In which the UK’s new wave science fiction scene came (briefly) to Hollywood, courtesy of director Richard Lester. Anarchic, surreal and quintessentially British, THE BED SITTING ROOM (1969) is the closest thing that exists to a cinematic transposition of new wave sci fi classics like THE EYE OF THE LENS and BAREFOOT IN THE HEAD (the film would make for an interesting double bill with Robert Fuest’s 1973 Michael Moorcock adaptation THE FINAL PROGRAMME).
THE BED SITTING ROOM was taken from a play by Spike Milligan and John Antrobus. Lester at the time was riding high due to the Beatles centered musicals A HARD DAY’S NIGHT (1964) and HELP! (1965), whose success helped redeem his subsequent flops A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM (1966), HOW I WON THE WAR (1967) and PETULIA (1968).
But the patience of United Artists, who contracted him to direct an original screenplay by the late Joe Orton called UP AGAINST IT—from which Lester and screenwriter Charles Wood pivoted toward THE BED SITTING ROOM after Orton was found bludgeoned to death in the middle of pre-production—was wearing thin. While watching a rough cut of the present film UA executive Arnold Picker is alleged to have shouted “How much longer is this shit going on?”
While watching a rough cut of the present film UA executive Arnold Picker is alleged to have shouted “How much longer is this shit going on?”
That explains the advertising campaign, which cheekily branded the film a “Bomb” (which it defined as “A motion picture so brilliantly funny it goes over most people’s heads”), a definite self-fulfilling prophecy. The failure of the film ensured that the prolific Lester went several years before making another. As he later observed (referencing the fact that before filming began he was well thought of in the industry), “Who would have thought that within a year it would be as if I had the plague?”
As he later observed (referencing the fact that before filming began he was well thought of in the industry), “Who would have thought that within a year it would be as if I had the plague?”
The setting is Great Britain in the wake of a “Nuclear misunderstanding.” In this environ electricity is generated by a guy frantically peddling a stationary bike, news is broadcast by a reporter kneeling in front of an empty TV screen near a mountain of discarded shoes, escalators exist that don’t lead anywhere, and the Tube still runs regularly. A system of law and order also exists in this nutty universe, provided by a floating police car rendered airborne by a hot air balloon.
Lord Fortnam (Ralph Richardson), a racist politician, is metamorphosing into a bed sitting room. He’s joined by an old woman (Mona Washbourne) who’s become a cupboard (“Get your hands out of my drawers!” she reprimands a passer-by). The latter’s politician husband (Arthur Lowe) undergoes his own metamorphosis, becoming a parrot, while their teenaged daughter Penelope (Rita Tushingham), who’s been impregnated by her boyfriend Alan (Richard Warwick), ends up moving into the bed sitting room and giving birth therein.
Those expecting the freewheeling energy of A HARD DAY’S NIGHT will, like the abovementioned United Artist executives, be solely disappointed. A comedy THE BED SITTING ROOM may be, but it’s done in a brooding and protracted quasi-arthouse style, with gags that need to be thought out. Audience-friendly it isn’t.
It certainly looks great. The photography of David Watkin (THE DEVILS) conveys both the grit and absurdity of this universe, while the production design by Assheton Gorton (GET CARTER) and art direction by Michael Seymour (ALIEN) provide a plethora of garbage-strewn interiors, unspeakably desolate gorges and rusted machinery. Precisely how much credit should go to Gorton and Seymour remains an open question, as the filming locations, which included the industrial waste clotted Port Talbot and the clay pits of St. Austell, reportedly needed very little dressing to be rendered apocalyptic.
Another plus is the amazing cast, which includes a virtual who’s-who of 1960s British comedy: Michael Hordern, Arthur Lowe, Rita Tushingham, Spike Milligan, Mona Washbourne, Harry Secombe, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Roy Kinnear, Dandy Nichols and Marty Feldman. Also participating was Sir Ralph Richardson, who like everyone else appearing in the film seems at home in this surreal landscape, and conveys its quirky sense of humor quite naturally—although, conversely, none of the cast members really stand out, this film being the very definition of an ensemble piece.
Once again: viewers looking for escapism had better look elsewhere, as THE BED SITTING ROOM requires some heavy lifting on the part of the viewer. But for those willing to make the effort it’s a fascinating and even brilliant exercise in comedic weirdness, and a film that won’t ever be confused with any other.
Vital Statistics
THE BED SITTING ROOM
United Artists
Director: Richard Lester
Producers: Richard Lester, Roger Lewenstein
Screenplay: John Antrobus, Charles Wood
(Based on a play by Spike Milligan, John Antrobus)
Cinematography: David Watkin
Editing: John Victor Smith
Cast: Ralph Richardson, Michael Hordern, Arthur Lowe, Rita Tushingham, Spike Milligan, Mona Washbourne, Harry Secombe, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Roy Kinnear, Dandy Nichols, Marty Feldman, Richard Warwick, Ronald Fraser, Jimmy Edwards, Michael Hordern, Frank Thornton, Jack Shepherd, Bill Wallis