''Jude the Obscure'' is a British television serial directed by

Hugh David Hugh David (17 July 1925 – 11 September 1987) was a British actor turned television director. David was born in Aberystwyth, Wales. His directorial credits include ''Compact'', ''Z-Cars'', '' The Pallisers'' and ''Doctor Who ''Doct ...

, starring

Robert Powell Robert Powell (; born 1 June 1944) is an English actor who is known for the title roles in '' Mahler'' (1974) and ''Jesus of Nazareth'' (1977), and for his portrayal of secret agent Richard Hannay in '' The Thirty Nine Steps'' (1978) and its s ...

Fiona Walker Fiona Walker (born 24 May 1944) is an English actress, known for numerous theatre and television roles between the 1960s and 1990s. An early leading role was as Sue Bridehead in a BBC television production of ''Jude the Obscure'' (1971). She ma ...

, and Alex Marshall, first broadcast on

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

in early 1971. It is based on

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Wor ...

's novel ''

Jude the Obscure ''Jude the Obscure'' is a novel by Thomas Hardy, which began as a magazine serial in December 1894 and was first published in book form in 1895 (though the title page says 1896). It is Hardy's last completed novel. The protagonist, Jude Fawley ...

'' (1895).

Plot

The action is set in England in the late 19th century. Jude Fawley (

) is a young stonemason’s apprentice living in the village of Marygreen with his Aunt Drusilla. His former schoolmaster, Richard Phillotson ( John Franklyn-Robbins) leaves the village to take up a college appointment in Christminster, a university city based on

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. Jude has the ambition to study at Christminster and become a clergyman and is learning

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

. Meanwhile, he is seduced by Arabella Donn ( Alex Marshall), a pig-keeper’s daughter, whom he marries when she claims to be pregnant. Arabella leaves him and emigrates to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. Jude then completes his apprenticeship and moves to Christminster, where he works as a mason, hoping to enter the university, but he is turned down for admission by the dean of Cardinal College. He meets and falls in love with his cousin, Sue Bridehead (

), but she marries Phillotson. However, Phillotson later allows Sue to live with Jude. Arabella returns, and Jude divorces her, and Sue also gets a divorce from Phillotson. But Arabella has brought with her a son of Jude's, born after she left him, and sends Young Jude to live with his father. Jude and Sue have two small children of their own and are expecting a third, but are being ostracised for living together unmarried. Jude is sacked, and the family moves from town to town in search of work. Young Jude believes the children are the source of these troubles, murders Sue's two children, and hangs himself, leaving a suicide note. Sue then has a miscarriage. She comes to believe she is being punished by God for leaving her husband, so she returns to him. Jude, heartbroken, remarries Arabella, but he makes a final visit to Sue in freezing weather, is taken ill, and dies, aged only thirty. Sue is left to an unhappy life with Phillotson.

Episodes

The six episodes are titled:Jude the Obscure episodes
at bbc.co.uk, accessed 29 December 2018 #At Marygreen #To Christminster #To Melchester #To Shaston #To Aldbrickham #Christminster Again

Reception

The serial was first broadcast in Britain on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...

between 6 February and 13 March 1971, in six 45-minute episodes, and then in the US on ''

Masterpiece Theatre ''Masterpiece'' (formerly known as ''Masterpiece Theatre'') is a drama anthology television series produced by WGBH Boston. It premiered on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) on January 10, 1971. The series has presented numerous acclaimed Briti ...

'' from 3 October to 7 November 1971.Paul J. Niemeyer, ''Seeing Hardy: Film and Television Adaptations of the Fiction of Thomas Hardy'' (2015), p. 262 In Britain, it appeared on Saturday evenings from 9:35 to 10:20 p.m., thus timed to be kept away from younger children. The production was well received in Britain and the US and according to one critic "helped promulgate the British miniseries on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

". One reviewer described the serial as a dark production and especially pertinent in the context of recent reforms to divorce law. John Leonard, writing in ''Life'' magazine as "Cyclops", noted "a surprising amount of sex, lots of bells, and bad weather". He considered that “an absorbing if not enthralling several hours of drama ... falls completely apart into silliness”, and that Alex Marshall as Arabella "steals the series".

