Johan en de Alverman (''Johan and the Alverman'') was a

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

children's TV series, broadcast on the BRT (now the VRT) between 1965 and 1966. Together with '' Captain Zeppos'', it is considered to be one of the classics of Flemish children's television. It was very popular and has been repeated many times. It was also a huge success in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, Sweden and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

Concept

The story is set in 1650. A local surgeon, Johan Claeszoons, meets a strange dwarf in the forest who is unable to speak his language. He shares some food with him and the dwarf becomes his friend. He turns out to be an ''alverman'', who was banned from the kingdom of Avalon because he was too curious. He is only allowed to return to his people when he can bring something of use to the entire people of Avalon. His magic flute and his magic ring, ''Fafiforniek'', aid him. Later in the story, Johan meets Rosita, the beautiful daughter of Don Cristobal de Bobadilla, with whom he falls in love, but he has to face the menace of her suitor, the evil Guy de Sénancourt as well as Cristobal, who sends his Native American servant Otorongo after him.

Cast

* Johan Claeszoon: Frank Aendenboom * De Alverman: Jef Cassiers * Don Cristobal de Bobadilla: Cyriel Van Gent * Rosita de Bobadilla: Rosemarie Bergmans * Otorongo: Dolf De Winter * Guy de Sénancourt: Alex Cassiers * Oom Willem: Ward De Ravet * Tante Liezelotje: Fanny Winkler * Ome Ben:

Vic Moeremans Vic (; es, Vic or Pancracio Celdrán (2004). Diccionario de topónimos españoles y sus gentilicios (5ª edición). Madrid: Espasa Calpe. p. 843. ISBN 978-84-670-3054-9. «Vic o Vich (viquense, vigitano, vigatán, ausense, ausetano, ausonense): ...

* Cipolla: Walter Moeremans * Pietro: Jos Mahu * Simone: Chris Lomme * De Baljuw: Marcel Hendrickx * Farmer Janus: Jan Reussens * Marquis: Roger Bolders * Knight servant: Raymond Bossaerts * Alberic van Avalon: Robert Maes * Elf: Marilou Mermans * Royal servant: Jacky Morel * Guard'': Jaak Van Hombeek

Background

Originally, Luc Phillips was to play the Alverman, but he had other commitments, so Jef Cassiers replaced him. The actors Aendenboom and Bergmans became a couple in real life during the recordings. The show was recorded in several historical or nature resorts in Belgium, including in Gaasbeek, the

Caves of Han-sur-Lesse The Caves of Han-sur-Lesse (in French: Grottes de Han-sur-Lesse or simply Grottes de Han) refers to a natural complex of caves in Belgium. A major Belgian tourist attraction (around 250-300,000 visitors per year), the caves are located in Walloni ...

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Orp-Jauche Orp-Jauche (; nl, Adorp-Geten, ; wa, Oû-Djåce) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On January 1, 2008, Orp-Jauche had a total population of 8,400. The total area is 50.50 km² which gives a pop ...

and

Bokrijk The Bokrijk Provincial Domain ( nl, Provinciaal Domein Bokrijk) is a park and museum complex near Genk, Province of Limburg in Belgium. It is known for its open-air museum which displays a large collection of historical buildings from across Flan ...

. The story was also adapted into a series of novels. The theme music, "The Duchess of Brighton" was taken from the film '' The V.I.P.s'' (1962) and composed by

Miklós Rózsa Miklós Rózsa (; April 18, 1907 – July 27, 1995) was a Hungarian-American composer trained in Germany (1925–1931) and active in France (1931–1935), the United Kingdom (1935–1940), and the United States (1940–1995), with extensi ...

. The success of ''Johan en de Alverman'' inspired the Dutch children's TV series '' Floris'', which is also a costume drama.

Sources

{{Reflist

External links

* https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0231826/ Flemish television shows Belgian children's television shows Belgian fantasy television series 1965 Belgian television series debuts 1966 Belgian television series endings Television shows adapted into novels Black-and-white Belgian television shows Television shows set in Belgium Fiction set in the 1650s Television series set in the 17th century Television about magic Television about fairies and sprites Native Americans in popular culture Fictional gnomes Television shows based on fairy tales Dutch-language television shows Television characters introduced in 1965 Eén original programming