The Lord of the Rings (1955 radio series)
In 1955, the BBC Radio Third Programme aired a treatment of The Fellowship of the Ring in six episodes. A year later, six episodes on The Two Towers and The Return of the King followed. Though only the latter six episodes were called thus, the entire series has become known as the 1955 radio series of The Lord of the Rings. Each of these twelve episodes was repeated just once, almost immediately, between two and five days after its first broadcast. It is the first adaptation of The Lord of the Rings and the first Middle-earth known adaptation in any form. No recordings of this series are known to have survived. However, the scripts and some correspondence still exist, as well as some parts of the musical score.
Episodes
The Fellowship of the Ring
- Episode 1: "The Meaning of the Ring" 14 November, 1955
- Episode 2: "Black Riders and Others" 21 November, 1955
- Episode 3: "Aragorn", 29 November, 1955
- Episode 4: "Many Meetings", 4 December, 1955
- Episode 5: "The Moria Gate", 11 December, 1955
- Episode 6: "The Breaking of the Fellowship", 18 December, 1955
The Lord of the Rings
- Episode 1: "Fangorn", 19 November, 1956
- Episode 2: "Rohan and Isengard", 26 November, 1956
- Episode 3: "Into the Dark", 2 December, 1956
- Episode 4: "The Siege of Gondor", 9 December, 1956
- Episode 5: "Minas Tirith and Mount Doom", 16 December, 1956
- Episode 6: "Many Partings" 23 December, 1956
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| John Baker | Orcs |
| Nicolette Bernard | Unspecified (presumably Goldberry), Galadriel |
| Oliver Burt | Frodo |
| Michael Collins | Merry |
| Frank Duncan | Legolas, Halbarad, Additional voices |
| Valentine Dyall | Treebeard, Théoden, Orcs |
| Robert Farquharson | Saruman, Denethor |
| Felix Felton | Bilbo, Voice of Sauron, The Black Captain, Orcs, Additional voices |
| Garard Green | Elrond, Celeborn, Additional voices |
| Olive Gregg | Éowyn |
| Derek Hart | Narrator |
| David Hemmings | Bergil |
| Noel Johnson | Éomer |
| Basil Jones | Pippin |
| Godfrey Kenton | Aragorn, Mablung, Additional voices |
| Eric Lugg | Gimli, Additional voices |
| Victor Platt | Sam |
| Derek Prentice | Boromir, Faramir, Beregond, Orcs, Additional voices |
| Bernard Rebel | Wormtongue |
| Prunella Scales | Ioreth |
| Gerik Schjelderup | Gollum, Orcs |
| Norman Shelley | Gandalf, Tom Bombadil, An Old Man, Additional voices |
| Roger Snowdon | Orcs |
Adapted by Terence Tiller. Music by Anthony Smith-Masters.
Differences from the book
- In the first six episodes, dialogue was preserved as much as possible, but in the last six, some liberty had to be taken.
- The second part of the series had to have a lot of cuts because executives at the BBC were not as fond of The Lord of the Rings as the listeners were.
- Tom Bombadil: Considered by Tolkien "dreadful", though it is left unexplained why.
- Goldberry: She was portrayed as Bombadil's daughter. Tiller later apologized to Tolkien, stating he had thought the age difference between the two too large to portray them as a couple.
- Willowman: He is shown in league with Mordor, rather than just an antagonist of the Hobbits. The opening narrator reads 'He [Sauron] has other allies too, from one of which the hobbits have been rescued by the strange and ancient power of Tom Bombadil.'
- Glóin: He was given a German accent. Tolkien thought he was not too bad, though a bit exaggerated.
- The Council of Elrond: Severely trimmed, only the base actions and characters remained.
- The Chamber of Mazarbul: Omitted.
- Boromir does not speak to Aragorn before his death.
Referencias
1. Esta ficha se ha importado inicialmente de TolkienGateway.net el día 30/05/2026.
