Days of Hope

Days of Hope
Directed by	Ken Loach
Produced by	Tony Garnett
Written by	Jim Allen
Starring	Paul Copley Pamela Brighton Nikolas Simmonds
Music by	Marc Wilkinson
Cinematography	Tony Pierce-Roberts John Else
Editing by	Roger Waugh
Country	United Kingdom
Original channel	BBC1
Original run	September 11, 1975 (1975-September-11) – October 2, 1975 (1975-October-02)
Running time	410 minutes
No. of episodes	4

Days of Hope is a BBC television drama serial produced in 1975. The series dealt with the lives of a working-class family from the turmoils of the First World War in 1916 to the General Strike in 1926. It was written by Jim Allen, produced by Tony Garnett and directed by Ken Loach.

Days of Hope is included on the Ken Loach at the BBC DVD box set released in 2011.

Episodes

#	Title	Original airdate	Running time
1	"1916: Joining Up"	11 September 1975	95 minutes
Ben Matthews enlists in the army and ends up serving in Ireland, where there is resistance to British rule. His sister's husband Philip Hargreaves is sentenced to death as a conscientious objector but is given a last-minute reprieve.
2	"1921"	18 September 1975	100 minutes
Ben deserts from the army and joins the Durham miners in their fight against wage reductions. Ben and other miners are arrested.
3	"1924"	25 September 1975	80 minutes
Ben is released from prison and joins the Communist Party. Philip Hargreaves is elected as a Labour MP.
4	"1926: General Strike"	2 October 1975	135 minutes
The miners are betrayed by union leaders during the General Strike.

Cast

• Paul Copley as Ben Matthews
• Pamela Brighton as Sarah Hargreaves
• Nikolas Simmonds as Philip Hargreaves
• Alun Armstrong as Billy Shepherd
• Clifford Kershaw as Tom Matthews
• Helene Palmer as Martha Matthews
• Gary Roberts as Joel Barnett
• Jean Spence as May Barnett
• Christine Anderson as Jenny Barnett
• John Phillips as Josiah Wedgwood
• Stephen Rea as Reporter

External links

• Days of Hope at the Internet Movie Database
• BFI Film & TV Database
• British Film Institute Screen Online
• Senses of Cinema review and history