''The Compartment'' is a 1961 British TV drama. Written by

Johnny Speight Johnny Speight (2 June 1920 – 5 July 1998) was an English television scriptwriter of many classic British sitcoms. Speight emerged in the mid-1950s, writing for radio comics Frankie Howerd, Vic Oliver, Arthur Askey, and Cyril Fletcher. For ...

, it was a

two-hander A two-hander is a term for a play, film, or television programme with only two main characters. The two characters in question often display differences in social standing or experiences, differences that are explored and possibly overcome as t ...

starring

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, 14 March 1933) is a retired English actor. Known for his distinct Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films over Michael Caine filmography, a career that spanned eight decades an ...

and

Frank Finlay Francis Finlay, (6 August 1926 – 30 January 2016) was an English actor. He earned an Academy Award nomination for his performance as Iago in ''Othello'' (1965). His first leading television role came in 1971 in '' Casanova''.

. Caine played a young

beatnik Beatniks were members of a social movement in the mid-20th century, who subscribed to an anti- materialistic lifestyle. They rejected the conformity and consumerism of mainstream American culture and expressed themselves through various forms ...

musician and Finlay played a middle-aged businessman. The two characters are confined to a train compartment together on a half-hour journey and Caine's musician begins to resent the older man. The play was crucial to Michael Caine's career because it was highly acclaimed and increased his visibility. It also led to him being signed by a new agent, Denis Selinger, and to being offered a number of other TV jobs. According to Caine, there is no existing recording of this programme. The BBC told him that the tape used for the broadcast was re-used, a common practice on some networks in the early days of television.“with Michael Caine and Tom Courtenay,” Kermode and Mayo’s Film Review. Sept. 7, 2018.
/ref> A version starring Marty Feldman is available on YouTube.

References

External links

''The Compartment''
at

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Compartment, The British drama television series 1960s British television series 1961 British television series debuts