Tom Brown's Schooldays | |
---|---|
Written by | Thomas Hughes Ashley Pharoah |
Directed by | Dave Moore |
Starring | Alex Pettyfer Stephen Fry |
Theme music composer | John E. Keane |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Producer | Charles Pattinson |
Cinematography | Ryszard Lenczewski |
Editor | Beverley Mills |
Running time | 93 minutes |
Production company | Company Pictures |
Budget | $10 million |
Original release | |
Release | 1 January 2005 |
Tom Brown's Schooldays is a 2005 British television film directed by Dave Moore and starring Alex Pettyfer and Stephen Fry. It is an adaptation of the Thomas Hughes 1857 novel of the same name. It aired on ITV on 1 January 2005 and was released on DVD 9 days later. [1]
Tom Brown (Alex Pettyfer) is energetic, stubborn, kind-hearted, and athletic more than intellectual. He acts according to his feelings and the unwritten rules of the boys around him more than adults' rules.
The film deals with his years at the elite public school for boys Rugby School. His year starts when he goes to Rugby School, where he becomes acquainted with the adults and boys who live at the school and in its environs.
On his arrival, the 13-year-old Tom Brown is looked after by a more experienced classmate, Harry "Scud" East (Harry Michell). Soon after, Tom and East become the targets of a bully named Flashman (Joseph Beattie). The intensity of the bullying increases, and, after refusing to hand over a sweepstake ticket for the favourite in a horse race, Tom is deliberately burned in front of a fire. Tom and Scud stop Flashman's bullying when Flashman is expelled after a fight with Tom in which he used brass knuckles.
For scenes shot on location, all pupil roles that were not leads were played by real Rugby School students. The school all but ground to a halt for a fortnight as a large portion of the school grounds were used for shooting and the majority of male pupils were involved in taking part as extras. Several interior scenes were shot at Aldenham School in Hertfordshire, which was founded in 1597, a contemporary of Rugby.
Extensive cosmetic remodelling took place in some parts of the school so as to render the set historically accurate. For example, a convincing artificial well was constructed in the Old Quad where one had previously been but had since been demolished and bricked over. This particular prop remained at the school for nearly a year afterwards, as the film crew did not take it with them when they left.
The Old Gym, one of the longest standing school buildings, was sequestered as a base for costumes for the extras.
Stephen Fry interacted enthusiastically with the school during his time on set. He gave an almost universally attended talk to the entire school one evening, in which he, among other things, told the story of his expulsion from Uppingham School in 1972. Approximately ten select extras (pupils) were invited to talk to him at length in the Headmaster's study on another occasion.
Event | Book | Film |
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How Tom starts | Sent by his father mid-term because of Tom's anxiety to go up to a public school. | At start of term. |
Fights | An unorganized fight with Tom and East against Flashman. The "two against one" imbalance is compensated for by Flashman's being two years older and bigger. Later, an organized fight between Tom and "Slogger" Williams. | An organized fight between Tom and Flashman, not Tom and Williams, one against one. Tom almost wins but Flashman cheats by using brass knuckles. |
Why Flashman is expelled | He gets very drunk in Brownsover and has to be helped back to school. | He gets the school matron's daughter pregnant, as well as the fight. |
Result of Arthur's illness | Survived. | Died. |
The start of the film includes real historical events which are not in the book: Dr. Arnold closing down the school hunt; Dr. Arnold complaining that before his time, there were no masters in the school overnight to keep the boys in order.
The film was nominated for Made for TV Movie in 2005 by RITV.
Rugby School is a public school in Rugby, Warwickshire, England.
Sir Harry Paget Flashman is a fictional character created by Thomas Hughes (1822–1896) in the semi-autobiographical Tom Brown's School Days (1857) and later developed by George MacDonald Fraser (1925–2008). Harry Flashman appears in a series of 12 of Fraser's books, collectively known as The Flashman Papers, with covers illustrated by Arthur Barbosa and Gino D’Achille. Flashman was played by Malcolm McDowell in the Richard Lester 1975 film Royal Flash.
