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Over on Bible Films Blog Matt Page comments on my recent posts on Paul of Tarsus and Jesus of Nazareth. He mentions a comment on his earlier post from a certain WitlessD who has done a little more research on the series and confirms the episode titles I set out. S/he also confirms the location, "Filmed in Aghios Nikolaus, Crete, and at Ealing Studios".

Labels: Jesus of Nazareth (1960), Paul of Tarsus (1960)

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So, have you ever seen the TV series Jesus of Nazareth? No, not that series, but the one made twenty years earlier by the BBC? Me neither. In fact I didn't even know about it until yesterday. Here's the story.

I have been reporting recently on my research into the forgotten BBC production Paul of Tarsus (1960), research which led to the book of the series produced by its writer, producer and director Joy Harington. In the preface to that book, she writes the following:

The idea for this book and the Television series that preceded it was born in 1956 when the series 'Jesus of Nazareth' ended with these words from Jesus to his disciples: 'Go and teach all nations the things that you have seen and heard . . . . . And know that I am with you always -- even unto the end of the world.' It left one with the feeling 'What happened then?' After all, it was a big order to give a handful of fishermen and peasants in a small occupied country . . .

And so on. So, it seems, there was a TV series on Jesus' life broadcast in 1956 on the BBC. I didn't think I had heard of this before, so I went to the net to see how many others had heard of it. The answer is: very few.

IMDb weakly mentions Jesus of Nazareth from 1953, starring Tom Fleming. In the light of the above, the date is certainly wrong. Is it even the same production? Well, it looks like it is because this TV series clearly featured Tom Fleming playing Jesus. There is a good paragraph or so on it on the BFI's Screenonline Profile of Joy Harington:

But perhaps what is considered her most notable work for television was the eight-part Sunday serial Jesus of Nazareth (BBC, 1956) for which she received the 1956 award of the Guild of Television Producers and Directors (now BAFTA), the first to be presented for a children's serial. A live studio production with exteriors filmed on location in Galilee and Jerusalem, it was a courageous undertaking. At that time, censorship regulations prohibited the portrayal of Christ by an actor in public performances. However, the Central Religious Council approved the project and Tom Fleming was cast as Jesus Christ. The serial was an outstanding success. Harington followed with a similar ten-part series, Paul of Tarsus (BBC, 1960), for which the exteriors were filmed mainly in Crete.

So we now know that Paul of Tarsus was filmed in Crete, and Jesus of Nazareth was partly filmed in Israel, and the latter was considered "a children's serial". There is more research to be done about this lost series, and I look forward to reporting back on this in due course.

Labels: Bible Films, Jesus of Nazareth (1960), Paul of Tarsus (1960)

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Earlier this week I discussed a forgotten Bible film called Paul of Tarsus, which starred Patrick Troughton, and was broadcast by the BBC in 1960 in 10 episodes. I mentioned then that I had tracked down a book based on the series. My copy has now arrived and I can bring to light one or two other things about the series. First, the bibliographical details:

Joy Harington, Paul of Tarsus (Leicester: Brockhampton Press, 1961)

As far as I can tell, the author was also the writer of the screenplay, the producer and the director of the series (see previous post), though that is not made clear here. The book's inside flap is not as revealing as it might be, but here is what it says:

Joy Harington was inspired to create this life of St. Paul, which she herself calls 'a chapter in the history of man's search for God'. Paul of Tarsus traces the growth of Christianity from the upper room in Jerusalem, through the disciples' fearless witness for the risen Christ; Saul's sudden conversion on the road to Damascus; his establishment of the early churches in Asia and Greece; his shipwrecks and torments, until, as a prisoner in bonds, he reaches his heart's desire -- Rome.

This book is profusely illustrated with photographs, some coloured, many taken on location in the Mediterranean countries for the BBC Television production in the autumn of 1960.

Enthusiastically welcomed by church leaders everywhere.

So we discover that there was some location shooting, in the frustratingly vague term "Mediterranean countries"! And the date of first broadcast is confirmed as the autumn of 1960. The photographs, though, are the highlights of the book. One of the black and white pictures shows Eutychus asleep in the window. Another shows "Paul and Barnabas rejected from Iconium" in what is clearly an original location and not a film set. Indeed, Barnabas appears to be something of a co-star and appears in many of the pictures.

