| Description | In 1981 Anderson abandoned a number of Hollywood projects to return to Britain to make Britannia Hospital, the final part of the 'Mick Travis trilogy'. The film is a blistering satire on the state of Britain in the 1980s. The film takes place in a hospital preparing for a royal visit to celebrate its 500th anniversary. Preparations are hampered by the presence of demonstrators outside the hospital gates (outraged at the presence of an African dictator inside) and within the hospital staff threaten industrial action. Meanwhile, an investigative journalist prowls the building and a professor works secretly on a mysterious project. The ensemble cast (many of whom were Anderson regulars) included Malcolm McDowell, Leonard Rossiter, Mark Hamill, Frank Grimes, Brian Pettifer, Jill Bennet, Graham Crowden, Fulton Mackay, Joan Plowright, Robin Askwith and Arthur Lowe. Material relating to the film includes early drafts and final version of screenplay; typed transcript of discussion between Anderson and Clive Parsons (producer) re abandoning Hollywood projects to film Britannia Hospital; production material including shooting schedules, progress reports and notes on special FX; correspondence between Anderson and producers, production company (EMI), writer (David Sherwin), cast and crew, distributors, critics and journalists; photographs of making of film; promotional material including cinema posters and advertisements from UK, US, Australia, Italy and Hungary; files of press cuttings of reviews of film from UK, US and Europe. The film which some British journalists and critics saw as having a very unpatriotic tone was released in Britain during the Falklands War in 1982. Following some adverse publicity in the British press the film suffered at British cinemas. However Britannia Hospital was well received elsewhere. The files of press cuttings present (LA 1/9/6) are a useful guide to the varied reactions it received |