Disraeli (TV serial)
Encyclopedia
Disraeli is a British mini-series about the great statesman and first Prime Minister of Jewish descent of the United Kingdom, Benjamin Disraeli. It was originally featured on British network ITV
. With a screenplay by David Butler
, it was produced by Cecil Clarke and directed by Claude Whatham
. It focused on Disraeli's personal life as much as it did on his political persona spanning five decades of his life. Shot on site in England, it ended up with multiple emmy nominations. It was broadcast in the US as part of Masterpiece Theatre
in 1980. Distributed by Granada Productions
, it is available in a 2-disc DVD set that runs 4 hours and 13 minutes.
and his first meeting with Queen Victoria.
Disc Two start with his term as Chancellor of the Exchequer and his rise in political fortune. He is married to Mary Anne the widow of the man who got him elected and becomes a trusted advisor of the Queen. After the death of Mary Anne the Queens graciousness and that of his love of politics keeps him going. He becomes Prime Minister in the process, becoming very successful before his eventual death in 1881.
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
. With a screenplay by David Butler
David Butler (screenwriter)
David Butler was a Scottish writer of numerous screenplays and teleplays who won an Emmy Award and was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe...
, it was produced by Cecil Clarke and directed by Claude Whatham
Claude Whatham
Claude Whatham was an English Film and television director mainly known for his work on dramas.-Career:...
. It focused on Disraeli's personal life as much as it did on his political persona spanning five decades of his life. Shot on site in England, it ended up with multiple emmy nominations. It was broadcast in the US as part of Masterpiece Theatre
Masterpiece Theatre
Masterpiece is a drama anthology television series produced by WGBH Boston. It premiered on Public Broadcasting Service on January 10, 1971, making it America's longest-running weekly prime time drama series. The series has presented numerous acclaimed British productions...
in 1980. Distributed by Granada Productions
Granada Productions
Granada Productions was a British commercial television production and distribution company. The company took its name from the successful ITV franchise, Granada Television....
, it is available in a 2-disc DVD set that runs 4 hours and 13 minutes.
Plot
Disc One starts with Disraeli continually running for office despite losing several campaigns. He is finally elected to the House of Commons in 1837. It ends with the swearing in ceremony for Disraeli who has now been appointed Chancellor of the ExchequerChancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
and his first meeting with Queen Victoria.
Disc Two start with his term as Chancellor of the Exchequer and his rise in political fortune. He is married to Mary Anne the widow of the man who got him elected and becomes a trusted advisor of the Queen. After the death of Mary Anne the Queens graciousness and that of his love of politics keeps him going. He becomes Prime Minister in the process, becoming very successful before his eventual death in 1881.
Cast
- Ian McShaneIan McShaneIan David McShane is an English actor, director, producer, voice artist, and comedian.Despite appearing in numerous films, McShane is best known for his television roles, particularly the BBC's Lovejoy and HBO's Western drama Deadwood...
- as Benjamin Disraeli - Mary PeachMary PeachMary Peach is a British film and television actress, who was married to the screenwriter and director Jimmy Sangster until his death in 2011....
- as Mary Anne Disraeli - Rosemary LeachRosemary LeachRosemary Leach is a British stage, television and film actress.She was born at Much Wenlock, Shropshire. Her parents were teachers related to Edmund Leach. She attended grammar school and RADA...
- as Queen Victoria - John CarlisleJohn Carlisle (actor)John Carlisle is a British television and stage actor.John Carlisle had regular roles in Emergency - Ward 10, Scotland Yard on ABC, 1957–1958, and the London Weekend Television series New Scotland Yard as Detective Sergeant Ward.He also appeared in the BBC series The Omega Factor as the morally...
- as William Ewart GladstoneWilliam Ewart GladstoneWilliam Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time... - Jeremy ClydeJeremy ClydeMichael Thomas Jeremy Clyde is an English actor and musician. The son of Lady Elizabeth Wellesley, he made his first public appearance as a pageboy at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom in 1953...
- as John Manners, 7th Duke of RutlandJohn Manners, 7th Duke of Rutland|-... - Brett Usher - as Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron LyttonEdward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron LyttonEdward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton PC , was an English politician, poet, playwright, and novelist. He was immensely popular with the reading public and wrote a stream of bestselling dime-novels which earned him a considerable fortune...
- Brewster MasonBrewster MasonBrewster Mason was an English stage actor who also made some notable film and television appearances.He was born in Kidsgrove, Staffordshire and made his stage debut at the Finsbury Park Open Air Theatre in 1947. He then appeared on stage in repertory theatre, in London's West End and on Broadway...
- as Chancellor BismarckOtto von BismarckOtto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg , simply known as Otto von Bismarck, was a Prussian-German statesman whose actions unified Germany, made it a major player in world affairs, and created a balance of power that kept Europe at peace after 1871.As Minister President of... - Antony Brown - as Sir Robert PeelRobert PeelSir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet was a British Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 December 1834 to 8 April 1835, and again from 30 August 1841 to 29 June 1846...
