The First Churchills
The First Churchills | |
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Genre | Period drama |
Starring | |
Opening theme | "Trumpet Tune (Warlike Consort)" from King Arthur by Henry Purcell |
Ending theme | "Rondeau" from Abdelazer, or The Moor's Revenge by Henry Purcell |
Country of origin | UK |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 1 |
No. of episodes | 12 |
Production | |
Camera setup |
|
Running time | 50 minutes |
Production company | BBC |
Release | |
Original network | BBC2 |
Picture format | 625-Line PAL 4:3 |
Audio format | Mono |
Original release | 27 September 13 December 1969 | –
The First Churchills is a BBC serial from 1969 about the life of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough and his wife, Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough. It stars John Neville as the duke and Susan Hampshire as the duchess, was written and produced by Donald Wilson, and was directed by David Giles. It is notable as being the first programme shown on PBS's long-running Masterpiece series in the United States. Wilson and Giles were fresh from their success in writing and directing The Forsyte Saga, which also starred Susan Hampshire and Margaret Tyzack.
Overview[]
The serial presents the lives of John and Sarah Churchill from their meeting in 1673 until a time shortly after the death of Queen Anne in 1714, and illustrates, along the way, much of the context of contemporary English politics. Like many BBC serials of the era, it was made on a low budget, with sound-studio sets, and generally avoided battle and crowd scenes because they were unable to stage them in a convincing manner. The series is based on the Marlboroughs' famous descendant Winston Churchill's life of his ancestor the Duke, and as such presents a very favourable portrait of the Marlboroughs.
Episodes[]
- "The Chaste Nymph"
- "Bridals"
- "Plot Counter-Plot"
- "The Lion and the Unicorn"
- "Rebellion"
- "The Protestant Wind"
- "Trial of Strength"
- "The Queen Commands"
- "Reconciliation"
- "A Famous Victory"
- "Breaking the Circle"
- "Not Without Honour"[1]
Cast[]
The serial depicts most of the important political figures of the day:
- King Charles II: James Villiers
- King James II: John Westbrook
- Queen Mary, wife to James II: Sheila Gish
- King William III: Alan Rowe
- Queen Mary II: Lisa Daniely
- Queen Anne: Margaret Tyzack
- Prince George of Denmark:
- King Louis XIV:
- Sidney Godolphin: John Standing
- Lord Shaftesbury: Frederick Peisley
- Lord Shrewsbury: Job Stewart
- James, Duke of Monmouth:
- Robert Harley: Richard Pearson
- Barbara, Duchess of Cleveland: Moira Redmond
- Francis Godolphin: Richard Warwick
- Henrietta Churchill: Polly Adams
- John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester: Graham Armitage
- Lord Russell: Colin Bean
- Duchess of Portsmouth:
- Charles Churchill: Michael Culver
- Nell Gwyn: Andria Lawrence
- D'Artagnan:
- Henrietta Wentworth:
- Marquess of Carmarthen: Arthur Pentelow
- Duke of Buckingham: Bruce Purchase
- Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester: John Ringham
- Titus Oates: Nicholas Smith
- Henry St John: Michael Attwell
- Abigail Masham: Jill Balcon
- James Stuart, the Old Pretender:
- Anne Churchill: Yvonne Antrobus
- Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland:
- :
- William Cadogan:
- John Churchill, Marquess of Blandford:
- Anthonie Heinsius:
- Count Johann Wenzel Wratislaw: Kenneth Ives
- Prince Eugene of Savoy:
- Marshal Tallard:
- Elector of Bavaria:
- Lord Cutts: Donald Sumpter
- Margrave of Baden:
- Sir John Vanbrugh: John Carlin
- Samuel Masham:
- Lord Somers: Charles West
- Marquis de Torcy:
- Duchess of Somerset:
- Duke of Somerset:
- Lord Halifax: Austin Trevor
- Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland:
- Lady Sunderland:
- Archbishop Sancroft: Kevin Stoney
- Count Bentinck, later Lord Portland: Roger Booth
- Robert Young:
- Bishop Sprat:
- Archbishop Tenison:
- Duke of Gloucester:
Music[]
The theme for the opening titles of each episode is the "Trumpet tune (Warlike consort)" from Act V of Henry Purcell's opera King Arthur. The theme for the closing credits of each episode is the second piece, a Rondeau, of Henry Purcell's incidental music, composed about 1695, to Aphra Behn's 1676 play Abdelazer, or The Moor's Revenge, perhaps better known as the theme used by Benjamin Britten in The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra.
DVD[]
The serial has been released on DVD, distributed by Acorn Media UK.
References[]
- ^ The First Churchills (TV Mini-Series 1969– ), retrieved 11 December 2017
External links[]
- BBC television dramas
- British television miniseries
- Spencer-Churchill family
- Television series set in the 17th century
- Television series set in the 18th century
- 1969 British television series debuts
- 1969 British television series endings
- Cultural depictions of Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough
- Cultural depictions of John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough
- Cultural depictions of Anne, Queen of Great Britain
- Cultural depictions of Louis XIV
- Cultural depictions of Prince Eugene of Savoy
- Cultural depictions of Charles de Batz de Castelmore d'Artagnan
- Cultural depictions of Titus Oates
- Cultural depictions of Charles II of England
- War of the Spanish Succession in fiction