Hard Times (British TV series) explained

Genre:	Drama
Runtime:	60 Minutes
Creator:	Arthur Hopcraft
Producer:	Peter Eckersley & Ronald F. Maxwell & Jac Venza
Starring:	Patrick Allen Rosalie Crutchley Michelle Dibnah Alan Dobie Barbara Ewing Edward Fox Ursula Howells Harry Markham Jacqueline Tong Timothy West Richard Wren Sean Flanagan Peter Martin
Theme Music Composer:	Malcolm Arnold
Country:	United States United Kingdom
Network:	Granada Television WNET Channel 13 New York
Num Episodes:	4

Hard Times was a 1977 TV series based on Charles Dickens' 1854 novel of the same name, directed by John Irvin.^[1] ^[2]

Cast

Patrick Allen – Thomas Gradgrind
Rosalie Crutchley – Mrs. Sparsit
Michelle Dibnah – Sissy Jupe
Alan Dobie – Stephen Blackpool
Barbara Ewing – Rachael
Edward Fox – Capt. James Harthouse
Ursula Howells – Mrs. Gradgrind
Harry Markham – Sleary
Jacqueline Tong – Louisa Gradgrind
Timothy West – Josiah Bounderby
Richard Wren – Tom Gradgrind
Sean Flanagan – Bitzer
Peter Martin – Waiter

Critical reception

Screenonline wrote "The four-part adaptation by Arthur Hopcraft is streamlined but generally very faithful to the book and, as directed by John Irvin, the serial is presented with considerable panache."^[1]

External links

- Hard Times at Screenonline.
Dickens Hard Times papers, Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester

Notes and References

Web site: BFI Screenonline: Hard Times (1977). www.screenonline.org.uk.
Web site: Hard Times Episode 4 (1977). https://web.archive.org/web/20211202124919/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7d5c6c9b. dead. 2 December 2021. BFI.