"The Big Flame" is a 1969 BBC television play by socialist playwright Jim Allen, produced by Tony Garnett and directed by Ken Loach.

[2] Filmed in a gritty, realistic drama documentary style, it was first broadcast on 19 February 1969 on BBC1, at a time when unemployment was rising in Britain.

Following its broadcast, Mary Whitehouse, president of the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association, wrote to both Prime Minister Harold Wilson and Leader of the Opposition Edward Heath, demanding that they review the charter of the BBC in light of its transmission of "a blueprint for the communist takeover of the docks.

[4] Jim Allen and Ken Loach, along with many of the same cast, also collaborated on the 1971 film The Rank and File.

[5][6] In September 2011, the play was released on DVD as part of the 6-disc box set, Ken Loach at the BBC.