The Jewel in the Crown 

The British Raj: though their position seems secure, thoughtful English men and women know that "their" time in India is coming to an end. The story begins with an unjust arrest for rape, ... See full summary »

Stars:

Tim Pigott-Smith, Geraldine James, Wendy Morgan

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 10 wins & 18 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Tim Pigott-Smith	...	Ronald Merrick 13 episodes, 1984
Geraldine James	...	Sarah Layton 12 episodes, 1984
Wendy Morgan	...	Susan Layton 11 episodes, 1984
Judy Parfitt	...	Mildred Layton 9 episodes, 1984
Rosemary Leach	...	Aunt Fenny 7 episodes, 1984
Peggy Ashcroft	...	Barbie Batchelor 7 episodes, 1984
Geoffrey Beevers	...	Kevin Coley 7 episodes, 1984
Eric Porter	...	Dimitri Bronowsky 6 episodes, 1984
Nicholas Le Prevost	...	Nigel Rowan 6 episodes, 1984
Art Malik	...	Hari Kumar 6 episodes, 1984
Derrick Branche	...	Ahmed Kasim 6 episodes, 1984

Storyline

The British Raj: though their position seems secure, thoughtful English men and women know that "their" time in India is coming to an end. The story begins with an unjust arrest for rape, and the consequences of this echo through the series. Questions of identity and personal responsibility are explored against a background of war and personal intrigue.

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Plot Keywords:

cricket the sport | male frontal nudity | male nudity | rape | india | 

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Genres:

Drama | History | Romance | War

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 January 1984 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Jewel in the Crown

Filming Locations:

Kashmir, India

Company Credits

Production Co:

Granada Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

778 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Part of an early 1980s cycle of British productions set in India. These included Gandhi (1982), Heat and Dust (1983), The Far Pavilions (1984), A Passage to India (1984), Octopussy (1983) and The Jewel in the Crown (1984).

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Quotes

Dimitri Bronowsky: [looks at Perron's shoulder-tabs] Tell me what this stands for - AEC?
Capt. Ronald Merrick: [quickly] Army Education Corps.
Dimitri Bronowsky: I see. Tell me - how does one educate an army?
Guy Perron: One tries to see to it that it doesn't get bored.

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Connections

Featured in The Story of the Costume Drama: The Stars (2008)

User Reviews

Not a soap opera after all

The person who wrote the other review here dismays me. I loved The Jewel In The Crown and highly recommend it! I think it's a very skillful and successful adaptation for TV from fiction.

My own views about this series have changed -- from good to better. A few years ago, I rented it and watched it over a couple days. I thought it was very good, a haunting, tragic story very well done. I realize now that I watched it then very literally, very matter-of-fact, and saw it mostly as a straightforward series of events in the lives of these people trying to cope with the turmoil of the last days of the British in India. I viewed it mostly as a sort of soap opera.

Recently I read all four of the books from which this story was taken, and what an illumination! These novels are brilliant, and I'm stunned with admiration for the talent of the writer, Paul Scott. So after turning the last page, I hot-footed it down to my local video store and rented the whole shebang AGAIN -- and this time saw it as a giant allegory, laden with symbolism, foreshadowing, and irony. The acting is top notch across the board -- you won't find better -- and it's visually striking. There are scenes in this movie that I'll never forget, in the same way the characters are haunted by them.

Instead of a meandering and random soap opera, I saw how event built upon event, how characters affected one another, how chance meetings changed lives, how it all slouched inexorably towards the climax -- or anticlimax -- of the devastating conclusion.

I am amazed at the skillfulness of the screenplay -- to compress those four novels and all their layers of complexity into this TV series. It really is astonishing how the *intent* and *spirit* of the story is communicated... it's not bashing you over the head, but it's *implied*.

I love how the story does not spoon-feed you. I love how the characters don't make sense and we must puzzle them out for ourselves. We're left with a hundred questions about why they did what they did, and I will enjoy speculating about that for years to come. (If you like pat answers, steer clear of this one.)

I loved this series, I intend to buy the videos, and I highly recommend it.