''Tom Brown's Schooldays'' is a 1971 television
serial adaptation
In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...
of the 1857
Thomas Hughes
Thomas Hughes (20 October 182222 March 1896) was an English lawyer, judge, politician and author. He is most famous for his novel ''Tom Brown's School Days'' (1857), a semi-autobiographical work set at Rugby School, which Hughes had attended. ...
novel ''
Tom Brown's Schooldays
''Tom Brown's School Days'' (sometimes written ''Tom Brown's Schooldays'', also published under the titles ''Tom Brown at Rugby'', ''School Days at Rugby'', and ''Tom Brown's School Days at Rugby'') is an 1857 novel by Thomas Hughes. The stor ...
''. Consisting of five one hour long episodes, the series was directed by
Gareth Davies and used a screenplay by Anthony Steven.
History
''Tom Brown's Schooldays'' 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. It also included scenes of bullying and
corporal punishment which may have been too graphic for family viewing. "Clean-up TV" campaigner
Mary Whitehouse
Constance Mary Whitehouse (; 13 June 1910 – 23 November 2001) was a British teacher and conservative activist. She campaigned against social liberalism and the mainstream British media, both of which she accused of encouraging a more permi ...
claimed that the programme broke the BBC's guidelines on the depiction of sadistic violence.
After its 1971 premiere on the BBC, the series was later shown on ''
Masterpiece Theatre'' in the United States in January and February 1973 through a grant from the
Mobil Oil Corporation
Mobil is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil. The brand was formerly owned and operated by an oil and gas corporation of the same name, which itself merged with Exxon to form ExxonMobil in 1999.
...
.
In his review in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', critic
Howard Thompson wrote, "Two previous film versions of ''Tom Brown's Schooldays'' (one from England) pale beside this home‐screen project, which so far (two chapters) seems almost too good to be true, even from Masterpiece Theater."
The program won the 1973
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series represents excellence in the category of limited series that are two or more episodes, with a total running time of at least 150 minutes.
Criteria
The program must tell a compl ...
, and actor
Anthony Murphy won the
for his portrayal of
Tom Brown.
The 1976 television program ''Tomkinson's Schooldays'', is a
parody
A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...
of the 1971 television adaptation of ''Tom Brown's Schooldays''.
Cast
*
Anthony Murphy as
Tom Brown
*
Iain Cuthbertson as
Dr. Thomas Arnold
*
Louise Jameson as Mary Arnold
*
Simon Fisher Turner
Simon Fisher Turner (born 21 November 1954) is an English musician, songwriter, composer, producer and actor.
After portraying Ned East in the 1971 BBC TV adaptation of '' Tom Brown's Schooldays'' and roles in films such as ''The Big Sleep'' ( ...
as
Harry "Scud" East Harry "Scud" East is a fictional character in the book ''Tom Brown's School Days''. He is perhaps the closest friend of Tom Brown. His nickname is Scud because he is so quick on his feet. In the book he is referred to as East.
In the 1940 Hollywood ...
*
Richard Morant as
Flashman
*
Barry Stokes as Brooke
*
Gerald Flood
Gerald Robert Flood (21 April 1927 – 12 April 1989) was a British actor of stage and television.
Early life
Flood was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, but lived for most of his life in Farnham, Surrey, where he regularly appeared on stag ...
as Sir Richard Flashman
*
Richard Gibson as Sunning
*
Christopher Guard
Christopher Guard (born 5 December 1953) is an English actor, musician and artist. He is known for roles such as Jim Hawkins in '' Return to Treasure Island'' (1986), Bellboy in ''Doctor Who'' serial ''The Greatest Show in the Galaxy'' (1988), ...
as Darcy
*
Daniel Hill as Harry
* John Hug as Druce
*
Robin Langford
Robin W. J. Langford (12 September 1953 – 22 November 2014) was an English actor, writer and director.
His acting work included with the Royal Shakespeare Theatre Company in Stratford-upon-Avon; at the Moscow Arts Theatre in Russia at the age ...
as Martin
*
John Paul as Mr. Brown
References
External links
*
{{EmmyAward Limited Series
1970s British drama television series
Television shows based on British novels
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries winners
1971 British television series debuts