The Birthday Party is a 1968 British drama film directed by William Friedkin, based on an unpublished screenplay by 2005 Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter, which he adapted from his own play The Birthday Party, considered an example of Pinter's "comedy of menace". The protagonist is a lodger in his late 30s named Stanley , played by Robert Shaw, who is staying at a seaside boarding house; he is visited by two unexpected additional guests, menacing and mysterious strangers, Goldberg and McCann . Their neighbour, Lulu brings her a parcel, a boy's toy drum presented to Stanley as his "birthday... present." Goldberg and McCann offer to host Stanley's birthday party after Stanley's landlady, Meg , played by Dandy Nichols, tells them that it is Stanley's birthday, although Stanley protests that it is really not his birthday. In the course of the party, Goldberg and McCann break Stanley down and ultimately take him away from the house purportedly to get medical attention in their car.
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| Release date: | December 9, 1968 |
| Directed by: | William Friedkin |
| Runtime: | 119 Minutes |
| Producer: | Max Rosenberg, Milton Subotsky |
| Editor: | Antony Gibbs |
| Cinematography: | Denys Coop |
| Screenplay by: | Harold Pinter |
| Genre: | Comedy |