1968 The Hobbit (BBC Radio Drama)

Release Date: 1968.09.29
Reader: Full Cast
Language: English
Adapted By: Michael Kilgarriff
Organization: BBC Radio 4
Copyright: © 1968 BBC Worldwide
Duration: 3 hours 45 mins
Unabridged: No
Country: UK
Licenced: Yes
Formats: Cassette, CD, Digital

One of the the first major broadcast dramatization of Tolkien’s work, airing just as the great surge of interest in Tolkien of the 1960s was peaking. It was a largely faithful adaptation with the addition of a narrator in the form of The Tale Bearer with whom Bilbo often interjects his own comments or corrections in a playful banter.

Originally made as 8 episodes, when repeated again in 1991, it was re-edited into 4. The 1997 CD release added a bonus disc of 4 extra music tracks by David Cain which have also been released on vinyl by BBC Records and were performed by David Munrow and the Early Music Consort of London. There was also a printed personal memoir by John Powell, the series producer. It was adapted by Michael Kilgarriff.

Interestingly, this 1968 script incorporates names and lore from The Lord of the Rings (which had been published 14 years prior), such as using the name Thranduil for the Elvenking and referring to Middle-earth by name – details not found in the original 1937 Hobbit text.

The production features a haunting, harpsichord-heavy score and renditions of the songs especially the Dwarves’ “Far Over the Misty Mountains Cold”.

In the 1970s, the BBC destroyed the master tapes, along with many others as the BBC did not usually retain recordings. The series was thankfully recovered from a taped off-air recording.

Broadcast History

#	Broadcast	Repeat	Repeat	Title
1	1968.09.29	1968.10.01	1991.12.25	An Unexpected Party
2	1968.10.06	1968.10.08	1991.12.25	Out of the Frying-pan into the Fire
3	1968.10.13	1968.10.15	1991.12.26	Riddles in the Dark
4	1968.10.20	1968.10.22	1991.12.26	Strange Lodgings
5	1968.10.27	1968.10.29	1991.12.27	Barrels out of Bond
6	1968.11.03	1968.11.05	1991.12.27	A Warm Welcome
7	1968.11.10	1968.11.12	1991.12.28	The Gathering of the Clouds
8	1968.11.17	1968.11.19	1991.12.28	The Clouds Burst

Release History

List below is partial and will grow over time

1988	UK	BBC Enterprises Ltd.	0563225610	ZBBC 1038
Rigid card box containing 4 single cassette boxes with gold inlay cards.

1988	USA	Bantom DoubleDay Dell Audio	9780553471076	YA149 BBC002
Card box containing a plastic tray holding 4 cassettes.

1988	USA	Random House Audio Publishing Group	9780807288832	YA149
Card box (illustrated by Alan Howe) containing a plastic tray holding 4 cassettes. ISBN-10: 0807288837

1989	USA	Mind’s Eye	1559350326	52495
Plastic case holding 4 cassettes. Two variations – the white and the black – externally different but the cassettes appear identical.

1992	UK	BBC Enterprises Ltd.	0563225610	ZBBC 1038 CE Ltd
Centenary Limited Numbered Edition. The same rigid card box containing 4 single cassette boxes with gold inlay cards as the 1988 ZBBC 1038, however box is not printed with ISBN-10 and but does have additional Centenary artwork. Also contains booklet.

1994	UK	BBC Enterprises Ltd	056340227X	YBBC 4009
Card box containing a plastic tray holding 4 cassettes.

1997	UK	BBC Worldwide Ltd	0563389990	ZBBC 1925 CD
Card box containing a folder held by two plastic rivets with 4 CDs plus 1 CD of theme and incidental music. Silver & green printed discs. 1 x 480mm x 360mm fold out of Wilderland Map 1 x 16 page booklet

1997	USA	Bantum DoubleDay	7678303995	45562
Card box containing a folder (no plastic rivets) with 4 CDs plus 1 CD of theme and incidental music. Silver & green printed discs. Essentially the same tho simpler construction than ZBBC 1925 CD 1 x 480mm x 360mm fold out of Wilderland Map 1 x 16 page booklet

