''Dombey and Son'' is a 1969 English drama serial directed by Joan Craft based on the 1848 novel by Charles Dickens. It tells the story of a wealthy shipping business owner who, after the death of his wife and only son intended to take over the business, neglects his daughter, only to reconcile with her shortly before his own death. The series survived the BBC's

wiping Lost television broadcasts are mostly those early television programs which cannot be accounted for in studio archives (or in personal archives) usually because of deliberate destruction or neglect. Common reasons for loss A significant prop ...

policy and was released to DVD in 2017 by Simply Media.

Cast

* John Carson - Mr. Dombey *

Kara Wilson Kara Wilson (born 18 June 1944) is a Scottish actress best known for her roles as Patience Heatherstone in the 1964 adaptation of ''The Children of the New Forest'' and as Miss Caroline Gordon in the seventh series of children's soap opera ''G ...

- Florence Dombey * William Moore - Captain Cuttle *

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- Mr. Toots *

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- Susan Nipper *

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- Edith Dombey & Alice Marwood *

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- James Carker *

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- Lucretia Tox * Edward Topps - Towlinson *

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- Mrs. Brown * David Garth - John Carker * Derek Seaton - Walter Gay *

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- Major Bagstock * Roland Pickering - Paul Dombey Jr. * Victoria Williams - Young Florence

Archive status

Unusual for a black and white BBC series produced in the 1960s, three of the thirteen episodes of ''Dombey'' (1, 4 and 6) still exist as their original 625 line

videotape Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocassett ...

masters, whilst the remaining ten episodes had their videotapes erased in the 1970s. All of the wiped episodes survived, however, as 16mm

telerecordings Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program on motion picture film, directly through a lens focused on the screen of a video monitor. The process was pioneered during the 1940s ...

. All episodes have high sound and picture quality, with little-to-no visible damage on the DVD release.

Critical reception

The serial has received positive reviews, with some deeming it an improvement over the novel. Reviewing its DVD release, ''Archive Television Musings'' wrote "Hugh Leonard’s adaptation manages to skillfully fillet Dickens’ novel and thereby retain everything of interest. A fine rogues gallery of comic performers – headed by the peerless William Moore as Captain Cuttle – helps to keep things ticking along nicely... oan Craft'sdirectorial style isn’t dramatic or showy (there’s few of the flourishes that can be seen in Alan Bridges’ ''Great Expectations'') but she still manages to ensure that the story unfolds at a decent pace...Thanks to the first-class cast who rarely put a foot wrong, ''Dombey & Son'' is another impressive Dickens adaptation. Highly recommended."

References

External links

* 1969 drama films 1969 films 1960s British television miniseries Television shows based on works by Charles Dickens British television films 1960s English-language films {{1960s-UK-film-stub