Tommy is based on the 1969 concept album conceived and recorded by The Who, an English rock group. The story and most of the songs were written by Who member Pete Townshend, who was a follower of Meher Baba, an Indian mystic who advised against recreational drug use at the height of the psychedelic era. According to the LAT review, Townshend intended Tommy to be a philosophical expression of an individual evolving to “to a state of supreme grace and unity with nature” but that the film could also be interpreted as a universal story about the “pressures and frustrations placed by family and friends on young people.” An Apr 1975 Films and Filming review named Tommy “the first and best of the rock operas.” Although many historians cite it as the first musical billed as a “rock opera,” several historians have pointed out that it is a misnomer, as the form of the work is more like an oratorio or a cantata. Following the original recording, The Who performed Tommy several times in concert and recorded a second album, a symphonic version of the work with the London Symphony Orchestra.
       In a 21 May 2010 LAT interview, Townshend stated that for several years he was against making a movie of Tommy because he feared a film would “reduce the impact of the music and make demands of the story to which it could never rise.” He admitted that he considered the story “quite weak and clichéd.” However, at the time The Who was recording the original album, the group’s manager and producer, Kit Lambert, sketched a treatment that he hoped to direct but was ultimately deterred from doing so by poor health. Townshend stated that discussions for making a film occurred with producer-director Michael Carreras, who was associated with Hammer Studios, before producer Robert Stigwood became interested in the project. In the same interview, Townshend stated he met Ken Russell after he was hired to direct the film version of Tommy.
       29 Apr 1974 Box and 1 May 74 Var news items reported that Stigwood would co-finance the film with Columbia, which would handle distribution in the U.S. and Canada. According to a 24 Apr 1975 Rolling Stone article, Townshend spent a year writing, recording and adding music, and repairing basic tracks of Tommy before principal photography began. New for the film were two songs written by Townshend, “Champagne” and “Mother and Son,” as well as additional verses to old songs and other music. According to Townshend’s Rolling Stone interview, the entire film was lip-synched to the earlier recording except for the “See Me, Feel Me” number sung by Daltrey near the end of the movie, and then re-voiced by the film 's vocalists.
       As noted in the New York review, Russell, who wrote the script, made several changes to the story, such as changing the setting from World War I to World War II, and having the murder witnessed by “Young Tommy” (Barry Winch) be that of his father rather than his mother’s new lover. As noted in a 20 Mar 1975 LAT review, Russell changed the “tone, scope and content” of Tommy, by emphasizing Nora’s feeling of guilt and Frank Hobbs’s manipulating nature. As described by the New York review, Russell created “grotesquely choreographed” scenes, such as the faith healing sequence in which acolytes, who were dressed in blonde wigs and Marilyn Monroe masks, carry a larger-than-life statue of Monroe in her iconic pose from the 1955 film The Seven Year Itch. Among other often-mentioned sequences are the energetic and hypnotic scene featuring Tina Turner as “The Acid Queen" and the sequence featuring character Nora Walker that culminates in a television set spewing chocolate, beans and suds onto an elegantly white set. A 13 Aug 1974 HR column reported that Ann-Margret cut her hand on jagged glass during the filming of that scene that cost three days of production. In the 24 Apr 1975 Rolling Stone interview, Townshend stated that Russell was “not tremendously faithful to the original aim of the original album [but] was tremendously faithful to the original story line.”
       All four members of The Who—Townshend, Daltrey, Keith Moon and John Entwistle—appear in the film, as well as several iconic rock musicians of the era: Turner, Elton John (“The Pinball Wizard” wearing comically tall Doc Marten boots), Arthur Brown (“The Priest”) and Eric Clapton (“The Preacher”). Russell’s daughter, Victoria, portrayed “Sally Simpson”. According to the 21 May 1975 LAT review, Townshend admits that at the time he was against Russell and Stigwood’s casting of Ann-Margret, Oliver Reed (“Frank Hobbs”) and Jack Nicholson (“The specialist”), but that Stigwood explained the necessity of having Hollywood stars in the film. Townshend stated that after working with the actors, he realized they were right for their respective roles. Although a 13 Oct 1973 HR news item reported rumors that Mick Jagger and Ringo Starr, would appear in cameo roles, neither were cast in the film. A 10 Jan 1974 DV news item reported that Sly Stone was cast as “The Preacher,” but that role was played by Clapton and Stone did not appear in the film.
       Tommy was shot in England, primarily in London at Lee Studios. According to a 31 Mar 1975 Time article, portions of the film were shot in Southsea, Hampshire, where a pier caught fire during production and had to be rebuilt, and at a Royal Marines chapel and other areas of Portsmouth. In the audio commentary of the DVD release of the film, Russell added that the opening and closing sequences were shot in Borrowdale, a valley in the Lake District of England. According to an AMPAS press release dated 24 Jun 1975, John Mosely, an English sound expert who first recorded a commercial phonograph album in stereo, developed a five channel sound system, called Quintophonic, that was used in Tommy. A 22 Jan 1975 Var news item reported that in addition to the four concert-style speakers placed behind the audience, a fifth was placed at the center of the screen. The 24 Apr 1974 Rolling Stone article reported that the cost of making the film was $3.5 million.
       For her performance in Tommy, Ann-Margret was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress and won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy). Townshend received an Academy Award nomination for Best Music (Scoring Original Song Score and/or Adaptation). The film received two Golden Globe nominations, for Best Motion Picture Musical/Comedy and Best Acting Debut in a Motion Picture (Daltrey). The film has achieved cult status. The LAHExam reviewer described it as “a compelling synthesis of the identity crises of an entire generation.” The NYT review stated that the film targets “materialism, greed, parental laziness, medical quackery, organized religion, celebrity, television, fickleness and a lot other things in passing.” According to a May 1975 Films and Filming article, Tommy is “ a culmination of all that was developing in the ‘sixties.”
      The story is told in song, without spoken dialogue. During a prologue set near the end of World War II depicting the romance of “Captain and Nora Walker” (Robert Powell and Ann-Margret), only instrumental music and sound effects are heard. Lyrics begin approximately seven minutes into the film with the song, “Captain Walker,” which announces that the character has gone missing. The first image of the film, in which Walker stands on a hill silhouetted by a setting sun, is recreated as a final image, in which the adult “Tommy” (Roger Daltrey) is silhouetted against a sun that rises as he lifts his arms. An acknowledgement in the end credits thanks Bluebell Railway Preservation Society; The National Trust, The Lake District; City of Portsmouth; Birdman Sports Promotions Limited, Bill Curbishley; and Ken Messenger & Dave Raymond. Although the copyright record for the film lists Columbia Pictures as the claimant, an onscreen copyright statement lists Robert Stigwood Organisation as copyholder.