- Author Catherine Cookson penned almost one hundred novels in her ninety-one years, most dealing with life in her native northeast England. 'The Gambling Man,' one of those many stories, is brought to the small screen, and held this viewer's interest until the third act. Rory (Robson Green) is a young man in 1870's England.
- Get this from a library! The gambling man. Ray Marshall; Norman Stone; Robson Green; Sylvestra Le Touzel; Catherine Cookson; Tyne Tees Television.; Time Life (Firm); Granada International.; - 'Rory Connor knows what he wants and knows he won't get it working as a rent collector in the slums of South Shields.
- Catherine Cookson Gambling Man Cast List
- Catherine Cookson Gambling Man Cast Members
- Catherine Cookson Gambling Man Cast And Crew
- Catherine Cookson Gambling Man Cast Of Characters
Catherine Cookson was born in Tyne Dock, the illegitimate daughter of a poverty-stricken woman, Kate, who Catherine believed was her older sister. Catherine began work in service but eventually moved south to Hastings, where she met and married Tom Cookson, a local grammar-school master. A list of 21 films compiled on Letterboxd, including The Fifteen Streets (1989), The Black Velvet Gown (1993), The Black Candle (1991), The Man Who Cried (1993) and The Gambling Man (1995). About this list: All the films based on the novels of Catherine Cookson. Discover how BFI NETWORK is supporting new and emerging filmmakers; I want to See projects backed by the BFI. Get help as a new filmmaker and find out about NETWORK.
| The Gambling Man | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Period drama |
| Written by | Catherine Cookson (novel, 1975) Trevor Bowen (screenplay) |
| Starring | Robson Green Sylvestra Le Touzel Stephanie Putson |
| Music by | David Ferguson |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 3 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 150 minutes (three episodes of 50 minutes) |
| Production company | Tyne Tees Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV |
| Picture format | 16:9 |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | 26 February – 12 March 1995 |
The Gambling Man is a British three-part television serial, or long TV movie, first broadcast in 1995, starring Robson Green, directed by Norman Stone, based on a novel by Catherine Cookson.
Catherine Cookson Gambling Man Cast List
Outline[edit]
Rory Connor (Robson Green) is a rent-collector on Tyneside with a passion for playing poker for high stakes, while Janie Waggett (Stephanie Putson) is the woman who loves him, standing by him through many troubles. Charlotte Kean (Sylvestra Le Touzel) is Connor's employer, and she too finds him attractive. He gets into bad company in the dark world of gambling, and is so sure that poker is his way to riches that he makes a terrible decision.[1]
The plot may be partly autobiographical, as Catherine Cookson’s own father was a bigamist and a gambler.[2]
Production[edit]
Producer Ray Marshall bought the film rights to several of the period works of Catherine Cookson, beginning in 1989 with The Fifteen Streets, which had been turned into a successful stage play. These productions, sponsored by Tyne Tees Television, were very popular and drew between ten and fourteen million viewers each.[3]
Cast[edit]
- Robson Green as Rory Connor
- Stephanie Putson as Janie Waggett
- Ian Cullen as Paddy Connor
- David Nellist as Jimmy Connor
- Sylvestra Le Touzel as Charlotte Kean
- Bernard Hill as Frank Nickle
- Sammy Johnson as Victor Pittie
- David Haddow as John George Armstrong
- John Middleton as Mr Buckham
- Frank Mills as Mr Kean
- Ron Donachie as Alec McLean
- Peter Marshall as Chief Constable
- Alan Mason as Mr Dryden
- Richard Franklin as Gambler
- T. R. Bowen as Mr Arden
- Jean Southern as Mrs Tyler
- Paul Colman as Gambler
- Max Smith as Bill Waggett
- Anne Kent as Lizzie O'Dowd
- Dennis Lingard as Little Joe
- Allen Mechen as Dan Pittie
- Ron Senior Jr. as Sam Pittie
- Amber Styles as Ruth Connor