The text itself is not especially interesting except in giving an idea of how the series itself must have worked out. It is a retelling of the Acts narrative with insertions from Paul's letters, and other insertions from the imagination (e.g. Paul gets malaria in Troas, p. 129). In fact, it appears to be quite Acts heavy, e.g. the break from Barnabas is the Acts-based argument over John Mark (p. 129) rather than the Galatians-based argument about eating with Gentiles.

It looks like the book's ten chapters correspond to the series' ten episodes. The chapter titles are:

Part One - The Feast of Pentecost
Part Two - The Road to Damascus
Part Three - Simon Peter
Part Four - Herod the King
Part Five - From Saul to Paul
Part Six - To the Gentiles
Part Seven - Greece
Part Eight - Diana of the Ephesians
Part Nine - Jerusalem
Part Ten - To Rome

Since the two episodes that are listed by BFI are entitled To the Gentiles and The Feast of Pentecost, it looks like these chapter titles are indeed the episode titles.

The book ends with Paul in Rome, with Acts, and bits of 2 Timothy quoted:

At Paul's dictation Luke wrote many letters to cheer and strengthen them. One of these letters was to his 'beloved son' Timothy . . .

. . . . In his lodgings in Rome Paul stood, chained now by his wrist to a ring in the wall, looking out of the window at the great city of Rome with its statues and noble buildings. Luke sat on the ground near him, his pens and scrolls around him, ready if Paul should wish to send another letter of comfort and encouragement to one of the churches.

Only Luke was with him now . . . .

And that's how the book ends (with the ". . .").

We can find out a little more from a foreword by "the Rev. Canon Roy McKay, BBC Head of Religious Broadcasting":

I was privileged to be associated with Joy Harington in the early days when she was preparing for the writing of the scripts. I know how much time and thought she gave not only to the biblical record in The Acts and the Epistles but also to the social, political, and religious background of the age. the results of that careful study are apparent in the scripts she has written. Joy Harington has been faithful to the story in the Bible, and she has kept close to its spirit. One of the many good things she has done is the incorporation of passages from St Paul's Letters in their appropriate place in the story.

Those who watched this story on BBC Television will be glad to have it in book form. Those who did not see it, having read the book, will be waiting eagerly for the series to be repeated . . .

It is interesting to see not only that this foreword describes the book as "scripts", which suggests that the prose narrative is closely adapted from the scripts, but also that it speaks about repeats, which means that it cannot have been wiped, at least not in the early 60s, and so we can be hopeful that it survives somewhere (e.g. at the BFI, where I will plan a research visit one of these days!).

Joy Harington also has an interesting "Author's Note" at the beginning of this book, and it reveals something else of great interest, and that will be the subject of a separate blog post later.

Labels: Bible Films, Paul of Tarsus (1960)

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I posed a trivia question yesterday, "Which of the ten doctors also played the apostle Paul?" Some of the suggestions in comments were amusing, including Eric Idle (who played neither) and Anthony Hopkins (who played Paul but not the Doctor). The correct answer is Patrick Troughton (1920-1987), the second doctor (1966-9), who played the tile role in Paul of Tarsus, a BBC series which broadcast in 1960.

Until yesterday, I head never heard of this production, but I was listening to the latest episode of Doctor Who Podshock (Ep. 96), which featured an archive interview from 1986 with Patrick Troughton. He mentioned Paul of Tarsus as one of the things he was most proud of.

The production has relatively little internet presence. It has no IMDb page, for example, and no Wikipedia entry. It has never been released on video or DVD. Indeed, it is not even clear to me whether it still exists. A lot of the BBC productions from that era, including many of Troughton's own Doctor Who episodes, were wiped.

So what do we know about it? BFI's Film and TV database lists it as:

A cycle of ten plays telling the story of the Acts of Christ's Apostles. BBC tx 1960/10/16 - 1960/12/18 (Sun).

It names two episodes, To the Gentiles and The Feast of Pentecost. The associated Cast List credits the screenplay, production and direction to Joy Harington. This latter clue proves helpful since there is a book by the same name produced in 1961 which apparently features pictures from the production (see book cover above). I have this book on order, and will report back when I have it.

I can find only one other picture from the production online, but it is a good one, of Troughton in the key role, folding his arms and looking rather mean.

Does anyone know anything about this forgotten production? Does anyone remember seeing it? Does anyone have a copy? I hope to do some more investigation over the coming months and to report back.

Labels: Doctor Who, Paul of Tarsus (1960)

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