Barnaby Rudge
GenreHistorical drama
Based onBarnaby Rudge
by Charles Dickens
Written byMichael Voysey
Directed byMorris Barry
StarringJohn Wood
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes13
Production
ProducerDouglas Allen
Running time30 minutes
Production companyBBC
Original release
Release30 September (1960-09-30) –
23 December 1960 (1960-12-23)

Barnaby Rudge is a British drama television series which originally aired on the BBC in thirteen episodes between 30 September and 23 December 1960.[1][2] It was an adaptation of the 1841 novel Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens set against the backdrop of the 1780 Gordon Riots.[3] 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.[4]

Cast

Archive status

All episodes were originally recorded on 405 line videotapes, which were later wiped or destroyed. However, telerecordings of all 13 episodes survived. Simply Media did not have the budget required to perform a full restoration of the copies, so the lining errors found on early videotape copies without VidFIRE restoration are prevalent, although only minor scratches and dirt are seen throughout the DVD release. The only notable exceptions are a fault in one of the earlier episodes where a line of dialogue and some brief footage are missing (most likely due to irreversible damage to the film), and the final episode, which has significantly poorer sound and picture quality than the other episodes.

Critical reception

Reviewing its DVD release, Archive Television Musings wrote "Although a handful of performances are less than effective and the story feels somewhat disjointed (it’s essentially two separate tales bolted together) Barnaby Rudge is still a serial of considerable interest. The theme of the later episodes feels eerily topical, offering a sharp change of pace from the countryside intrigues of the first half. It’s another well-crafted Classic Serial which, despite its length, never outstays its welcome."[5]

References

  1. ↑ "BFI | Film & TV Database | BARNABY RUDGE". 19 January 2009. Archived from the original on 19 January 2009.
  2. ↑ "Barnaby Rudge: Episode 1". 30 September 1960. p. 25 – via BBC Genome.
  3. ↑ "Barnaby Rudge (1960)". Ravensbourne University London.
  4. ↑ "What the Dickens? Charles Dickens DVD releases". SimplyHE.
  5. ↑ "Barnaby Rudge (BBC, 1960) – Simply Media DVD Review". 23 August 2017.


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