This was a very personal project for
Albert Finney, who made his debut as director with it and made it for his own company, Memorial Enterprises. He got fairly lavish backing from an American company, Universal, who were trying to set up a system for making films in England, but then had the greatest difficulty in getting the finished film shown. He made the film in 1966, but, although advance word on it was very positive, and the film eventually won awards as well as rave reviews, it was not shown in either the US or Britain until 1968; its American opening was well over six months in advance of its British one. Finney did his best to promote the film in several countries, but it was written off as a box-office failure. He hoped to direct in films again, and announced a film to be called "The Girl In Melanie Klein" in the early 1970s; but he never made it and never directed another theatrical feature.
