Bleak House | |
---|---|
Genre | Serial drama |
Based on | Bleak House by Charles Dickens |
Written by | Constance Cox |
Starring | Diana Fairfax Andrew Cruickshank Colin Jeavons |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 1 |
No. of episodes | 11 |
Production | |
Producer | Eric Tayler |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Production company | BBC |
Release | |
Original release | 16 October – 25 December 1959 |
Bleak House is the first BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1853 novel of the same name. [1] It was adapted by Constance Cox as an eleven-part series of half-hour episodes first transmitted from 16 October 1959. [2] Unlike most television series of the 1950s, the complete serial survived and, in 2017, was released to DVD by Simply Media. [3]
All episodes were originally either broadcast live or recorded on 405 line black and white videotapes, with 35mm film inserts for exterior scenes. Although the original recordings for the studio and location work no longer exist, the series was telerecorded, and 16mm film copies have survived intact. At one point during one of the later episodes, an insect can be seen on the screen, having crawled across it during the recording. As the error was unavoidable, no copy of the episode without an insect on the screen exists.
On the series DVD release, Archive Television Musings wrote "Lacking the visual sweep of the later adaptations, this version of Bleak House has to stand or fall on the quality of its actors. Luckily, there's very little to complain about here. There are some fine central performances – Fairfax, Cruickshank and Jeavons especially – whilst...there's strength in depth from the supporting players with Timothy Bateson standing out. Another strong early BBC Dickens serial, Bleak House comes warmly recommended. [4]
Andrew Wynford Davies is a Welsh screenwriter and novelist, best known for his television adaptations of To Serve Them All My Days, House of Cards, Middlemarch, Pride and Prejudice, Bleak House, War & Peace, and his original serial A Very Peculiar Practice. He was made a BAFTA Fellow in 2002.
Bleak House is a novel by Charles Dickens, first published as a 20-episode serial between March 1852 and September 1853. The novel has many characters and several subplots, and is told partly by the novel's heroine, Esther Summerson and partly by an omniscient narrator. At the centre of Bleak House is a long-running legal case in the Court of Chancery, Jarndyce and Jarndyce, which comes about because a testator has written several conflicting wills. In a preface to the 1853 first edition, Dickens said there were many actual precedents for his fictional case. One such was probably Thellusson v Woodford, in which a will read in 1797 was contested and not determined until 1859. Though many in the legal profession criticised Dickens's satire as exaggerated, Bleak House helped support a judicial reform movement that culminated in the enactment of legal reform in the 1870s.
Tele-snaps were off-screen photographs of British television broadcasts, taken and sold commercially by John Cura. From 1947 until 1968, Cura ran a business selling the 250,000-plus tele-snaps he took. The photographs were snapped in half of a normal frame of 35mm film, at an exposure of 1/25th of a second. Generally around 70–80 tele-snaps were taken of each programme. They were mostly purchased by actors and directors to use as records and examples of their work before the prevalence of videocassette recorders.
Colin Abel Jeavons is a retired British television actor.
Bleak House is a fifteen-part BBC television drama serial adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel of the same name, which was originally published in 1852–53 as itself a print serialisation over 20 months. Produced with an all-star cast, the serial was shown on BBC One from 27 October to 16 December 2005, and drew much critical and popular praise. It has been reported that the total cost of the production was in the region of £8 million.
Bleak House is a BBC television drama first broadcast in 1985. The serial was adapted by Arthur Hopcraft from the Charles Dickens novel Bleak House (1853).
Timothy Dingwall Bateson was an English actor.
Dr. Finlay's Casebook is a television drama series that was produced and broadcast by the BBC from 1962 until 1971. Based on A. J. Cronin's 1935 novella Country Doctor, the storylines centred on a general medical practice in the fictional Scottish town of Tannochbrae during the late 1920s. Cronin was the primary writer for the show between 1962 and 1964.
David Copperfield is a British six-part television serial of the 1850 Charles Dickens novel adapted by Hugh Whitemore, directed by Joan Craft and first shown on BBC 1 in weekly parts from 1 December 1974 to 5 January 1975. It was a co-production with Time-Life Television Productions. It is the earliest BBC adaptation to exist in its entirety. The 1956 adaptation is completely lost, whilst only four of the 1966 adaptation's episodes are known to exist.
Barnaby Rudge is a British drama television series which originally aired on the BBC in thirteen episodes between 30 September and 23 December 1960. It was an adaptation of the 1841 novel Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens set against the backdrop of the 1780 Gordon Riots. The series survived the BBC's purge of the archives and was released on DVD in the USA around 2010, and later in the UK in 2017 by Simply Media. As well as being the only BBC adaptation, it remains the latest on-screen adaptation of the novel on film or television to date.
Esther Summerson is a character in Bleak House, an 1853 novel by Charles Dickens. She also serves as one of the novel's two narrators; half the book is written from her perspective. It is the only example of a double narrative in Dickens and the first person female voice may have been influenced by the example of Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre, published in 1847.
David Copperfield is a BBC television serial starring Ian McKellen in the title role of the adaptation of Charles Dickens's 1850 novel that began airing in January 1966. It also featured Tina Packer as Dora Flora Robson as Betsey Trotwood, Gordon Gostelow as Barkis, and Christopher Guard as young David. The screenplay adaptation was written by Vincent Tilsley, who had previously helmed the 1956 adaptation almost a decade prior.
Mr. Dick, whose full name is Richard Babley, is a character in the Charles Dickens novel David Copperfield and its many adaptions. His main role in the story is as a wise fool – amiable and innocent but also perceptive and effective.
Dombey and Son is a 1969 English drama serial directed by Joan Craft based on the 1848 novel by Charles Dickens. It tells the story of a wealthy shipping business owner who, after the death of his wife and only son intended to take over the business, neglects his daughter, only to reconcile with her shortly before his own death.
Nicholas Nickleby is a British television series which first aired on BBC 1 in 1968. It is based on the novel Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens, following a compassionate young man who, after the death of his father, tries to save his friends and family from his wicked uncle, and earn a living strong enough to support them.
Great Expectations is a British television series which first aired on the BBC 1 in 1967. It is an adaptation of the novel Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, which follows a humble orphan suddenly becoming a gentleman with the help of an unknown benefactor.
A Tale of Two Cities is a British television series which first aired on BBC 1 in 1965. It is an adaptation of the novel A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. Out of the 10 episodes produced, 8 are believed to be lost. Episodes 2 and 3 survive, and various promotional photographs and productions stills featuring the actors in costume are available online.
Martin Chuzzlewit is a British television series which first aired on the BBC in 1964. It is based on the novel Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens.
David Copperfield is a 1956 BBC TV adaptation of Charles Dickens's 1850 novel, serialised in 13 episodes. No recordings of this production are known to exist.
Oliver Twist is a 1962 BBC TV adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1838 novel Oliver Twist, serialised in 13 episodes. Due in part to its transmission at Sunday teatimes, the production proved to be controversial, with questions asked in Parliament and many viewer complaints over the brutal murder of Nancy by Bill Sikes in its eleventh episode. The serial has survived intact, and was released to DVD in 2017 by Simply Media.