All Creatures Great and Small is a 1975 television film, directed by Claude Whatham

Claude Whatham

Claude Whatham was an English Film and television director mainly known for his work on dramas.-Career:...

, based on the book All Creatures Great and Small, by James Herriot

James Herriot

James Herriot was the pen name of James Alfred Wight, OBE, FRCVS also known as Alf Wight , an English veterinary surgeon and writer, who used his many years of experiences as a veterinarian to write a series of books of stories about animals and their owners...

. The book is a compilation volume, first published in 1972, comprising Herriot's first two novels, If Only They Could Talk and It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet. The title, a line from the hymn "All Things Bright and Beautiful

All Things Bright and Beautiful

All Things Bright and Beautiful is an Anglican hymn, also popular with other Christian denominations.The piece can be sung to several melodies, in particular the 17th-century English melody "Royal Oak", adapted by Martin Shaw, and "Bright and Beautiful" by William Henry Monk...

", was derived from a punning suggestion by Herriot's daughter, who thought the volume should be titled Ill Creatures Great and Small.

Cast

Simon Ward

Simon Ward

Simon Ward is an English stage and film actor.-Early life:Simon Ward was born in Beckenham, Kent, near London, the son of a car dealer. From an early age he wanted to be an actor. He was educated at Alleyn's School, London, the home of the National Youth Theatre, which he joined at age 13 and...

 starred as James Herriot, Anthony Hopkins

Anthony Hopkins

Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...

 as Herriot's eccentric employer, Siegfried Farnon, Brian Stirner as Farnon's errant younger brother Tristan, and Lisa Harrow

Lisa Harrow

Lisa Harrow is an actress, noted for her roles in British theatre, films and television.- Early life :Harrow was born in Auckland and attended Auckland University...

 as James's love-interest and then wife, Helen.

Script

The script by Hugh Whitemore

Hugh Whitemore

Hugh Whitemore is an English playwright and screenwriter.Whitemore studied for the stage at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where he is now a Member of the Council. He began his writing career in British television with both original teleplays and adaptations of classic works by Charles...

, focused very much on James, and played down Siegfried's eccentricity; for example, a speech he makes early in the film rebuking James for refusing to attend a call during the middle of the night is delivered straight, while in the book it was highly hypocritical, as Siegfried himself had earlier told James that he was 'spoiling' the farmers by coming out at all hours.

Sequel

A second film, It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet

It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet (film)

It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet , was a sequel to the 1975 film All Creatures Great and Small....

was made in 1975. John Alderton

John Alderton

John Alderton is an English actor who is best known for his roles in Upstairs, Downstairs, Thomas & Sarah and Please Sir!. Alderton has often starred alongside his wife, Pauline Collins.-Early life:...

 took over the role of James and Colin Blakely

Colin Blakely

Colin George Blakely was a Northern Irish character actor. He was considered an actor of great range.-Early life:...

 that of Siegfried, while Lisa Harrow returned as Helen. The film was directed by Eric Till

Eric Till

Eric Till is a British film and television director working in Canada, the United States, and Europe since the 1960s.-Career:...

 from a script by Alan Plater

Alan Plater

Alan Frederick Plater, CBE, FRSL was an English playwright and screenwriter, who worked extensively in British television from the 1960s to the 2000s.-Career:...

.