This is the oldest adaptation of Pride and Prejudice ever, on television BEFORE WWII, and two years before the Garson/Olivier movie.
Even without the BBC's 1995 adaptation as a benchmark, you'd expect pre-war television to be primitive, clumsy, and silly. Also, it seems impossible to fit Jane Austen's novel in a 1 hour program. This could never have been a serious program. Or so I thought.
But all those assumptions are completely wrong for the BBC's 1938 Pride & Prejudice. There is a full transcript of the program and it must have been very enjoyable. The screenplay by Michael Barry starts off calmly, with the well-known characters and the favorite scenes. The silly arguments between Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, the extremely silly Mr. Collins, they all get the attention and time they deserve. There are even some short outdoor scenes, that seem to be there only to let us know that these people weren't inside all the time.
Of course, big slices have been cut out of the story. There are many events that we don't get to see. But the longest jump forward is in fact quite ingenious: Darcy's letter is followed by the report of the elopement, which immediately vindicates all his claims. This way, all the characters can stay true to how they were written, and how you want them to be. Nothing they say or do contradicts expectations. That's quite a nice touch.
I'm giving this full marks because not only did they get the tone right, but it was so early on in television history! In fact, if they wanted to, the BBC could shoot the same script again as a re-enactment. (No reason why a one-hour version couldn't co-exist with the 1995 series.)
Note. No, this review is not written by a nonagenerian. A comprehensive script survives in excellent quality at the BBC, complete with description of sets and camera angles. This review is based on that document, and not on anyone's pre-war memories.
