"Cranford" (2007) TV mini-series

User Rating:

8.8/10   

Creators:

Sue Birtwistle
Susie Conklin

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

18 November 2007 (UK)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Marriage | England | Doctor | Gossip | Small Town

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 12 wins & 16 nominations

Cast

Judi Dench	...	Miss Matty Jenkyns (6 episodes, 2007-2009)
Imelda Staunton	...	Miss Pole (6 episodes, 2007-2009)
Julia McKenzie	...	Mrs. Forrester / ... (6 episodes, 2007-2009)
Alex Etel	...	Harry Gregson (6 episodes, 2007-2009)
Deborah Findlay	...	Miss Tomkinson (6 episodes, 2007-2009)
Barbara Flynn	...	Mrs. Jamieson / ... (6 episodes, 2007-2009)
Jim Carter	...	Captain Brown (6 episodes, 2007-2009)
Claudie Blakley	...	Martha (6 episodes, 2007-2009)
Francesca Annis	...	Lady Ludlow (6 episodes, 2007-2009)
Emma Fielding	...	Miss Galindo (6 episodes, 2007-2009)
Simon Woods	...	Dr. Harrison (5 episodes, 2007)
Lisa Dillon	...	Mary Smith (5 episodes, 2007)
Rosy Byrne	...	Lizzie Hutton (5 episodes, 2007)
Kimberley Nixon	...	Sophy Hutton (5 episodes, 2007)
John Bowe	...	Dr. Morgan (5 episodes, 2007)
Selina Griffiths	...	Caroline Tomkinson (5 episodes, 2007)
Philip Glenister	...	Mr. Carter (5 episodes, 2007)
Lesley Manville	...	Mrs. Rose (5 episodes, 2007)
Hester Odgers	...	Helen Hutton (5 episodes, 2007)
Julia Sawalha	...	Jessie Brown (5 episodes, 2007)
Alex Jennings	...	Reverend Hutton (5 episodes, 2007)
Adrian Scarborough	...	Mr. Johnson (5 episodes, 2007)
Andrew Buchan	...	Jem Hearne (4 episodes, 2007)
Debra Gillett	...	Mrs. Johnson (4 episodes, 2007)
Emma Lowndes	...	Bella Gregson (4 episodes, 2007)
Hannah Stokely	...	Bessie (4 episodes, 2007)
Dean Lennox Kelly	...	Job Gregson (3 episodes, 2007)
Andrew Byrne	...	Malachi Gregson (3 episodes, 2007)
Joe McFadden	...	Jack Marshland / ... (3 episodes, 2007)
Greg Wise	...	Sir Charles Maulver (3 episodes, 2007)
Hannah Hobley	...	Bertha (3 episodes, 2007-2009)
Eileen Atkins	...	Miss Deborah Jenkyns (2 episodes, 2007)
Haydon Downing	...	Walter Hutton (2 episodes, 2007)
Alistair Petrie	...	Major Gordon (2 episodes, 2007)
Michael Gambon	...	Mr. Holbrook / ... (2 episodes, 2007)
Adam Henderson Scott	...	Assistant Auctioneer (2 episodes, 2007)
Roger Ennals	...	Mulliner (2 episodes, 2007)
Patricia Leach	...	Gypsy Woman (2 episodes, 2007)
Andrew Westfield	...	Farmer Graves (2 episodes, 2007)
Finty Williams	...	Clara Smith (2 episodes, 2007)
Imogen Byron	...	Kate (2 episodes, 2007)
Philippa Burt	...	Villager (2 episodes, 2007)

Also Known As:

Cranford Chronicles (UK) (working title)
Elizabeth Gaskell's Cranford (UK) (complete title)

Runtime:

60 min (5 parts)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

Netherlands:6 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Ashridge Park, Little Gaddesden, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

Judi Dench had read the novel 'Cranford' at school, and when a neighbor lent her the book, she was vividly reminded of it. She stated that she hoped that the remake would "make people want to read her."

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards (2009) (TV)

Heartwarming? Yes. But clever, too, with outstanding performances and a fine screenplay

The opportunity to watch so many of Britain's great female actors working together in parts that allow them to demonstrate just how good they are is one of the two immensely satisfying aspects of Cranford, the five-part, 291-minute drama imported from Britain by way of Masterpiece Theater. The other is the story itself -- a kind of Austen-like tale of good manners, gossip, punctilious courtesies and extraordinarily detailed production values. Cranford may be a genteel and gentle soap opera, but it glows with warmth, humor and the occasional dramatic crisis.

Cranford is a small English village, tidy and well kept. The time is the early 1840's. The village hasn't changed much over the years. The established ladies of the village plan to keep it that way. For the next 12 months of Cranford we'll see a new, young doctor come to town, the affects of a train line being built closer and closer to the village, romance and marriages, typhoid, death and poverty. We'll see why some think the lower classes should not be taught to read or write, how it really hurts to have your leg amputated, how a woman of a certain age who is not married may well expect to live a lonely life. We'll also see friendships, misunderstandings, the love for a cow and the deep comfort of accepted ways. Keep in mind that the story isn't simply a bucolic tale of a world long gone. We're going to deal with class distinctions, poverty, condescension to women, and customs that can strangle affection. There are several story lines that develop and weave around each other.

At the heart of the story are the women of Cranford, for whom gossip is a way of life. Eileen Atkins plays the elderly Miss Deborah Jenkyns, a severe woman who is not without feelings and who is the acknowledged arbiter of what is proper. Her sister, Miss Mattie Jenkyns, played by Judy Dench, is a bit scatterbrained but a warm and empathetic person. And we have Miss Pole (Imelda Staunton), a lightening transmitter of juicy information; Mrs. Forrester (Julia MacKenzie), a widow who is a bit of a ditherer but good-hearted; and Miss Jamieson (Barbara Flynn), better off than the others which she is careful to display, and more conventional, but prepared to be brought around. There is Mary Smith (Lisa Dillon), who comes to live with the Jenkyns sisters to escape a busybody stepmother and who finds more than she thought she would. Thankfully, she has a good mind and a sense of humor. And there is Lady Ludlow (Francesca Annis), the grand, aging lady in the grand estate nearby who learns to acknowledge that others may be correct, while not seeming to apologize for her class standards. What of the men? They're around, but for the most part they exist simply to provide the framework for the women's stories. Such superior actors as Michael Gambon, Jim Carter and Martin Shaw play them.

When we leave Cranford five hours after we arrived, we've smiled a lot, teared up a few times, and have come to admire these women, their capacity for friendship and their desire to keep the future from arriving too soon. If you hear the term "heartwarming," don't be put off. This program is intelligently written and is acted with extraordinary and underplayed skill.