- David de KeyserDavid de KeyserDavid de Keyser is a British actor. He is the father of Alexei de Keyser, Pia de Keyser and Thomas de Keyser.In the mid-sixties de Keyser worked twice with the writer, actor and director Jane Arden. Their first collaboration, The Logic Game, was the first BBC drama to be shot on film; it was...
- as Lionel de RothschildLionel de RothschildBaron Lionel Nathan de Rothschild was a British banker and politician.-Biography:The son of Nathan Mayer Rothschild and Hanna Barent Cohen, he was a member of the prominent Rothschild family.... - David WoodDavid Wood (actor)David Wood OBE is an English-born actor and writer, called "the National Children's Dramatist" by The Times.He was educated at Chichester High School For Boys and Worcester College, Oxford....
- as Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of DerbyEdward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of DerbyEdward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, KG, PC was an English statesman, three times Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and to date the longest serving leader of the Conservative Party. He was known before 1834 as Edward Stanley, and from 1834 to 1851 as Lord Stanley... - John Gregg - as Robert Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury
- Brendan Barry - as Stafford Northcote, 1st Earl of IddesleighStafford Northcote, 1st Earl of IddesleighStafford Henry Northcote, 1st Earl of Iddesleigh GCB, PC , known as Sir Stafford Northcote, Bt, from 1851 to 1885, was a British Conservative politician...
- Mark DignamMark DignamMark Dignam was a prolific English actor.Born in London, the son of salesman in the steel industry, Dignam grew up in Sheffield and was educated at the Jesuit College where he appeared in numerous Shakespearean plays....
- as John Copley, 1st Baron LyndhurstJohn Copley, 1st Baron LyndhurstJohn Singleton Copley, 1st Baron Lyndhurst PC KS FRS , was a British lawyer and politician. He was three times Lord Chancellor of Great Britain.-Background and education:... - Patrick DruryPatrick DruryPatrick Drury is a character actor best remembered for playing shopkeeper John O'Leary in the Channel 4 comedy Father Ted. Drury was married to actress Caroline Langrishe before divorcing in 1995. They have two daughters, Rosalind and Leonie....
- as Montagu Corry, 1st Baron RowtonMontagu Corry, 1st Baron RowtonMontagu William Lowry-Corry, 1st Baron Rowton KCVO, CB, PC, DL , also known as "Monty," was a British philanthropist and public servant, best known for serving as Benjamin Disraeli's private secretary from 1866 until the latter's death in 1881.-Background and education:Born in London, Lowry-Corry... - Peter HughesPeter Hughes (actor)Peter Hughes is an English actor.Hughes has extensive film, television and theatre experience as a character actor. In the 1950s he was a stalwart of the Richmond Theatre repertory company with actress Anne Ridler...
- as Philip RosePhilip RoseSir Philip Rose, 1st Baronet was the son of William Rose, an Assistant Surgeon in the British Indian Army and Charlotte Rose .... - Leigh LawsonLeigh LawsonLeigh Lawson is a film and stage actor, director, and writer.-Career:Trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Lawson has acted in film and television since the early 1970s, directed plays in the West End and on Broadway...
- as Alfred Guillaume Gabriel, Count D'OrsayAlfred Guillaume Gabriel, Count D'OrsayAlfred d'Orsay, known as the comte d'Orsay was a French amateur artist, dandy, and man of fashion in the early- to mid-19th century.-Life:... - Peter MilesPeter MilesPeter Miles is a British actor. He has played many television roles including several different characters in Z-Cars and Doctor Who. His other television work has included Survivors, The Sweeney, Dixon of Dock Green, Moonbase 3, Poldark and Bergerac.In the science fiction series Blake's 7 he played...
- as Lord Henry LennoxLord Henry LennoxLord Henry George Charles Gordon-Lennox PC , known as Lord Henry Lennox, was a British Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1846 to 1885 and was a close friend of Benjamin Disraeli.... - David Riley - as George Smythe, 7th Viscount StrangfordGeorge Smythe, 7th Viscount StrangfordGeorge Smythe, 7th Viscount Strangford , styled The Honourable George Smythe until 1855, was a British Conservative politician, best known for his association with Benjamin Disraeli and the Young England movement...
- Anton RodgersAnton RodgersAnton Rodgers was an English actor and occasional director. He performed on stage, in film and in television dramas and sitcoms.-Life and career:...
- as Lord George BentinckLord George BentinckLord George Frederick Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck , better known as simply Lord George Bentinck, was an English Conservative politician and racehorse owner, best known for his role in unseating Sir Robert Peel over the Corn Laws.Bentinck was a younger son of the 4th Duke of Portland, and elected a... - William RussellWilliam Russell (actor)William Russell is an English actor, mainly known for his television work. He was born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear.-Doctor Who:...
- as Wyndham LewisWyndham Lewis (politician)Wyndham Lewis was a British politician and a close associate of Benjamin Disraeli.Lewis was the son of Reverend Wyndham Lewis, of Tongwynlais, Glamorganshire. He sat as Member of Parliament for Cardiff from 1820 to 1826, for Aldeburgh from 1827 to 1829 and for Maidstone from 1835 to 1838.Lewis...