Family Life (1971)

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Film details

Featuring

Sandy Ratcliff Grace Cave Bill Dean
Director

Ken Loach
Country

United Kingdom
Year

1971
Genre

Medical drama
Type

Film
Category

Fiction

Alternative titles

In Two Minds Working
Wednesday's Child Alternative

Introduction

Family Life is a remake of David Mercer’s TV play In Two Minds, which had been filmed by Ken Loach four years previously. The broadcast of the latter provoked controversy, owing to its negative portrayal of the received treatment for schizophrenia. Family Life, like In Two Minds, promotes the theories of psychiatrist R.D. Laing, who did not believe that schizophrenia was a brain disease but a psychological syndrome that “cannot be understood without understanding despair”.

In Family Life, a troubled nineteen-year-old’s mental condition is exacerbated by her unfeeling relatives, and the cold and ineffective solutions of medical practitioners, who prescribe drug and electro-convulsive therapy.

For a very different take on schizophrenia, see Russell Crowe's Oscar-nominated portrayal of maths genius John Nash in A Beautiful Mind (2001).

Cast & Credits

Cast
- - Janice Baildon
    
    Sandy Ratcliff
  - Mrs Baildon
    
    Grace Cave
  - Mr Baildon
    
    Bill Dean
  - Barbara Baildon
    
    Hilary Martyn
  - Mr Carswell
    
    Alan MacNaughtan
  - Dr Donaldson
    
    Michael Riddall
  - Tim
    
    Malcolm Tierney
  - man in the garden
    
    Johnny Gee
  - cast member
    
    Bernard Atha
  - cast member
    
    Edwin Brown
  - cast member
    
    Freddie Clemson
  - cast member
    
    Alec Coleman
  - cast member
    
    Jack Connell
  - cast member
    
    Ellis Dale
  - cast member
    
    Terry Duggan
  - cast member
    
    Rossana Garofala
  - cast member
    
    Muriel Hunt
  - cast member
    
    Jason James
  - cast member
    
    David Markham
  - cast member
    
    Julie May
  - cast member
    
    Eleanor Montoya
  - cast member
    
    Myrtle Mckenzie
  - cast member
    
    Liz Mackenzie
  - cast member
    
    Ena Owen
  - cast member
    
    Ann Penfold
  - cast member
    
    Jill Richards
  - cast member
    
    Rita Russell
  - cast member
    
    Rosario Serrano
  - cast member
    
    Allan Travell
  - cast member
    
    Doremy Vernon
  - cast member
    
    Chris Webb
  - cast member
    
    Dorothy White
  - ambulance man
    
    Dudley Sutton (uncredited)
  - patient in Dr Donaldson's clinic
    
    Anthony Phipps (uncredited)
Credits
- Direction:
  - Director
    
    Ken Loach
  - Assistant Director
    
    Sean Hudson
  - Continuity
    
    Penny Eyles
  Rights:
  - ©
    
    Kestrel Films
  Production:
  - A Kestrel film
    
    Kestrel
  - Presents
    
    Nat Cohen
  - For
    
    Anglo-EMI Film Distributors Ltd
  - Producer
    
    Tony Garnett
  - Associate Producer
    
    Irving Teitelbaum
  - Production Executive
    
    Bob Blues
  - Production Manager
    
    Keith Evans
  Writing:
  - Screenplay by
    
    David Mercer
  - Based on his own TV play 'In Two Minds'
    
    David Mercer (uncredited)
  Photography:
  - Photography
    
    Charles Stewart
  - Lighting by
    
    Lee Electrics
  Editing:
  - Editor
    
    Roy Watts
  Design:
  - Art Director
    
    Mccrow, William
  Costumes:
  - Wardrobe
    
    Daphne Dare
  Film processing:
  - Colour by
    
    Technicolor
  Music:
  - Music
    
    Marc Wilkinson
  Sound:
  - Sound Recordist
    
    Sharp, Frederick
  - Sound Recordist
    
    Gerry Humphreys
  - Sound Recorded at
    
    Twickenham Studios
  - Dubbing Editor
    
    Peter Elliott
  Consultant:
  - This Film Was Also Made by
    
    Vivienne Ablett
  - This Film Was Also Made by
    
    Barbara Allen
  - This Film Was Also Made by
    
    Sophie Baker
  - This Film Was Also Made by
    
    John Batt
  - This Film Was Also Made by
    
    Dennis Brennan
  - This Film Was Also Made by
    
    Christopher Cook
  - This Film Was Also Made by
    
    Jimmy Cowan
  - This Film Was Also Made by
    
    George Crawford
  - This Film Was Also Made by
    
    Paul Cuff
  - This Film Was Also Made by
    
    Arthur Day
  - This Film Was Also Made by
    
    Billy Draper
  - This Film Was Also Made by
    
    Bernard Ellis
  - This Film Was Also Made by
    
    Paul Fell
  - This Film Was Also Made by
    
    Maureen Gregson
  - This Film Was Also Made by
    
    Evan Hercules
  - This Film Was Also Made by
    
    Geoffrey Hill
  - This Film Was Also Made by
    
    Richard Laughton
  - This Film Was Also Made by
    
    Dennis Lay
  - This Film Was Also Made by
    
    Janet Law
  - This Film Was Also Made by
    
    Gay Lawley-Wakelin
  - This Film Was Also Made by
    
    Terry Lewis
  - This Film Was Also Made by
    
    Don Maton
  - This Film Was Also Made by
    
    Julian Miller
  - This Film Was Also Made by
    
    Michael Monks
  - This Film Was Also Made by
    
    Geoff Mulligan
  - This Film Was Also Made by
    
    Michael Murchan
  - This Film Was Also Made by
    
    George Noonan
  - This Film Was Also Made by
    
    Bryan Oates
  - This Film Was Also Made by
    
    Ron Pearce
  - This Film Was Also Made by
    
    Richard Pointing
  - This Film Was Also Made by
    
    Jack Roche
  - This Film Was Also Made by
    
    Joy Seddon
  - This Film Was Also Made by
    
    Ivan Strasburg
  - This Film Was Also Made by
    
    Tony Teiger
  - This Film Was Also Made by
    
    Jeremy Thomas
  - This Film Was Also Made by
    
    John Woodley