Home media

The production was issued on VHS video in 2000 by BBC/WarnerGale, ''A study guide for Thomas Hardy's "Jude the Obscure"'' (Cengage Learning, 2015), p. 8 and is also available on DVD.

Cast

Source: *

as Jude Fawley *

as Sue Bridehead * Alex Marshall as Arabella Donn * Daphne Heard as Aunt Drusilla Fawley * John Franklyn-Robbins as Richard Phillotson *

Gwen Nelson Gwendoline Alexandra Nelson (30 June 1901 – 15 October 1990) was an English actress who was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Court Theatre Company. Born in Muswell Hill, London, she originally intended to be a singer, ...

as Mrs Edlin *

Sylvia Coleridge Sylvia Coleridge (10 December 1909 – 31 May 1986) was a British stage, film, radio and television actress. She was married to Albert George Fiddes-Watt and their daughter Kate, born 1943, is also an actress as ''Kate Coleridge.'' Birth Coler ...

as Miss Fontover *

Carleton Hobbs Carleton Percy Hobbs, OBE (18 June 1898 – 31 July 1978) was an English actor with many film, radio and television appearances. He portrayed Sherlock Holmes in 80 radio adaptations in a series of Sherlock Holmes radio dramas (1952–1969), ...

as Dr Tetuphar * Michael Golden as Tinker Taylor *

Anita Sharp-Bolster Anita Sharp-Bolster (28 August 1895 – 1 June 1985) was an Irish-born American actress who appeared in 88 films and 12 TV series from 1928 to 1978. She was sometimes billed as Anita Bolster. Early life She was born 28 August 1895 in Glen ...

as Mrs Trott *

Mark Dignam Cuthbert Mark Dignam (20 March 1909 – 29 September 1989) was a prolific English actor. Born in London, the son of a salesman in the steel industry, Dignam grew up in Sheffield, and was educated at the Jesuit College, where he appeared in num ...

as Vicar of Shaston * Michael Rothwell as Dawlish *

Richard Beale Richard Henry Beale (13 May 1920 – 27 March 2017) was a British actor. He had a long career in television, stage and film, dating back to the 1950s. Early years Born in Hackney, London, England, Beale was the son of Henry and Constance ...

as Chivers *

Beth Morris Bethan "Beth" Morris (19 July 1943 – 1 March 2018) was a Welsh actress. Born in Gorseinon and a lifetime native of Swansea, she was probably best known for her performance as Julia Drusilla in the 1976 BBC adaptation of ''I, Claudius''. Her ...

as Eliza, Phillotson’s maid * Mary Wimbush as Miss Young * George Woodbridge as Challow * Michael Elwyn as Undergraduate *

John Scott Martin John Scott Martin (1 April 1926 – 6 January 2009) was an English actor born in Toxteth, Liverpool, Lancashire. He made many film, stage and television appearances, but one of his most famous, though unseen, roles was as a Dalek operator in th ...

as Doctor *

Arnold Peters William Arnold Peters (May 14, 1922 – September 17, 1996) was a Canadian politician. He represented the riding of Timiskaming in the House of Commons of Canada from 1957 to 1980. He was originally elected as a member of the Co-operative Co ...

as Policeman *

Edwin Brown Edwin Stanley "Nigger" Brown (1898–1972) was an Australian rugby league player who played in the 1910s and 1920s. A Queensland state and Australian international representative centre, he played club rugby in Toowoomba for Newtown. Brown, ...

as Blacksmith *

Peter Welch Peter Francis Welch (born May 2, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician who is a United States senator-elect from Vermont, and the current U.S. representative for since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been a major figure i ...

as Policeman *Mark Praid as Young Jude *Jane Tucker as Sarah Blandford *Eleanor Smale as Mrs Hawes *Gladys Spencer as Mrs Baize *John Moore as Willis *Gary Rich as Juey *Pamela Denton as Anny *Hazel Coppen as Old Crone *Meadows White as Stonemason *Freda Bamford as Christminster publican *Christopher Banks as college servant *Owen Berry as Registrar *Christopher Hodge as Auctioneer *Sheila Fay as Landlady *Ian Ricketts as Tavern customer

Notes

External links

* {{IMDb title, tt0066674 1971 British television series debuts 1971 British television series endings BBC television dramas Television shows based on works by Thomas Hardy