Based on the children's book by Catherine Cookson, this dramatisation from BBC Birmingham is an excellent example of just how good British children's drama could be in the 1960s and 70s (although IMDb lists it as 1980, the credits identify the production year as 1979).
Quoting from the book's inside cover:
"Davy and his deaf and dumb younger brother, John Willie, find themselves homeless after their father is killed in a mining accident. Eccentric Miss Peamarsh offers a chance for a new future - but then Davy stumbles across a horrifying secret from Miss Peamarch's past and it could ruin everything..."
Set among the coal mines of Nottingham, presumably in the late nineteenth to early twentieth centuries, the period detail and local atmosphere are beautifully captured by some fine camera work and an evocative score. The child actors, Antony Manuel and David Burke as Davy and John Willie Halliday respectively, do a good job, as do Madeleine Cannon as the prim and daunting Miss Peamarsh and especially Ian Cullen as the rough but self-educated Peter Talbot, a good sort and a true friend to the boys.
Mention should be made of Howard Blake's minimalist (not in the modern sense) musical score, reminding us just how appreciated an instrument the harmonica used to be.
The mini-series in five parts has not made it to DVD but is available on Youtube on the 'City History Trails: Nottingham' channel. Episode 2 is missing, sadly, and may not be recoverable. So it is with some of these fine TV dramas of the 60s and 70s.
Quoting from the book's inside cover:
"Davy and his deaf and dumb younger brother, John Willie, find themselves homeless after their father is killed in a mining accident. Eccentric Miss Peamarsh offers a chance for a new future - but then Davy stumbles across a horrifying secret from Miss Peamarch's past and it could ruin everything..."
Set among the coal mines of Nottingham, presumably in the late nineteenth to early twentieth centuries, the period detail and local atmosphere are beautifully captured by some fine camera work and an evocative score. The child actors, Antony Manuel and David Burke as Davy and John Willie Halliday respectively, do a good job, as do Madeleine Cannon as the prim and daunting Miss Peamarsh and especially Ian Cullen as the rough but self-educated Peter Talbot, a good sort and a true friend to the boys.
Mention should be made of Howard Blake's minimalist (not in the modern sense) musical score, reminding us just how appreciated an instrument the harmonica used to be.
The mini-series in five parts has not made it to DVD but is available on Youtube on the 'City History Trails: Nottingham' channel. Episode 2 is missing, sadly, and may not be recoverable. So it is with some of these fine TV dramas of the 60s and 70s.
