''Jude the Obscure'' is a British television serial directed by Hugh David, starring

Robert Powell Robert Thomas 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) ...

, Fiona Walker, and Alex Marshall, first broadcast on

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...

in early 1971. It is based on

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

's novel '' Jude the Obscure'' (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 status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

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

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

and

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

. 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 country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. 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 ( Fiona Walker), 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 service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

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 PBS on January 10, 1971. The series has presented numerous acclaimed British productions. Many of these ...

'' 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". 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 * Fiona Walker as Sue Bridehead * Alex Marshall as Arabella Donn * Daphne Heard as Aunt Drusilla Fawley * John Franklyn-Robbins as Richard Phillotson * Gwen Nelson as Mrs Edlin * Sylvia Coleridge as Miss Fontover * Carleton Hobbs as Dr Tetuphar * Michael Golden as Tinker Taylor * Anita Sharp-Bolster as Mrs Trott * Mark Dignam as Vicar of Shaston * Michael Rothwell as Dawlish * Richard Beale 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''. ...

as Eliza, Phillotson’s maid * Mary Wimbush as Miss Young * George Woodbridge as Challow * Michael Elwyn as Undergraduate * John Scott Martin as Doctor * Arnold Peters as Policeman * Edwin Brown as Blacksmith * Peter Welch 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