British Comedy Guide
The Bed Sitting Room. Mate (Spike Milligan)
The Bed Sitting Room

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.

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The Bed Sitting Room. Image shows from L to R: Police Inspector (Peter Cook), Police Sergeant (Dudley Moore)

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.

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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

United Artists

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

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