Persuasion (1971 series)

Infobox Television Film
bgcolour =
name = Persuasion


caption =
format = Drama
runtime = 110 min. (approx.)
director = Howard Baker
producer = Howard Baker
writer = Jane Austen (novel)
Julian Mitchell (screenplay)
starring = Ann Firbank
Bryan Marshall
music = Steven Hancock
country = United Kingdom
language = English
network =
first_aired = April 18, 1971
last_aired =
num_episodes = 2
website =
imdb_id = 0066702
amg_id =

"Persuasion" is a 1971 British television miniseries adaptation of the Jane Austen novel of the same name. It was produced by BBC, directed by Howard Baker and stars Ann Firbank and Bryan Marshall. The series was originally aired in April 1971 in two parts, with each part having a running time of approximately two hours.

ynopsis

Anne Elliot is the second daughter of widowed baronet Sir Walter Elliot. Unlike her father and sisters, who place high esteem on rank and wealth, Anne is humble and more sensible. When the family falls into financial difficulty, Sir Walter is encouraged by his friend Mr. Clay to let out his ancestral home, Kellynch Hall, and move to Bath. Mr. Clay informs him that he has a found a suitable tenant in Admiral Croft and his wife Mrs. Croft, who have returned to England upon the end of the Napoleonic Wars.

Anne is distressed by this news, as Mrs. Croft is the sister of Captain Wentworth, the man she had fallen in love with eight years earlier. Through dialogue with Anne's friend, Lady Russell, it is explained that Anne turned down Wentworth's proposal of marriage after being persuaded by Lady Russell that it would be an imprudent match. The two parted ways and Wentworth went to sea, where he made his fortune and became a wealthy man.

Sir Walter and Anne's eldest sister, Elizabeth, leave Kellynch Hall for Bath. Anne, however, goes to visit her sister Mary Musgrove. While staying with the Musgroves, Wentworth comes to visit. Anne and Wentworth barely speak to one another, but Wentworth takes up what appears to be an affection for Louisa Musgrove, Mary's sister-in-law. During a trip to Lyme, Louisa jumps off a wall, hoping to be caught by Wentworth, but she strikes her head against the pavement and falls unconscious. Anne takes charge of the situation while everyone else is too distressed to think properly.

No longer needed, Anne leaves for Bath, and there she learns news that Louisa has recovered and has become engaged to Wentworth's friend, Captain Benwick. She becomes hopeful of reconciling with Wentworth, and when he arrives in Bath, she makes the effort to approach him. However, Anne's cousin, Mr. Elliot, begins to show interest in her, and Lady Russell approves of this match. Anne eventually learns from her close friend that Mr. Elliot is a bankrupt cad, and hopes to wed Anne in order to secure his inheritance from Sir Walter.

Captain Wentworth writes a letter to Anne confessing that his feelings from eight years prior have not changed, and he proposes to her again. The pair are reunited and their engagement renewed. The series ends at a party being held at the Elliot's home in Bath, at which various people congratulate the couple, and Mr. Elliot is discovered to have gone missing, having run off with Mrs. Clay.

Cast

* Ann Firbank as Anne Elliot
* Bryan Marshall as Captain Wentworth
* Basil Dignam as Sir Walter Elliot
* Valerie Gearon as Elizabeth Elliot
* Marian Spencer as Lady Russell
* Georgine Anderson as Mrs. Croft
* Richard Vernon as Admiral Croft
* Morag Hood as Mary Musgrove
* Rowland Davies as Charles Musgrove
* Mel Martin as Henrietta Musgrove
* Zhivila Roche as Louisa Musgrove
* Noel Dyson as Mrs. Musgrove
* William Kendall] as Mr. Musgrove
* Charlotte Mitchell as Mrs. Clay
* David Savile as Mr. Elliot

External links

*imdb title|id=0066702|title=Persuasion
* [http://www.janeausten.co.uk/magazine/index.ihtml?pid=134&step=4 Review of Persuasion (1971)] - Jane Austen Centre Magazine