''The Stars Look Down'' is a 1975 British television adaptation written by

Alan Plater Alan Frederick Plater (15 April 1935 – 25 June 2010) was an English playwright and screenwriter, who worked extensively in British television from the 1960s to the 2000s. Career Plater was born in Jarrow, County Durham, although his fami ...

from

A. J. Cronin Archibald Joseph Cronin (19 July 1896 – 6 January 1981), known as A. J. Cronin, was a Scottish physician and novelist. His best-known novel is ''The Citadel'' (1937), about a Scottish doctor who serves in a Welsh mining village before achievi ...

's 1935 novel ''

The Stars Look Down ''The Stars Look Down'' is a 1935 novel by A. J. Cronin which chronicles various injustices in an English coal mining community. A film version was released in 1940, and television adaptations include both Italian (1971) and British (1975) ve ...

''. The

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

production was directed by

Roland Joffé Roland Joffé (born 17 November 1945) is a British director and producer of film and television, known for the Academy Award-winning films ''The Killing Fields'' and '' The Mission''. He began his career in television, his early credits includ ...

, Alan Grint and Howard Baker and starred Ian Hastings as David Fenwick and Susan Tracy as his wife, Jenny. Other versions include a 1940 British film and a 1971 Italian television adaptation. Set between 1910 and 1930, the story follows the lives of people from the coal mining town of Sleescale in

North East England North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authorit ...

. David Fenwick and Joe Gowlan both leave the mines hoping for better prospects, while the mine owner's son Arthur Barras comes into conflict with his father.

Episodes

The series aired in 13 one-hour episodes from 4 September 1975 to 27 November 1975."''The Stars Look Down''"
''BFI Film and TV Database''. Retrieved 14 February 2011.

Cast

Ian Hastings Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John (given name), John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a ...

as David Fenwick *

Alun Armstrong Alan Armstrong, known professionally as Alun Armstrong, is an English actor. He grew up in County Durham in North East England, and first became interested in acting through Shakespeare productions at his grammar school. Since his career began ...

as Joe Gowlan * James Bate as Sammy Fenwick *

Rod Culbertson Rod Culbertson (born 28 April 1950) is an English actor. Biography Born in Sunderland, County Durham he attended Bede Grammar School and then studied art at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. He appeared in ''Zigger Zagger'' in 1967 w ...

as Hughie Fenwick *

Geoffrey Davion Geoffrey Davion (born Geoffrey Davison, 27 January 1940 in South Shields, County Durham, died 13 February 1996 in Westminster, London) was an English television and Shakespearean stage actor, notably starring alongside Alun Armstrong in the popul ...

as Stanley Millington *

Basil Dignam Basil Dignam (24 October 1905 – 31 January 1979) was an English character actor. Basil Dignam was born in Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire. Before the acting, he tried many jobs, from a company clerk to a journalist. He acted on film and ...

as Richard Barras *

Avril Elgar Avril Elgar Williams (1 April 1932 – 17 September 2021) was an English stage, radio and television actress. Early life and career Elgar was born in Halifax, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. She trained at the London Old Vic Theatre School ...

as Martha Fenwick *

Adrienne Frank Adrienne is the French feminine form of the male name Adrien. Its meaning is literally "from the city Hadria." * Adrienne Albert (born 1941), composer * Adrienne Ames (1907–1947), American actress * Adrienne Armstrong (born 1969), wife of Gre ...

as Hetty Todd *

Valerie Georgeson Valerie may refer to: People *Saint Valerie (disambiguation), a number of saints went by the name Valerie *Valerie (given name), a feminine given name Songs *"Valerie", a 1981 song by Quarterflash, from ''Quarterflash'' *"Valerie", a 1982 son ...

as Laura Millington * Ronald Herdman as Jim Mawson * Barbara Hickmott as Hilda Barras * Norman Jones as Robert Fenwick *

David Markham David Markham (3 April 1913 – 15 December 1983) was an English stage and film actor for over forty years. Markham was born Peter Basil Harrison in Wick, Worcestershire and died in Hartfield, East Sussex. In 1937 he married Olive Dehn (1914 ...

as Adam Todd *

Ronald Radd Ronald Radd (22 January 1929 – 23 April 1976) was a British television actor. He is perhaps best remembered for originating the role of Hunter in the television thriller series ''Callan''. In 1971, he was nominated for a Tony Award for ''Abe ...

as Tom Heddon * Anne Raitt as Annie Mercer *

Christian Rodska Christian Rodska (born Christian Rodskjaer; 5 September 1945) is an English actor who has appeared in many television and radio series and narrated a number of audiobooks, including Sir Winston Churchill's Nobel Prize winning ''The Second World W ...

as Arthur Barras *Catherine Terris as Grace Barras * Susan Tracy as Jenny Sunley *

Malcolm Terris Malcolm Hope Terris (11 January 1941 – 6 June 2020) was an English actor. He acted in many television programmes, including possibly his best-known role as Matt Headley in ''When the Boat Comes In'', a popular 1970s series. His film career ...

as Harry Nugent *

James Garbutt James Garbutt (12 September 1925 – 6 April 2020) was a British actor who was active on television from the 1960s. Born in Houghton-le-Spring, County Durham in 1925, James was an RAF pilot and was trained in the United States and stationed in ...

as Hudspeth * John Nightingale as Jack Reedy *

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then ...

as Boy on Bicycle (extra) *George Bannister as Sammy Fenwick

References

External links

''The Stars Look Down'' at the BFI Film & TV Database
* 1975 British television series debuts 1975 British television series endings 1970s British drama television series ITV television dramas 1970s British television miniseries Television series set in the 20th century Television shows based on works by A. J. Cronin Television shows based on British novels Television series by ITV Studios Television shows produced by Granada Television English-language television shows {{UK-tv-prog-stub