- Margery Bone as Maggie Ridley
- Lyn Douglas as Grannie Waggett
- Sarah Finch as Mrs Buckham
- Joe Ging as Dr Munday
- Johnny Caesar as Mr Grable
- Jan Gordon as Woman at Wedding
- Tony Hodge as Oakshott
- Jim Killeen as Man at Gaming House
- Anissa Ladjemi as Widow's Child
- George Lavella as Look-Out Boy
- Peter Marriner as Police Sergeant
- Nick Nancarrow as Nipper
- Bryan St. John as Older Policeman
Notes[edit]
- ^5 REASONS WHY YOU MIGHT NOT ROOT FOR ROBSON IN THE GAMBLING MAN at uktv.co.uk, accessed 8 May 2020
- ^16 facts about Dame Catherine Cookson on her 110th birthday in Shields Gazette, 27 June 2016, archived here
- ^Julie Anne Taddeo, ed., Catherine Cookson Country: On the Borders of Legitimacy, Fiction, and History (Routledge, 2016), p. 172
External links[edit]
- The Gambling Man on IMDb
- The Gambling Man (Part 1) full episode at dailymotion.com
You are in: Tyne > Entertainment > Hollywood On Tyne > TV on Tyne > Catherine Cookson on screen
South Shields-born Catherine Cookson's books and the films they were made into have captured the hearts of millions of people over the years.
Dame Catherine Cookson's work helped to put the North East firmly on the map.
Her fiction was set in the region and millions of copies were sold around the world.
Then when the books were made into films, North East locations were used, taking the region's locations into people's living rooms.
The man responsible for bringing the Cooksons to the screen was Ray Marshall with his company Festival Films and Television.
Long-running franchise
Between 1989 and 2001, he produced 18 mini-series of Dame Catherine's work.
He said: 'It was about 12 or 13 years so it was the major thing that I have done in my career by a mile.
'It was really what established my company firmly as a big drama producer. It was incredibly important as was my relationship with Catherine Cookson.'
Ray started off the franchise with The Fifteen Streets in 1989 and the last one was A Dinner of Herbs in 2001.
He said it was important to set the films in the North East as the books were.
North East locations
Among the locations used in the films were Alnwick Castle, Belsay Hall, Marsden Grotto and the Cheviot hills.
In The Moth, Eshott Hall, in Northumberland, was chosen as the location for a major fire scene.
Tow Law moor, in County Durham, was used to recreate an action scene from World War I for The Cinder Path.
A mine was recreated in a factory near Gateshead in Tilly Trotter and in The Glass Virgin, Newcastle's Hanover Street was transformed into a 1850s street.
Ray said: 'I think the North East became very much part of my life for a while. I sort of felt a bit like an honorary Tynesider just for having spent so much time there.
Catherine Cookson Gambling Man Cast Members
'Her work was very much grounded in the North East.'
He said he thought the films had played a key role in bringing the North East to a wider audience in the 80s and 90s.
Another characteristic of the films was their ability to cast young actors who went on to enjoy successful careers alongside more established names.
Among those who starred in the Cooksons were Sean Bean, Catherine Zeta Jones, Robson Green and Emilia Fox.
Ray said: 'I think the casting in the Cooksons was so crucial to its success.'
Catherine Cookson Gambling Man Cast And Crew
Enduring interest
He said it is difficult to pick out a favourite from the films, although The Fifteen Streets has a special place in his heart because it was the first one.
Ray said he would love to make another Cookson film but it would all be dependent on getting the funding into place. The next one he would like to bring to the screen is Katie Mulholland.
He also said he wasn't surprised at the enduring interest in her work.
'I think she had a massive fanbase when she was alive. I think that fanbase hasn't really gone away,' he said.
last updated: 11/06/2008 at 11:08
created: 11/06/2008
SEE ALSO
Catherine Cookson Gambling Man Cast Of Characters
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