''Tom Brown's Schooldays'' is a 1971 television serial

adaptation In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...

of the 1857

Thomas Hughes Thomas Hughes (20 October 182222 March 1896) was an English lawyer, judge, politician and author. He is most famous for his novel ''Tom Brown's School Days'' (1857), a semi-autobiographical work set at Rugby School, which Hughes had attended. ...

novel ''

Tom Brown's Schooldays ''Tom Brown's School Days'' (sometimes written ''Tom Brown's Schooldays'', also published under the titles ''Tom Brown at Rugby'', ''School Days at Rugby'', and ''Tom Brown's School Days at Rugby'') is an 1857 novel by Thomas Hughes. The stor ...

''. Consisting of five one hour long episodes, the series was directed by Gareth Davies and used a screenplay by Anthony Steven.

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. It also included scenes of bullying and corporal punishment which may have been too graphic for family viewing. "Clean-up TV" campaigner

Mary Whitehouse Constance Mary Whitehouse (; 13 June 1910 – 23 November 2001) was a British teacher and conservative activist. She campaigned against social liberalism and the mainstream British media, both of which she accused of encouraging a more permiss ...

claimed that the programme broke the BBC's guidelines on the depiction of sadistic violence. After its 1971 premiere on the BBC, the series was later shown on ''

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

'' in the United States in January and February 1973 through a grant from the

Mobil Oil Corporation Mobil is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil. The brand was formerly owned and operated by an oil and gas corporation of the same name, which itself merged with Exxon to form ExxonMobil in 1999. ...

. In his review in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', 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." The program won the 1973

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series represents excellence in the category of limited series that are two or more episodes, with a total running time of at least 150 minutes. Criteria The program must tell a compl ...

, and actor Anthony Murphy won the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie is an award presented annually by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It is given in honor of an actor who has delivered an outstanding p ...

for his portrayal of Tom Brown. The 1976 television program ''Tomkinson's Schooldays'', is a

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...

of the 1971 television adaptation of ''Tom Brown's Schooldays''.

Cast

* Anthony Murphy as Tom Brown *

Iain Cuthbertson Iain Cuthbertson (4 January 1930 – 4 September 2009) was a Scottish character actor and theatre director. He was known for his tall imposing build and also his distinctive gravelly, heavily accented voice. He had lead roles in ''The Border ...

as Dr. Thomas Arnold *

Louise Jameson Louise Jameson (born 20 April 1951) is an English actress with a wide variety of television and theatre credits. Her roles on television have included playing Leela in ''Doctor Who'' (1977–1978), Anne Reynolds in ''The Omega Factor'' (1979), ...

as Mary Arnold *

Simon Fisher Turner Simon Fisher Turner (born 21 November 1954) is an English musician, songwriter, composer, producer and actor. After portraying Ned East in the 1971 BBC TV adaptation of ''Tom Brown's Schooldays'' and roles in films such as ''The Big Sleep'' (1 ...

Harry "Scud" East Harry "Scud" East is a fictional character in the book ''Tom Brown's School Days''. He is perhaps the closest friend of Tom Brown. His nickname is Scud because he is so quick on his feet. In the book he is referred to as East. In the 1940 Hollywood ...

Richard Morant Richard Morant (30 October 1945 – 9 November 2011) was an English actor. Biography Morant was born in Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire. His father was the Shakespearean actor Philip Morant (1909–1993). His sister is the actress Angela ...

as Flashman * Barry Stokes as Brooke *

Gerald Flood Gerald Robert Flood (21 April 1927 – 12 April 1989) was a British actor of stage and television. Early life Flood was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, but lived for most of his life in Farnham, Surrey, where he regularly appeared on stage a ...

as Sir Richard Flashman *

Richard Gibson Richard Gibson (born 1 January 1954) is an English actor, best known for his role as the archetypal Gestapo Officer Herr Otto Flick in the BBC hit sitcom series, '' 'Allo 'Allo!''. Career Gibson was born in Kampala, Uganda, before the countr ...

as Sunning *

Christopher Guard Christopher Guard (born 5 December 1953) is an English actor, musician and artist. He is known for roles such as Jim Hawkins in '' Return to Treasure Island'' (1986), Bellboy in '' Doctor Who'' serial '' The Greatest Show in the Galaxy'' (1988 ...

as Darcy * Daniel Hill as Harry * John Hug as Druce *

Robin Langford Robin W. J. Langford (12 September 1953 – 22 November 2014) was an English actor, writer and director. His acting work included with the Royal Shakespeare Theatre Company in Stratford-upon-Avon; at the Moscow Arts Theatre in Russia at the ag ...

as Martin * John Paul as Mr. Brown

References

External links

* {{EmmyAward Limited Series 1970s British drama television series Television shows based on British novels Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries winners 1971 British television series debuts