The Mayor of Casterbridge (TV series)

1978 British TV drama series

The Mayor of Casterbridge

DVD cover

Genre| Classic serial
Based on| The Mayor of Casterbridge
by Thomas Hardy
Screenplay by| Dennis Potter
Directed by| David Giles
Starring| Alan Bates
Composer| Carl Davis
Country of origin| United Kingdom
Original language| English
No. of episodes| 7
Production
Producer| Jonathan Powell
Running time| 50 min. (per episode) & 55 min. (final ep.)[1]
Original release
Network| BBC2
Release| 22 January (1978-01-22) –
5 March 1978 (1978-03-05)

The Mayor of Casterbridge is a 1978 BBC seven-part serial based on the eponymous 1886 book by the British novelist Thomas Hardy.[2] The six-hour drama was written by television dramatist Dennis Potter and directed by David Giles with Alan Bates as the title character.[3][4] It was released as a 3-disc DVD box set in May 2003.

## Plot

[edit]

On a drunken impulse, Henchard sells his wife and daughter at a country fair, an outrageous act for which he suffers agonising remorse. Years later, when he has become a respected and prosperous man, his wife returns to find him. Henchard's attempt to right the long-ago wrong sets in motion a series of events that spell his destruction.

## Cast

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* Alan Bates[5] as Michael Henchard
* Anne Stallybrass as Susan
* Janet Maw as Elizabeth-Jane
* Jack Galloway as Farfrae
* Anna Massey as Lucetta[3]

## Location

[edit]

The series was shot entirely on location in Dorset, largely in the village of Corfe Castle.[3]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "BBC Two England - 5 March 1978 - BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk.
2. ^ "The Mayor of Casterbridge". BBC. 22 January 1978. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
3. ^ a b c "Mayor of Casterbridge, The (1978)". BFI ScreenOnline. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
4. ^ "The Mayor of Casterbridge: Episode 1". 22 January 1978. p. 25 – via BBC Genome.
5. ^ Movie credits

## External links

[edit]

* The Mayor of Casterbridge at IMDb
* The Mayor of Casterbridge at the BFI's Screenonline

* v
* t
* e

Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886)

Adaptations|

* The Mayor of Casterbridge (1921)
* Mayor Nair (1966)
* Daag (1973)
* The Mayor of Casterbridge (1978)
* Vichitra Jeevitham (1978)
* The Claim (2000)
* The Mayor of Casterbridge (2003)

Related|

* Thomas Hardy's Wessex
* Wife selling

* v
* t
* e

Works by Dennis Potter

* Bibliography

Television
plays|

* Stand Up, Nigel Barton (1965)
* Vote, Vote, Vote for Nigel Barton (1965)
* Emergency – Ward 9 (1966)
* Shaggy Dog (1968)
* A Beast with Two Backs (1968)
* Moonlight on the Highway (1969)
* Son of Man (1969)
* Traitor (1971)
* Follow the Yellow Brick Road (1972)
* Joe's Ark (1974)
* Double Dare (1976)
* Where Adam Stood (1976)
* Blue Remembered Hills (1979)
* Blade on the Feather (1980)
* Rain on the Roof (1980)
* Cream in My Coffee (1980)
* Brimstone and Treacle (1987)

Television
serials|

* Casanova (1971)
* The Mayor of Casterbridge (1978)
* Pennies From Heaven (1978)
* Tender Is the Night (1985)
* The Singing Detective (1986)
* Christabel (1988)
* Blackeyes (1989)
* Lipstick on Your Collar (1993)
* Karaoke (1996)
* Cold Lazarus (1996)

Films|

* Pennies from Heaven (1981)
* Brimstone and Treacle (1982)
* Gorky Park (1983)
* Dreamchild (1985)
* Track 29 (1988)
* Secret Friends (1991)
* Mesmer (1993)
* The Singing Detective (2003)

Novels|

* Hide and Seek (1973)
* Pennies from Heaven (1981)
* Ticket to Ride (1986)
* Blackeyes (1987)

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