| Director: | John McGrath |
The Compartment is a 1961 British TV drama. Written by Johnny Speight, it was a two-hander starring Michael Caine and Frank Finlay. Caine played a young beatnik 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.[1]
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.[2] [3]
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.[4]