| Description | The file contains: correspondence to and from: Otto Plaschkes regarding Ariel Production's inability to fund 'Comrades', Mamoun Hassan regarding lack of development in the 'Comrades' project (1983); Hans Werner Henze regarding Douglas' desire to work with the composer; letter from Judy Cottam regarding a potential Producer for the project; David Hannay regarding his interest in producing the film in Australia (1984); Jeremy Isaacs and David Rose regarding Channel 4's involvement and support in producing the film, also acting as a buffer between Merchant and Douglas (1983-1985); David Korda regarding Film Finances' concerns on the shooting schedule (1984); Ismail Merchant regarding re-writes of the script based on Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's revisions, along with several responses from Douglas refuting the changes (1984); Tim Corrie (Douglas' agent at Fraser & Dunlop, later BAFTA Chairman 2010-2012) regarding lack of payment from Merchant, and Corrie's eventual dismissal (1983-1985). The file also contains Merchant and Douglas' increasingly terse communication over the course of production; several unsent letters; letters to other production crew members; notes from Douglas to himself and/or Peter Jewell regarding his difficulties. Richard Craven letter to Bill Douglas on hearing that the Merchant production had been abandoned. |
| AdminHistory | During the production of 'Comrades' under Ismail Merchant, Bill Douglas faced multiple challenges. He was unable to hire his own production crew, had financial problems personally and professionally, had repeated delays to shooting and Merchant called for rewrites on Douglas' script – causing the production to stall completely. |