The Caretaker was the play that made Harold Pinter's name when it was first performed at the Arts Theatre, London in 1960, and it remains probably his most famous. For the film, two of the cast of the original production - Donald Pleasence as Davies and Alan Bates as Mick - are joined by Robert Shaw as Aston. Donner's sensitive film becomes a study of shared illusion, tragic dispossession and a fraternal bond of unspoken love, combining mesmerising performances and the magic of Pinter's dialogue into a spellbinding, claustrophobic film.