Thomas Arnold was an English educator and historian. He was an early supporter of the Broad Church Anglican movement. As headmaster of Rugby School from 1828 to 1841, he introduced several reforms that were widely copied by other noted public schools. His reforms redefined standards of masculinity and achievement.
Tom Brown's School Days is a novel by Thomas Hughes, published in 1857. The story is set in the 1830s at Rugby School, an English public school. Hughes attended Rugby School from 1834 to 1842.
Fagging was a traditional practice in British public schools and also at many other boarding schools, whereby younger pupils were required to act as personal servants to the eldest boys. Although probably originating earlier, the first accounts of fagging appeared in the late 17th century. Fagging sometimes involved physical abuse and/or sexual abuse. Although lessening in severity over the centuries, the practice continued in some institutions until the end of the 20th century.
Alexander Richard Pettyfer is an English actor and model. He appeared in school plays and on television before being cast as Alex Rider, the main character in the 2006 film version of Stormbreaker. Pettyfer was nominated for a Young Artist Award and an Empire Award for his role.
Royal Flash is a 1975 British adventure comedy film based on the second Flashman novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It stars Malcolm McDowell as Flashman. Additionally, Oliver Reed appeared in the role of Otto von Bismarck, Alan Bates as Rudi von Sternberg, and Florinda Bolkan played Lola Montez. Fraser wrote the screenplay and the film was directed by Richard Lester.
Joseph Beattie is an English actor, known for portraying Malachi in the second season of Hex (2004) and Henry Crawford in Mansfield Park (2007).
Tom Brown is a fictional character created by author Thomas Hughes in his work Tom Brown's School Days (1857) which is set at a real English public school—Rugby School for Boys—in the 1830s when Hughes himself had been a pupil there. Tom Brown is based on the author's brother, George Hughes, and George Arthur is based on Arthur Penrhyn Stanley.
Flashman is a 1969 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the first of the Flashman novels.
Flashman at the Charge is a 1973 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the fourth of the Flashman novels. Playboy magazine serialised Flashman at the Charge in 1973 in their April, May and June issues. The serialisation is unabridged, including most of the notes and appendixes, and features a few illustrations, collages from various paintings and pictures to depict a period montage of the Charge and Crimea.
Flashman in the Great Game is a 1975 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the fifth of the Flashman novels.
Flashman's Lady is a 1977 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the sixth of the Flashman novels.
Alexander "Alex" Rider is a title character and the protagonist of the Alex Rider novel series by British author Anthony Horowitz. He has also been featured in three short stories written by Horowitz based in the same canon as the series; Secret Weapon, Christmas at Gunpoint and Incident in Nice.
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.
Tom Brown's Schooldays is a 1971 television serial adaptation of the 1857 Thomas Hughes novel Tom Brown's Schooldays. Consisting of five 45-minute long episodes, the series was directed by Gareth Davies and used a screenplay by Anthony Steven.
Tom Brown's School Days is a 1940 coming-of-age drama film about a teenage boy's experiences at Rugby School, Warwickshire in the early 19th century under the reforming headmastership of Thomas Arnold. It stars Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Freddie Bartholomew and Jimmy Lydon in the title role. The film was based on the 1857 novel, Tom Brown's School Days by Thomas Hughes.
Tom Brown's Schooldays is a 1951 British drama film, directed by Gordon Parry, produced by Brian Desmond Hurst, and starring John Howard Davies, Robert Newton and James Hayter. It is based on the 1857 novel of the same name by Thomas Hughes.
Neil North was a British actor, best known for his role in the 1948 film adaptation of Terence Rattigan's play The Winslow Boy. North appeared in four other films released between 1948 and 1951, but did not make acting a full-time career. After a hiatus of over 40 years however, he did return to the screen with three further credits towards the end of his life, including a role in the 1999 remake of The Winslow Boy.
Tom Brown's Schooldays is a 1916 British silent drama film directed by Rex Wilson and starring Joyce Templeton, Jack Coleman and Evelyn Boucher. It is an adaptation of the 1857 novel Tom Brown's School Days by Thomas Hughes. It is set at Rugby School in the 1830s where Tom Brown encounters the villainous bully Flashman. It was made at Catford Studios.