The Office Picnic

Clyde is a typical junior clerk in a public service office. He watches the budding friendship between two co-workers and he turns it into the permanent office joke. At the same time he plays out his own neurotic relationship with a bored and frustrated secretary. The cruel mass victimisation of the young lovers is carried to the annual office picnic. Office tensions are changed by the unfamiliar surroundings where the disappearance of the two lovers forces Clyde to re-examine his own shallow emotional development.

Directed by Tom Cowan, The Office Picnic leans on a strong ensemble — John Wood, Kate Fitzpatrick, Patricia Kennedy — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about comedy titles of 1972.