Mansfield Park (1983 TV serial)

Mansfield Park
Series titles and a drawing of Mansfield Park
GenreDrama
Based onMansfield Park
by Jane Austen
Written byKenneth Taylor
Directed byDavid Giles
Starring
ComposerDerek Bourgeois
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes6
Production
ProducerBetty Willingale
Running time317 minutes in six episodes
Production companyLionheart Television International
Original release
NetworkBBC2
Release6 November (1983-11-06) –
11 December 1983 (1983-12-11)

Mansfield Park is a 1983 British television drama serial, made by the BBC, and adapted from Jane Austen's 1814 novel of the same name. The serial was the first screen adaptation of the novel. Unlike Patricia Rozema's 1999 film, it is faithful to Jane Austen's novel. Jonny Lee Miller, who has a small role as Charles Price in this serial, played Edmund Bertram in Rozema's adaptation.

Set, like all her novels, in contemporary England, Jane Austen's tale of virtue and vice centres on young and impoverished Fanny Price who arrives at the elegant country estate of her uncle, Sir Thomas Bertram. Snubbed by everyone except her cousin Edmund, Fanny begins her long struggle for acceptance by her snobbish relations, who believe wealth automatically means quality. Although Fanny finally wins some respect from the Bertrams, she incurs the displeasure of her uncle by rejecting a marriage proposal from handsome philanderer Henry Crawford because she sees through Crawford's veneer and is unwilling to marry such an unprincipled man. After a period spent at the home of her parents and siblings in Portsmouth, she returns to Mansfield Park because of unfortunate events affecting the Bertram family, and through her support for the family and her adherence to moral principles, her worth is recognised.

Cast

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Crew

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  • Derek Bourgeois – Composed and conducted music
  • Marion McDougall, Anthony Smith – Production Managers
  • Sheelagh Reese – Production Associate
  • Yvonne Collins, Sally Dean – Production Assistants
  • David Mason, Paul Carney – Assistant Floor Managers
  • Peter Netley – Graphic Designer
  • Sally Clements – Properties Buyer
  • Roger Neal – Vision Control Supervisor
  • John Barclay – Vision Mixer
  • Trevor Wimlett, Chris Wickham – Cameramen
  • Geoff Higgs – Engineering Manager
  • Stan Pow – Video-tape Editor
  • Daphne Croker – Makeup Designer
  • Ian Adley – Costume Designer
  • Robin Luxford – Sound
  • Bert Robinson – Lighting
  • John Bone – Designer
  • Betty Willingale – Producer
  • David Giles – Director
  • John and Mary Holmes – Trained Pug
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