The Browning Version

Summary

BBC Television production of Terence Rattigan’s The Browning Version was transmitted on New Year’s Eve.

Theatre play

The Browning Version by Terence Rattigan (1911-1977) [more information]

Play synopsis

The play is about the last few days in the career of Andrew Crocker-Harris, an ageing classics teacher at a British public school. The man’s academic life is fading away following illness and he feels that he has become obsolete.

Production history

First performed on 8 September 1948 at the Phoenix Theatre, London, in a joint performance with Rattigan’s Harlequinade. Wikipedia tells us that: ‘It was subsequently made into two film versions, and at least four made-for-television versions. The original 1951 film version, starring Michael Redgrave as Crocker-Harris, won two awards at the Cannes Film Festival, one for Rattigan’s screenplay, the other for Redgrave’s performance. It was remade in 1994, starring Albert Finney, Michael Gambon, Greta Scacchi, Matthew Modine, Julian Sands and young Ben Silverstone. A British television version was made in 1955, starring Peter Cushing as Crocker-Harris. John Frankenheimer directed John Gielgud in a 1959 television version for CBS. In 1960, Maurice Evans repeated his Broadway role for CBC television under the sponsorship of Ford of Canada in their Startime series. Another made-for-TV version in 1985 starred Ian Holm as the main character for the BBC’ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Browning_Version_%28play%29).

Date of transmission

Tuesday 31 December 1985

Time

9.20pm

Channel

BBC1

Production company

BBC

Credits

Director

Michael Simpson

Producer

Shaun Sutton

Lighting

Sam Barclay

Camera Supervisor

Geoff Feld

Playwright

Terence Rattigan (1911-1977)

Composer

Nigel Hess

Conductor

Nigel Hess

Designer

Tony Burrough

Properties Buyer

Tony Watts

Costume Designer

Joyce Mortlock

Make-up

Marilyn MacDonald

Sound

Chick Anthony

Videotape Editor

Steve Eveleigh

Technical Co-ordinator

Derek Martin

Assistant Floor Manager

Jessica Nettleton

Production Assistant

Helen Tennant

Production Manager

Christine McMurrich

Vision Mixer

Jim Stephens

Production Associate

Fraser Lowden

Cast

Judi Dench	Millie Crocker-Harris
Ian Holm	Andrew Crocker-Harris
Michael Kitchen	Frank Hunter
Stephen Mackintosh	John Taplow
Shaun Scott	Peter Gilbert
Imogen Stubbs	Mrs Gilbert
John Woodvine	Dr Frobisher

Additional details

Play tags

ageing; schools, as theme or setting

Audiovisual sources

Title

The Browning Version (BBC, 1985)

Archive

BBC Information and Archives [more information]

Address

White City
London
UK

Telephone

+44 (0)20 8008 2288

Website

http://www.bbc.co.uk/informationandarchives/

Access

BBC Information and Archives is not open to the public.

Print sources

Title

How Hot Pants Made a Comeback (Newspaper review)

Author/creator

Nancy Banks-Smith (Reviewer)

Reference

The Guardian, 3 January 1986, p. 10