The Lord of the Rings (1955 radio series)
In 1955, the BBC Radio Third Programme aired a treatment of The Fellowship of the Ring in six episodes. A year later, six episodes on The Two Towers and The Return of the King followed. Though only the latter six episodes were called thus, the entire series has become known as the 1955 radio series of The Lord of the Rings. Each of these twelve episodes was repeated just once, almost immediately, between two and five days after its first broadcast.It is the first adaptation of The Lord of the Rings and the first Middle-earth known adaptation in any form. No recordings of this series are known to have survived. However, the scripts and some correspondence still exist[source?], as well as some parts of the musical score. [1]
Episodes[edit | edit source]
- The Fellowship of the Ring
- Episode 1: "The Meaning of the Ring" 14 November, 1955[2] [3]
- Episode 2: "Black Riders and Others" 21 November, 1955[4]
- Episode 3: "Aragorn", 29 November, 1955[5]
- Episode 4: "Many Meetings", 4 December, 1955[6]
- Episode 5: "The Moria Gate", 11 December, 1955[7]
- Episode 6: "The Breaking of the Fellowship", 18 December, 1955[8]
- The Lord of the Rings
- Episode 1: "Fangorn", 19 November, 1956[9]
- Episode 2: "Rohan and Isengard", 26 November, 1956[10]
- Episode 3: "Into the Dark", 2 December, 1956[11]
- Episode 4: "The Siege of Gondor", 9 December, 1956[12]
- Episode 5: "Minas Tirith and Mount Doom", 16 December, 1956[13]
- Episode 6: "Many Partings" 23 December, 1956[13][14]
Cast[edit | edit source]
Actor | Role |
---|---|
John Baker | Orcs[9] |
Nicolette Bernard | Unspecified (presumably Goldberry),[5] Galadriel[8] |
Oliver Burt | Frodo[5] |
Michael Collins | Merry[5] |
Frank Duncan | Legolas,[7] Halbarad,[12] Additional voices[5][6] |
Valentine Dyall | Treebeard,[9] Théoden,[10] Orcs[8] |
Robert Farquharson | Saruman,[10] Denethor[12] |
Felix Felton | Bilbo,[7] Voice of Sauron,[10] The Black Captain,[13] Orcs,[9] Additional voices[5][6] |
Garard Green | Elrond,[7] Celeborn,[8] Additional voices[6] |
Olive Gregg | Éowyn[13] |
Derek Hart | Narrator[5] |
David Hemmings | Bergil[12] |
Noel Johnson | Éomer[9] |
Basil Jones | Pippin[5] |
Godfrey Kenton | Aragorn,[5] Mablung, [8] Additional voices[6] |
Eric Lugg | Gimli,[7] Additional voices[6] |
Victor Platt | Sam[5] |
Derek Prentice | Boromir,[7] Faramir,[11] Beregond, [12] Orcs, [13] Additional voices[5][6] |
Bernard Rebel | Wormtongue[10] |
Prunella Scales | Ioreth[13] |
Gerik Schjelderup | Gollum, [9] Orcs[9] |
Norman Shelley | Gandalf,[7] Tom Bombadil,[5][15] An Old Man,[9] Additional voices[6] |
Roger Snowdon | Orcs[8][9][13] |
Adapted by Terence Tiller.[16] Music by Anthony Smith-Masters.[5]
Differences from the book[edit | edit source]
- In the first six episodes, dialogue was preserved as much as possible, but in the last six, some liberty had to be taken.[2]
- The second part of the series had to have a lot of cuts because executives at the BBC were not as fond of The Lord of the Rings as the listeners were.[2]
- Tom Bombadil: Considered by Tolkien "dreadful", though it is left unexplained why.[15]
- Goldberry: She was portrayed as Bombadil's daughter.[15] Tiller later apologized to Tolkien, stating he had thought the age difference between the two too large to portray them as a couple.[2]
- Willowman: He is shown in league with Mordor, rather than just an antagonist of the Hobbits.[15]
- Glóin: He was given a German accent. Tolkien thought he was not too bad, though a bit exaggerated.[17]
- The Council of Elrond: Severely trimmed, only the base actions and characters remained.[2]
References
- ↑ Searching for the lost recordings of J.R.R. Tolkien - Music from 1955 LOTR dramatization, 2nd minute, 19th second of the documentary. Originally broadcast in August 2016 on BBC Radio 4, archive copy by Sídh Aníron. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Wayne G. Hammond, Christina Scull, The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide, The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide:Reader's Guide, "Adaptations", pp. 8-23
- ↑ "'THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING' by J. R. R. Tolkien - Third Programme - 14 November 1955", BBC Genome Project (accessed 23 February 2019)
- ↑ "'THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING' by J. R. R. Tolkien - Third Programme - 21 November 1955", BBC Genome Project (accessed 23 February 2019)
- ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 Radio Times, Volume 129, No. 1672, November 25, 1955
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 Radio Times, Volume 129, No. 1673, December 2, 1955
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 Radio Times, Volume 129, No. 1674, December 9, 1955
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 Radio Times, Volume 129, No. 1675, December 16, 1955
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 9.8 Radio Times, Volume 133, No. 1723, November 16, 1956
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Radio Times, Volume 133, No. 1724, November 23, 1956
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Radio Times, Volume 133, No. 1725, November 30, 1956
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 Radio Times, Volume 133, No. 1726, December 7, 1956
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 Radio Times, Volume 133, No. 1727, December 14, 1956
- ↑ "'THE LORD OF THE RINGS by J. R. R. Tolkien - Third Programme - 23 December 1956", BBC Genome Project (accessed 23 February 2019)
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 J.R.R. Tolkien, Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 175 (dated November 30, 1955)
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 193 (dated November 2, 1956)
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 176 (dated December 8, 1955)