to his journey from coffee salesman to film star in O Lucky Man! (1973), Travis' adventures finally come to an end in Britannia Hospital which sees Mick as a muckraking reporter investigating the bizarre activities of Professor Millar, played by Graham Crowden, whom he had had a run in with in O Lucky Man. All three films have characters in common. Some of the characters from if.... that didn't turn up in O Lucky Man returned for Britannia Hospital.
The absurdities of human behaviour as we move into the Twenty-first Century are too extreme — and too dangerous — to permit us the luxury of sentimentalism or tears. But by looking at humanity objectively and without indulgence, we may hope to save it. Laughter can help.
A new wing at Britannia Hospital is to be opened, and the Queen Mother – referred to as HRH – is due to arrive. The administrator of the hospital, Potter (Leonard Rossiter), is confronted with demonstrators protesting against an African dictator who is a VIP patient, striking ancillary workers (opposed to the exotic gastronomic demands of the hospital's private patients) and a less-than-cooperative Professor Millar (Graham Crowden), the head of the new wing. Rather than cancel the royal visit, Potter decides to go out and reason with the protestors. He strikes a deal with the protest leader — the private patients of Britannia Hospital are to be ejected and, in return, the protestors allow a number of ambulances into the hospital. However, unbeknown to the protestors, these ambulances actually contain the Queen Mother and her entourage.
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Wikipedia