Jane Eyre 1956 at BFI

The Gothic: Love is a Devil BFI season is giving Brontëites rare chances to rescue early BBC Brontë adaptations like this one:

Jane Eyre 1956

A major production in its day, this BBC adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s novel is one of the earliest surviving complete TV series.

Jan 12, 2014 2:30 PM BBC 1956
Directed by Campbell Logan
With Stanley Baker, Daphne Slater.
Running time 180 min + interval

The chemistry between Stanley Baker’s Rochester and Daphne Slater’s Jane Eyre makes this adaptation by Constance Cox and Ian Dallas special. A major production for 1956 that stretched resources to the limits, it is an affecting and atmospheric six-part drama that tells Brontë’s story in great depth. Historically important as one of the earliest surviving complete TV series, it is intelligently written and performed – and offers a rare opportunity to see the great Stanley Baker in a period role on television. – Marcus Prince

Jane Eyre 1944 will also be screened in the following days:

Jane Eyre 1944

Joan Fontaine embarks on a doomed romance in Robert Stevenson's atmospheric adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s novel.

Jan 15, 2014 8:40 PM Jan 17, 2014 8:30 PM Jan 19, 2014 6:20 PM

USA 1944
Directed by Robert Stevenson.
With Orson Welles, Joan Fontaine, Margaret O’Brien.
Running time 96 min

The heady Gothic atmosphere in Charlotte Brontë’s novel is pushed to the hilt in Robert Stevenson’s adaptation. Shot on sound stages, it still captures the bleakness of the Yorkshire moors better than many other versions. Joan Fontaine makes a nervous but sympathetic Jane Eyre, who survives a rough upbringing to take a job as a governess at Thornfield Hall, where she begins a doomed romance with the brooding Edward Rochester, played with real relish by Orson Welles. – James Bell