This film was made in 1959 by Greenpark Films for the Manchester Regional Hospital Board.

‘There was a door’ reflects changing official attitudes towards institutional care for people with learning difficulties, presenting it as an option but only as one of last resort.

1959 was the year of the Mental Health Act which repealed the harsher Mental Deficiency legislation, which was in place for most of the twentieth century up to that point. Influenced by a 1950s civil liberties campaign, the implementation of the 1959 Act meant that in principle most people with learning difficulties were legally allowed to leave institutions. It was not as straightforward as that, and the majority remained, but it was legally permissible - unless you were assessed as a danger to yourself or others.

In addition to its policy messages, ‘There was a door’ is fascinating because it provides film of the Royal Albert (Lancaster), Calderstones and Brockhall (both near Blackburn), Lancashire’s three largest long-stay NHS institutions for people with learning difficulties.
Key Words:
People with learning disabilities; people with learning difficulties; Lancashire; Lancashire social history; 1950s; NHS; long-stay institutions; Royal Albert Hospital; Calderstones Hospital; Brockhall Hospital; social policy; learning disability history; community care; documentary films.
Credits
G Buckland Smith: Writer and Producer
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2240819/

Derek Williams: Director
An important documentary film maker in post war Britain.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derek_W...)
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0930426/
http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people...

Vernon Greaves: Commentator
http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people...
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0339512/