First airing on Sunday 22 October 1967, this 10-part BBC dramatisation of the classic Victor Hugo novel was adapted for television by Giles Cooper and Harry Green.
The story begins in France in 1815, where Jean Valjean (Frank Finlay) is released after 19 years in the galleys for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister and her family.
Because his yellow passport reveals that he is an ex-convict, innkeepers refuse him lodgings or food. It is only when he comes to the house of the bishop of Digne (89-year-old Finlay Currie) that he finds some genuine humanity.
He tries to start afresh by adopting a new identity, and he becomes the mayor of a small town, where he meets the penniless, desperate Fantine (Michele Dotrice).
Despite his best efforts, Jean Valjean cannot save Fantine, who is driven to increasingly desperate measures by the Thenardiers (Judy Parfitt and Alan Rowe) to provide for her young daughter, Cosette (Leslie Roach).
Believing himself to have failed Fantine, Valjean vows to protect Cosette. But his future is threatened by a chance encounter with his former adversary, fanatical police inspector Javert (Anthony Bate), who pursues him ruthlessly.
Their stories collide, and as revolutionary violence ignites on the streets of Paris, Jean Valjean begins an epic journey towards self-acceptance and redemption.
Javert, for his part, is forced to confront the personal code by which he has always lived, and – in the end – finds it wanting.
Much of the location filming was done on the Isle of Wight, which resulted one day in the scene of 20 or so actors who had been costumed and made up in Portsmouth as convicts, marching onto the passenger ferry to the island with their chains clanking away.
The series was directed by Alan Bridges and produced by Campbell Logan.
Jean Valjean
Frank Finlay Javert
Anthony Bate Fantine/Cosette
Michele Dotrice Young Cosette
Lesley Roach Marius
Vivian MacKerrell Eponine
Elizabeth Counsell Madame Thenardier
Judy Parfitt Thenardier
Alan Rowe Marguerite
Nancie Jackson Monsieur Dupont
Edward Kelsey Nicolette
Mary McMillen Enjolras
Cavan Kendall Baptistine
Enid Lorimer Albertine
Nicolette Pendrell Enjolras
Cavan Kendall Gredin
Colin Rix Mademoiselle Guepin
Hazel Bainbridge Madame Victurnien
Eileen Moore Soeur Simplice
Sally Lahee Fauchelevant
Bert Palmer Yves
Frederick Treves Madame Magloire
Marjorie Wilde Champmathieu
Clifford Rose Madame Fastre
Marguerite Young Gavroche
Derek Lamden Bamatabois
Richard Coe Philippe
Rex Rowland Bishop of Digne
Finlay Currie Petit Gervais
John Gugolka
The story begins in France in 1815, where Jean Valjean (Frank Finlay) is released after 19 years in the galleys for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister and her family.
Javert, for his part, is forced to confront the personal code by which he has always lived, and – in the end – finds it wanting.
