Tom Brown's Schooldays (TV serial)

Tom Brown's Schooldays is a 1971 television serial adaptation of the 1857 Thomas Hughes novel Tom Brown's Schooldays. Consisting of five one hour long episodes, the series was directed by Gareth Davies and used a screenplay by Anthony Steven.[1]

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
Release
Original networkBBC1
Original release14 November 1971 (1971-11-14)

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.[2] 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.[3]

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.[1] In his review in The New York Times, 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."[1] The program won the 1973 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series,[4] and actor Anthony Murphy won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for his portrayal of Tom Brown.[5]

The 1976 television program Tomkinson's Schooldays, is a parody of the 1971 television adaptation of Tom Brown's Schooldays.[6]

Cast

References
  1. Howard Thompson (13 January 1973). "TV: 'Tom Brown' Crosses Atlantic". The New York Times. p. 62.
  2. "Kathryn Hughes finds that Tom Brown's Schooldays is not the jolly romp most of us remember". the Guardian. 19 September 2008. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  3. Charles Gillies "Mrs Whitehouse, Casanova, and Tom Brown's Schooldays", Glasgow Herald, 8 December 1971, p. 8
  4. Steven R. Welsivian (21 May 1973). "Fosse Adds Emmy to Oscar and Tony; 'The Waltons' Best Drama Series". The New York Times. p. 66.
  5. Thomas O'Neil (1998). The Emmys: The Ultimate, Unofficial Guide to the Battle of TV's Best Shows and Greatest Stars. Berkley Books. p. 167. ISBN 9780399524233.
  6. Neil Archer (2016). Beyond a Joke: Parody in English Film and Television Comedy. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 9781786720900.
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