1997	USA	BBC Worldwide Ltd	9780553455625	BBC 002CD
Nested fold tray holders with printed backing holding 4 CDs plus 1 CD of theme and incidental music. Silver printed discs. 1 x 480mm x 360mm fold out of Wilderland Map 1 x 16 page booklet

1998	DE	Der Hörverlag	ISBN-13: 9783899400670	ISBN-10: 3899400674
BBC Worldwide Ltd release via Der Hörverlag in Germany. 4 CDs

1998.07.06	UK	BBC Worldwide Ltd	9780563557876	ZBBC 1925
Card slip box holding two double cassette plastic holders with printed, fold out inlays. ISBN-10: 0563557877. 1 x 480mm x 360mm fold out of Wilderland Map

1999	UK	BBC Worldwide Ltd	ISBN-13: 9780563558323	ISBN-10: 0563558326
Two double cassette plastic holders with printed, fold out inlays. No map or booklet.

2002	UK	BBC Worldwide Ltd	ISBN-13: 9780563528807	ISBN-10: 056352880X
Two double CD plastic holders with printed, fold out inlays. No map or booklet.

2002.11.11	UK	BBC Worldwide Ltd	ISBN-13: 9780563528449	ISBN-10: 0563528443
Essentially just a card sleeve around ZBBC 1925 CD The Hobbit and ZBBC 1050 The Lord of the Rings.

2003.09.01	USA	Random House Audio	ISBN-13: 9780739310113	RHCD 412
JRR Tolkien Gift Set combines two of the BBC dramatisations – 1968 The Hobbit (5 CDs) and the 1981 The Lord of the Rings (12 CDs) in a single box with a holographic rendition of John Howe’s The Fall of Gondolin. ISBN-10: 0739310119

2003	DE	Der Hörverlag	ISBN-13: 9783899400670	ISBN-10: 3899400674
BBC Worldwide Ltd release via Der Hörverlag in Germany. Two double-CD jewel cases with printed inlay and small booklet.

2003	DE	Der Hörverlag	ISBN-13: 9783899400670	ISBN-10: 3899400674
BBC Worldwide Ltd release via Der Hörverlag in Germany. Soft card sleeve box containing two double-CD jewel cases with printed inlays.

2008.07.29	USA	BBC Audiobooks America	ISBN-13: 9781602834545	52995
Soft card box holding foldable cd card holder for 5 cds including the music tracks and an interview with JRR Tolkien.

2009.09.08	USA	BBC Audiobooks America	ISBN-13: 9781602836617	ISBN-10: ‎ 1602836612
The JRR Tolkien Collection box set contains the BBC dramatisations of 1968 The Hobbit (4 CDs – no music), the 1981 The Lord of the Rings (12 CDs), the Tales From the Perilous Realm productions as well as JRR Tolkien: An Audio Portrait documentary by Brian Sibley. There is also included a foldout map of Middle-earth at the end of The Third Age by Christopher Tolkien, commonly found in The Lord of the Rings.

2009	UK	BBC Worldwide	ISBN-13: 9781602836617	59995
The JRR Tolkien Collection box set contains the BBC dramatisations of 1968 The Hobbit (4 CDs – no music), the 1981 The Lord of the Rings (12 CDs), the Tales From the Perilous Realm productions as well as JRR Tolkien: An Audio Portrait documentary by Brian Sibley. The UK version of this release does not include a map and may have been intended for libraries only.

2011	UK	AudioGo Ltd	ISBN-13: 9781445861500
The Lord Of The Rings – The Hobbit combines two of the BBC dramatisations – 1968 The Hobbit (5 CDs) and the 1981 The Lord of the Rings (14 CDs) in a single box. Each volume is held in printed fold out card sleeve (with slot pockets) and with track listing and other notes. All within printed card box sleeve. Includes 2 PDF maps (one for each story). No obvious catalogue number.

