"The Scarlet Letter" (1979) TV mini-series

Director:

Rick Hauser

Writers:

Nathaniel Hawthorne (novel)
Allan Knee (writer)

Release Date:

2 April 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Historical | TV Mini-Series | Adulteress | Sexuality | Pariah

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Josef Sommer	...	Nathaniel Hawthorne
Meg Foster	...	Hester Prynne
Elisa Erali	...	Pearl
John Heard	...	Arthur Dimmesdale
Ralph Drischell	...	Sexton
Caroline Kava	...	Young Woman
Penelope Allen	...	Mistress Hibbins (as Penny Allen)
Kevin Conway	...	Roger Chillingworth
Clarence Felder	...	The Town Beadle
Daniel von Bargen	...	A Sailor
Sasha von Scherler	...	Goodie Ward
Gretel Cummings	...	Goodie Salter
Naomi Thornton	...	Goodie Cranwell
C.K. Alexander	...	Gov. Bellingham
Francisco Prado	...	Sea Captain

Runtime:

60 min (4 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Newport, Rhode Island, USA

Company:

WGBH

Trivia:

The filmmakers' decision to outfit Hester Prynne with a gold letter "A" was sharply criticized at the time of the mini-series' premiere on P.B.S. as author Nathaniel Hawthorne was quite specific about the "scarlet letter" being red-colored. In the novel, the adjective "scarlet" wasn't only used in the symbolic sense (scarlet meaning "grossly and glaringly offensive" in the sense of "sinning in flagrant and scarlet fashion" [deriving from the use of the word in Isaiah 1:18 & Revelation 17:1-6], thus being associated with sexual immorality); the letter sewn onto Hester Prynne's clothing in the novel actually was colored scarlet, albeit it was sewn to her clothing with gold thread. In the words of Hawthorne, "...[W]ith all the townspeople assembled and levelling their stern regards at Hester Prynne, - yes, at herself, - who stood on the scaffold of the pillory, an infant on her arm, and the letter A, in scarlet, fantastically embroidered with gold thread, upon her bosom!" (Chapter Two).

Movie Connections:

Version of The Scarlet Letter (1917)

An excellent production of Hawthorne's book!

Don't let Michael's comment deter you from watching this very faithful, well-acted AND produced version of the book. If actually reading the book itself isn't your cup of tea, you won't go wrong by viewing this 4-hour, videotaped production from PBS. Its leads are excellently and richly portrayed - it has a fine sense of time and place - and only the quite inept view of the Salem Custom House (special effects creation) stands as less than exemplary. The director clearly wanted a sense of the realism of the pounding sea in the scene with Hester & Roger, which heightens the emotional urgency, and the baby crying is annoying because a baby crying is often QUITE ANNOYING! If a dramatic presentation of the tale is your interest, you won't go wrong with this one.