Sharpe's Gold (TV programme)
| Sharpe's Gold | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Bernard Cornwell (novel) Nigel Kneale |
| Directed by | Tom Clegg |
| Starring | Sean Bean Daragh O'Malley Hugh Fraser John Tams Michael Mears Jason Salkey Lyndon Davies Hugh Ross Rosaleen Linehan Jayne Ashbourne |
| Country of origin |  United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Running time | 100 min. |
| Original release | |
| Release | 1995 |
Sharpe's Gold is a 1995 British television drama, part of a series screened on the ITV network that follows the career of Richard Sharpe, a British soldier during the Napoleonic Wars. The drama has almost nothing in common with the novel of the same name by Bernard Cornwell. Scriptwriter Nigel Kneale explained, "I didn't use much of [the book]. I used the first ten pages, I think. Then I had an idea which would be more fun to do. It was all about magic by the time I was through with it."[1]
Plot summary
Bess Nugent (Rosaleen Linehan) and her daughter Ellie (Jayne Ashbourne), visit their close relative Lord Wellington (Hugh Fraser) in Spain during the Peninsular War. They are there to search for Bess's husband, Will (Peter Eyre). Wellington however refuses to assist their foolhardy mission, demanding they go home to Ireland.
Meanwhile, Major Richard Sharpe (Sean Bean) is assigned the task of handing over 50 rifles in exchange for some British deserters caught by a Spanish guerrilla leader named El Casco (Abel Folk). The two ladies catch up to Sharpe's detachment, forcing him to take them along for their protection. The trade goes as planned. However, when he starts back without helping the Nugents, they ride off, forcing Sharpe to go after them.
The ladies encounter El Casco's men; Bess is killed and Ellie taken captive. When she is taken to El Casco's cave lair, she finds her father, though he has become deranged, presumably after witnessing atrocities committed by the Spaniards (they believe they are descendants of the Aztecs and cut out the hearts of French prisoners). Sharpe tracks them down, fights the Spaniards and rescues Ellie and her father. El Casco wounds Sharpe, but is killed by Sergeant Harper (Daragh O'Malley).
Cast
| Actor | Character |
|---|---|
| Sean Bean | Richard Sharpe |
| Daragh O'Malley | Sergeant Patrick Harper |
| Hugh Fraser | Sir Arthur Wellesley |
| Hugh Ross | Major Mungo Munro |
| Michael Mears | Rifleman Francis Cooper |
| John Tams | Rifleman Daniel Hagman |
| Jason Salkey | Rifleman Harris |
| Lyndon Davies | Rifleman Perkins |
| Rosaleen Linehan | Bess Nugent |
| Jayne Ashbourne | Ellie Nugent |
| Peter Eyre | Will Nugent |
| Abel Folk | El Casco |
| Philip McGough | Provost Marshal |
| Ian Shaw | Lieutenant Ayres |
| Julian Sims | Lieutenant Barbier |
| Diana Perez | Ramona |
| Philip Dowd | Rifleman Skillicorn |
| Peter-Hugo Daly | Sergeant Rodd |
| Nicholas McGaughey | Tripper |
| Jake Abraham | Donkin |
| Jonathan McGuinness | Bewley |