2012	UK	AudioGo Ltd	ISBN-13: 9781445846637
Clear PVC case containing 5 CDs and a double sided, printed inlay.

Digital Platform Releases

2007.11.21	UK	BBC Digital Audio	Audible.co.uk
2007.11.21	DE	BBC Digital Audio	Audible.de
2007.11.21	USA	BBC Digital Audio	Audible.com

Cast

Balin	Peter Pratt
Bard the Bowman	Peter Williams
Beorn	Denys Hawthorne
Bert, Bifur, Dáin II Ironfoot	Brian Haines
Bilbo	Paul Daneman
Bill	Victor Lucas
Bofur, Great Goblin	Denis McCarthy
Bombur	Duncan McIntyre
Dori	Alexander John
Dwalin	Lockwood West
Elf Guard, Elves, Goblins	Hayden Jones
Elrond	John Pullen
Elvenking	Leonard Fenton
Fíli	David Brierly
Herald of Laketown	Ian Thompson
Galion, Glóin	Peter Baldwin
Gandalf	Heron Carvic
Gollum	Wolfe Morris
Great Goblin	Denis McCarthy
Kíli	Nicholas Edmett
Master of Laketown	John Bryning
Nori	Anthony Viccars
Óin	Rolf Lefebvre
Ori	Wilfred Carter
Roäc	John Wyse
Smaug	Francis de Wolff
Spider	Greta Gouriet
Spider	Betty Hardy
Spider	Hilda Kriseman
The Tale Bearer	Anthony Jackson
Thorin	John Justin
Thrush	Marjorie Westbury

Crew

Music composed	David Cain
Music performed	David Munrow with The Early Music Consort
Special sound effects and voice treatments	David Cain and Dick Mills, BBC Radiophonic Workshop
Produced	John Powell

CD Track Listing

CD1	An Unexpected Party
1-1	Mr Bilbo Baggins	2:36
1-2	Gandalf The Wizard	3:44
1-3	Thirteen Dwarves	4:00
1-4	Song Of The Dwarves	3:03
1-5	Dark Business	5:38
1-6	A Map And A Silver Key	4:11
1-7	Interrupted Breakfast	4:06
CD1	Out Of The Frying-Pan Into The Fire
1-8	A Strange And Dreary Weather	4:06
1-9	The Trolls	5:58
1-10	In The Trolls’ Cave	3:01
1-11	The Valley Of Rivendell	4:47
1-12	Elrond Interprets The Map	2:30
1-13	The Goblins	6:19
CD2	Riddles In The Dark
2-1	The Cavern Of The Great Goblin	4:12
2-2	The Battle Against The Goblins	3:52
2-3	Bilbo Finds The Ring	4:26
2-4	Riddling Gollum	4:54
2-5	The Lost Birthday Present	4:52
2-6	Towards The Back Door	4:57
CD2	Strange Lodgings
2-7	The Edge Of The Land Beyond	3:42
2-8	Wargs	5:20
2-9	The Lord Of The Eagles	5:02
2-10	Beorn	5:56
2-11	The Elves Of Mirkwood	6:26
CD3	Barrels Out Of Bond
3-1	Straying From The Path	4:30
3-2	Bilbo Alone	5:02
3-3	Spiders	5:18
3-4	Captured By Wood-Elves	5:44
3-5	Bilbo’s Plan Of Escape	5:45
CD3	A Warm Welcome
3-6	The Gates Of Lake-Town	4:19
3-7	Hospitality At Esgaroth	5:18
3-8	The Secret Of The Door	6:02
3-9	Smaug	6:03
3-10	Never Laugh At A Live Dragon	4:39
CD4	The Gathering Of The Clouds
4-1	A Burglar Indeed	5:36
4-2	Bard The Archer	5:25
4-3	The Raven’s Warning	5:14
4-4	The Besiegers’ Terms	2:57
4-5	Bilbo’s Plan For Peace	5:07
4-6	Thorin’s Rage	2:27
CD4	The Clouds Burst
4-7	Dain’s Arrival	4:45
4-8	The Battle Of Five Armies	4:00
4-9	Farewell To The King Under The Mountain	3:41
4-10	The Return Journey Begins	2:59
4-11	At Rivendell Once More	6:25
4-12	Epilogue	4:43
CD5	Music
5-1	Opening And Bilbo’s Theme	1:58
5-2	Elves’ Dances	1:38
5-3	Bilbo’s Lullaby	2:10
5-4	Fanfare And Dance In Esgaroth	3:30