The Bed Sitting Room
- 1970 film
Surreal post-apocalyptic satire set in London after a nuclear war, following the last 20 people alive. Stars Rita Tushingham, Dudley Moore, Harry Secombe, Arthur Lowe, Roy Kinnear and more.
Key details
- Genre
- Film
- Released
- 1970
- Creators
- Spike Milligan and John Antrobus
- Stars
- Rita Tushingham, Dudley Moore, Harry Secombe, Arthur Lowe, Roy Kinnear, Spike Milligan, Ronald Fraser, Jimmy Edwards and more
- Writers
- John Antrobus and Charles Wood
- Director
- Richard Lester
- Producers
- Richard Lester, Oscar Lewenstein and Roy Stevens
- Company
World War III has been and gone, and very quickly too. The shortest war in history, "the nuclear misunderstanding" lasted just 2 minutes and 28 seconds (including the signing of the peace treaty).
Three or four years later London has now been almost totally destroyed, with only about 20 people still alive. These include one man on a bicycle providing the electricity for the entire country; a newsreader in half a dinner suit working as the BBC; and Mrs Ethel Shroake of 393A High Street, Leytonstone, the Queen's charwoman who is now first in line to the throne and thus the monarch.
The film followers these survivors. Other notables include Lord Fortnum, who due to nuclear radiation is soon to mutate into a bed sitting room; a small family who have been living off chocolate bars on the Underground Circle Line and whose daughter is 17 months pregnant; soldier-turned-doctor Captain Blues Martin; and a pair of policemen who tell everyone to keep moving.
Then there is also Mate, who works for the whole of the GPO; and a nurse who is the entire National Health Service.
Stream and download
Additional details
- Tagline
- We've got a bomb on our hands; The great nuclear misunderstanding lasted 2 minutes & 28 seconds (including signing the peace treaty)
- UK certificate
- AA
- Duration
- 91 minutes
- Produced
- 1968
- UK premiere
- Thursday 26th March 1970
- Distributors
- Production
- Location
- Camera set-up
- Multi-camera
- Picture
- Colour
- Soundtrack
- Music composed and conducted by Ken Thorne.
Website links
Broadcast details
- Most recent repeats
-
- Wednesday 1st November 2023 at 11:10pm on TPTV
- Friday 21st July 2023 at 1:30am on TPTV
- Saturday 22nd April 2023 at 2:10am on TPTV
Recording details
- Chobham
- Chesil Bank and St Austell
- Staffordshire