Jump to content

Tom Brown's Schooldays (TV serial)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Randy Kryn (talk | contribs) at 01:37, 25 July 2020 (added year). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Tom Brown's Schooldays
Written byThomas Hughes (novel)
Anthony Stevens (writer)
Directed byGareth Davies
StarringAnthony Murphy
Iain Cuthbertson
Simon Fisher Turner
Richard Morant
Country of originUK
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes5
Production
ProducerJohn McRae
Running time225 min
Original release
NetworkBBC1
Release14 November 1971 (UK)

Tom Brown's Schooldays is a 1971 television serial adaptation of the 1857 Thomas Hughes novel Tom Brown's Schooldays.

It was originally screened on the BBC1 Sunday afternoon slot, which often showed serialisations of classics aimed at a family audience. It made some free adaptations to Hughes's novel, creating the role of Flashman's father, and added new sub-plots about Flashman and Arnold.[1] It also included scenes of bullying and corporal punishment which may have been too graphic for family viewing. "Clean-up TV" campaigner Mary Whitehouse claimed that the programme broke the BBC's guidelines on the depiction of sadistic violence.[2]

The series was later shown on Masterpiece Theatre in the USA. Both the programme and Anthony Murphy's lead performance won Emmy Awards.

Cast

References

  1. ^ See Kathryn Hughes' article on Hughes' novel in The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/sep/20/booksforchildrenandteenagers.
  2. ^ Charles Gillies "Mrs Whitehouse, Casanova, and Tom Brown's Schooldays", Glasgow Herald, 8 December 1971, p.8