Tom Brown’s Schooldays: TV Drama, BBC
Tom Brown’s Schooldays is probably the best-known story in history about life at an English elite “public” school.
The book was written by Thomas Hughes and first
published in 1857 (available to
download free-of-charge here). It is set at Rugby
School and follows Tom’s life from the age of eleven and concentrates also on
the headmaster Dr Thomas Arnold, who is portrayed as a perfect teacher.
I suspect most people who know Tom Brown know it
through the movie
or television adaptations – there have been at least three
feature movies and two television adaptations. In each of these the original
Hughes’ story has been freely adapted.
Which brings us to the BBC
and its adaptation, first broadcast in 1971 over five
episodes. It went out during Sunday
afternoons and gathered great praise from critics and won
internationally-renowned awards, including Emmys in the United States.
But it also received criticism for including scenes of
‘sadism’. Critics pointed to bullying by boys and beatings by masters.
Mrs Mary
Whitehouse, a self-appointed guardian of the nation’s morals,
was at the head of a campaign
against the series and the BBC.
The series was rarely seen again on television but was
issued as a DVD by Acorn Media / BBC and is available
to purchase.
Interestingly, the sleeve notes to the DVD says it
‘contains mild violence’.
In this clip Tom (played by Anthony Murphy) is beaten
in front of the school by headmaster Dr Arnold (played by Ian Cuthbertson).
Picture and video credit: Acorn Media / BBC
All the Tom Brown beatings in one place. Many thanks.
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