David Copperfield (1974 TV serial)

David Copperfield is a British six-part television serial of the Charles Dickens novel adapted by Hugh Whitemore and first shown on BBC 1 in weekly parts from 1 December 1974. It was a co-production with Time-Life Television Productions, and features David Yelland as David Copperfield, Martin Jarvis as Uriah Heep, and Arthur Lowe as Wilkins Micawber. Also appearing were David Troughton, Ian Hogg, Timothy Bateson, Patience Collier, Anthony Andrews and Patricia Routledge.

This version was generally well received. In Clive James review for The Observer he wrote: "David Copperfield is as good as everybody says. Steerforth's flaw is well conveyed by Anthony Andrews, and Uriah Heep, played by Martin Jarvis, is a miracle of unction: to hear him talk is like stepping on a toad long dead. But Arthur Lowe's Micawber is better than anything. He follows W. C. Fields in certain respects, but is graciously spoken; and his gestures are as delicate as Oliver Hardy's. Not that his performance is eclectic - it is a subtle unity like everything he attempts."

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