All this changes when he finds himself struck down by an incurable degenerative disease which means he'll need to use a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

His bitterness at his fate and his dislike of the rules and regulations of the place only serve to make him more withdrawn and angry at his enforced imprisonment.

Pritchard gets to know a fellow patient, Jill Matthews, a 31-year-old woman from a wealthy family, who is also a wheelchair user, due to polio.

Gradually, she is able to break through Pritchard's shell of cynicism and lack of respect for authority, bringing life back to his existence.

[4] Kirkus Reviews called it "a short novel, written with a sharpness of intelligence and feeling, and it is altogether genuine, a word easily exploited and seldom justified.

"[8] Film rights eventually went to producer Bruce Curtis, nephew of Harry Cohn, who had just made Otley (1969).

[12] Forbes later wrote in his memoirs "the main reason for my decision was to keep the studio open and avoid wholesale redundancies amongst the permanent workforce.

Forbes later wrote "I believed passionately in the subject and felt that in casting Malcolm MacDowell I had a potential star."

[12] (He later wrote in his memoirs he was partly motivated to cast her to make up for the fact that another film Newman appeared in, A Fine and Private Place, was cancelled mid production.

Forbes recalled, "My task was to avoid any patronising of the disabled, shun sentimentalising the core love story and bring out the humour which, during my research, I quickly found was characteristic of genuine paraplegics.

[18] In March it was reported Delaney left the film after a dispute with Forbes saying the latter "has made considerable changes to the script.

offices, though some felt they were like the words of a man who congratulates a Channel swimmer on his efforts while holding his head under water.

Bates' The Triple Echo to star Vanessa Redgrave, Jenny Agutter and Peter McEnery, to start filming in March.

"[30] Rugloff spent a large amount on advertising and also paid for a new Burt Bacharach theme song, which necessitated a change in title.

"[34] Filmink argued that while the film was well made, the leads "both excellent actors, were too old: the story needed to be about young things, as in the original novel (based on the author’s own experiences)… but McDowell was an old-looking 27 and Nanette Newman in her mid 30s.

Forbes blamed spotty distribution but if he’d added a third main character (a rival, say, or someone’s parent) and cast some younger, attractive, soulful actors (such as Jenny Agutter from The Railway Children), I think Moon could have had a shot.

"[13] Academy Award winner Gary Oldman chose to become an actor after watching the film, particularly because of McDowell's performance.