Spanish Flu: The Forgotten Fallen
| Spanish Flu: The Forgotten Fallen | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Historical drama |
| Written by | Peter Harness |
| Story by | Peter Guinness |
| Directed by | Justin Hardy |
| Starring | Bill Paterson Mark Gatiss Kenneth Cranham Charlotte Riley |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Patrick Spence |
| Producer | Susan Horth |
| Cinematography | Douglas Hartington |
| Editor | Alastair Reid |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production companies | Hardy Pictures Hardy and Sons |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC Four |
| Release | 5 August 2009 |
Spanish Flu: The Forgotten Fallen is a 2009 television drama. It is a dramatization of Dr James Niven's attempts to deal with the Spanish flu, a 1918-1920 flu pandemic, in Manchester.[1][2] It was written by Peter Harness and it starred Bill Paterson as Niven, along with Mark Gatiss, Kenneth Cranham and Charlotte Riley. It was first broadcast on BBC Four on 5 August 2009.
Plot
[edit]As millions of soldiers return home from the First World War, a new disease begins to sweep through Britain. Focusing on an outbreak in Manchester, its Medical Officer of Health James Niven struggles to combat the pandemic as the public, for various reasons, fail to take action.
Cast
[edit]- Bill Paterson as Dr James Niven
- Mark Gatiss as Ernest Dunks
- Charlotte Riley as Peggy Lytton
- Kenneth Cranham as MJ O'Loughlin
Reception
[edit]The series was broadcast around the time of the 2009 swine flu pandemic, which several reviews noted the timeliness of.[3][4] Tim Teeman of The Times called it 'brilliantly acted and written'.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ "BBC Four – Spanish Flu: The Forgotten Fallen".
- ^ "Spanish Flu: The Forgotten Fallen".
- ^ "Who do You Think You Are? | Spanish Flu: The Forgotten Fallen | TV Review". The Guardian. 5 August 2009.
- ^ "Last Night's Television: Spanish flu – the forgotten fallen". The Independent. London. 5 August 2009. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022.
- ^ Teeman, Tim. "The Spanish Flu: The Forgotten Fallen; Who do You Think You Are?".
External links
[edit]
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- Spanish flu pandemic in popular culture
- Health in Greater Manchester
- History of Manchester
- History of medicine in the United Kingdom
- 2009 television films
- 2009 films
- BBC television dramas
- Films directed by Justin Hardy
- Science docudramas
- Films with screenplays by Peter Harness
- British World War I films
- Films about influenza outbreaks
- British docudrama films
- 2000s British films
- British drama television films
- British television film stubs
- Epidemic stubs