The Valiant Years

The Valiant Years was a documentary produced by ABC based on the memoirs of Winston Churchill, directed by Anthony Bushell and John Schlesinger, narrated by Gary Merrill and with extracts from the memoirs voiced by Richard Burton. It ran in the United States from 1960 to 1961, in 27 30-minute episodes and was broadcast in the UK by the BBC from February to August 1961. Its incidental music was written by Richard Rodgers, who won an Emmy for it in 1962. Scriptwriters included Victor Wolfson a dramatist and writer, playwright William Templeton, Quentin Reynolds, William L. Shirer, an American journalist, war correspondent and historian, and Richard Tregaskis. One of the programme's London-based producers was actor Patrick Macnee, just prior to his being cast as secret agent John Steed in the long-running cult TV series The Avengers.

Awards

 * Richard Rodgers won an Emmy award in 1962 for the music he wrote for the programme.
 * Victor Wolfson, who wrote several episodes, won an Emmy Award 1960-1961 for Outstanding Writing Achievement in the Documentary Field.

List of episodes

 * 1) The Gathering Storm
 * 2) Combat Deepens
 * 3) Dunkirk
 * 4) French Agony
 * 5) Take One with You
 * 6) The Ravens Remain
 * 7) Struggle at Sea
 * 8) Hinge of Fate
 * 9) Alone no More
 * 10) Out of the East
 * 11) The Torch is Lit
 * 12) Sand and Snow
 * 13) Strike Hard, Strike Home!
 * 14) Closing the Ring
 * 15) Be Sure you Win
 * 16) Turning of the Tide
 * 17) The Die is Cast
 * 18) D-Day
 * 19) Europe Set Ablaze
 * 20) Triumph in France
 * 21) Beginning of the End
 * 22) Final Christmas
 * 23) Yalta
 * 24) Tying the Knot
 * 25) Götterdämmerung
 * 26) Goodbye, Mr Churchill
 * 27) The Will to Victory