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David Copperfield (1974 TV serial)

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Cover of German DVD

David Copperfield is a British six-part television serial of the 1850 novel by Charles Dickens adapted by Hugh Whitemore, directed by Joan Craft and first shown on BBC 1 in weekly parts from 1 December 1974 to 5 January 1975.[1] It was a co-production with Time-Life Television Productions.[2] It is the earliest BBC adaptation to exist in its entirety. The 1956 adaptation is completely lost, whilst only four of the 1966 adaptation's episodes are known to exist.

Cast

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Critical reception

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This version was generally well received.[3] In Clive James review for The Observer he wrote: "David Copperfield is as good as everybody says. Steerforth's flaw is well conveyed by Anthony Andrews, and Uriah Heep, played by Martin Jarvis, is a miracle of unction: to hear him talk is like stepping on a toad long dead. But Arthur Lowe's Micawber is better than anything. He follows W. C. Fields in certain respects, but is graciously spoken; and his gestures are as delicate as Oliver Hardy's. Not that his performance is eclectic - it is a subtle unity like everything he attempts."[4]

References

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  1. ^ "David Copperfield". 1 December 1974. p. 35 – via BBC Genome.
  2. ^ "David Copperfield Part 6 (1975)". BFI. Archived from the original on 5 May 2019.
  3. ^ "David Copperfield (1974) - Joan Craft | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie" – via www.allmovie.com.
  4. ^ Clive James Visions Before Midnight, p.112. Fields played Micawber in the 1935 film version.
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