This film is part of Free
"...And Then There Was One"
Who will be the 'one'? This medical drama-doc, exploring mental health and illness, is stylish, nail-biting stuff.
Overview
Who will be the 'one'? Experiencing anxiety and depression, four very different people visit their GPs – getting very different reactions, playing out in their lives in very different ways. A canny concept, credible script and acting, atmospheric direction and sharp editing combine to make this sponsored medical drama-documentary unexpectedly stylish and gripping. It's nail-biting stuff.
The film was sponsored by pharmaceutical company Allen and Hanburys and naturally is supportive of the psychoactive medication they and other manufacturers had developed. But this is more than an extended advert – aimed directly at doctors, it is essentially (if for reasons of enlightened self-interest) an educational project to bring general practitioners, many of them with conservative attitudes, up to speed with changing clinical understandings of mental health and illness. The success of this commission led its talented director, Eric Marquis, to two yet more extraordinary 'psychodrama-docs', this time sponsored by Swiss pharma giant Roche: Time Out of Mind (1968, available on BFI DVD) and The Savage Voyage (1971).
Related
Plans for Living Plans for Living
Amateur film 1966 22 mins
The Pinner Cine Society looks at the work of Northwood's welfare services.
Rehabilitation at Roffey Park Rehabilitation at Roffey Park
Government sponsored film 1946 29 mins Location: Roffey Park (College)
Looking after the mental health of workers post-World War II – filmed in astonishing full colour.
Something to Offer Something to Offer
Documentary 1969 22 mins
An interesting documentary on psychiatric provision, set at a Plymouth day hospital and originally produced for nursing recruitment.
His Fighting Chance His Fighting Chance
Government sponsored film 1949 10 mins
Eleanor Roosevelt and Michael Redgrave narrate this optimistic post-war film on the rehabilitation of disabled people with polio.
Education of the Deaf Education of the Deaf
Documentary 1946 51 mins Location: Manchester
A brisk look at the tests and education practices for deaf people in 1940s
Faith Healer Faith Healer
News 1976 6 mins Location: Erdington
Does Danny Gallagher really have healing hands?
Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 24 mins
Daniel Kokotajlo talks to Nia Childs about Starve Acre, his folk horror about a couple digging deep into grief in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.
Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 30 mins
Sky Peals director Moin Hussain and lead actor Faraz Ayub talk to Tomisin Adepeju about their magic realist drama.
Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell
Documentary 2024 42 mins
Documentary exploring the BFI National Archive’s role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell.
Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels
Short documentary 2024 12 mins
Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI national archive, explores the origins of a series of comic travelogues, and Michael Powell's involvement in making them.
New Perspectives: Oldboy New Perspectives: Oldboy
Short documentary 2024 4 mins
Discover why Dan George of Northumbria University believes everyone should experience Oldboy at least once.
New Perspectives: Wings of Desire New Perspectives: Wings of Desire
Short documentary 2024 4 mins
Trixie Parkin-Christie of Northumbria University offers fresh insight into why Wings of Desire remains essential viewing.