Writing

Arthur Hopcraft

Born November 30, 1932 · Shoeburyness, Essex, England, UK

Died November 22, 2004 · aged 71

Arthur Hopcraft (30 November 1932 – 22 November 2004) was a British screenwriter, well known for his TV plays such as The Nearly Man, and for his small-screen adaptations such as Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy; Hard Times, Bleak House, and Rebecca. Before taking up writing for TV, he was a sports journalist for The Guardian and The Observer, writing The Football Man: People and Passions in Soccer. He a…

Known For

AgathaAgatha · 1979
Agatha
6.11979
MovieDramaMystery
England, 1926. An American journalist looks for mystery writer Agatha Christie when she suddenly disappears without explanation, leaving no trace.
Wednesday LoveWednesday Love · 1975
Wednesday Love
1975
MovieDramaTV Movie
Two women, looking for amusement on their afternoons off, visit a drinking club.
HostageHostage · 1992
Hostage
3.81992
MovieThrillerAction
A weary British spy retreats to a Buenos Aires hotel and recalls his last dirty job, complete with lover.
The ReportersThe Reporters · 1972
The Reporters
9.01972
MovieDramaTV Movie
Two provincial newspaper reporters - one a young idealist starting out on his career, the other an embittered man who previously wrote for a failed national daily - swap views.
The Nearly ManThe Nearly Man · 1974
The Nearly Man
1974
MovieDramaTV Movie
A middle class man finds life as a Labour MP challenging.
Jingle BellsJingle Bells · 1973
Jingle Bells
1973
MovieDramaTV Movie
Play by Arthur Hopcraft about Christmas in a Northern town, and the relationship within a family.
Play for TodayPlay for Today · 1970
Play for Today
6.61970
SeriesDrama
Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted. The individual episodes were between fifty and a hundred minutes in duration.
ITV Saturday Night TheatreITV Saturday Night Theatre · 1969
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
7.01969
Series
Anthology series of dramatic works.

Filmography

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Tinker Tailor Soldier SpyTinker Tailor Soldier Spy · 1979
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
7.61979
SeriesWar & PoliticsDrama
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a seven-part BBC2 spy drama written by Arthur Hopcraft, adapted from John le Carré's eponymous 1974 novel. The serial, which stars Alec Guinness, Alexander Knox, Ian Richardson, Michael Jayston, Bernard Hepton, Anthony Bate, Ian Bannen, George Sewell and Michael Aldridge, was broadcast from 10 September to 22 October 1979. George Smiley, the ageing master spy of the Cold War and once heir-apparent to Control, is brought back out of retirement to flush out a top level mole within the Circus. Smiley must travel back through his life and murky workings of the Circus to unravel the net spun by his nemesis Karla 'The Sandman' of the KGB and reveal the identity of the mole before he disappears.

Writer