The Hobbit

### September 21, 1937: Original Novel

***The Hobbit***, or There and Back Again is a children's fantasy novel by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald Tribune for best juvenile fiction. The book remains popular and is recognised as a classic in children's literature.

The Hobbit is set in a time "between the Dawn of Færie and the Dominion of Men", and follows the quest of home-loving hobbit Bilbo Baggins to win a share of the treasure guarded by Smaug the dragon. Bilbo's journey takes him from light-hearted, rural surroundings into more sinister territory.

The story is told in the form of an episodic quest, and most chapters introduce a specific creature or type of creature of Tolkien's geography. Bilbo gains a new level of maturity, competence, and wisdom by accepting the disreputable, romantic, fey, and adventurous sides of his nature and applying his wits and common sense. The story reaches its climax in the Battle of the Five Armies, where many of the characters and creatures from earlier chapters re-emerge to engage in conflict.

Personal growth and forms of heroism are central themes of the story, along with motifs of warfare. These themes have led critics to view Tolkien's own experiences during World War I as instrumental in shaping the story. The author's scholarly knowledge of Germanic philology and interest in fairy tales are often noted as influences.

The publisher was encouraged by the book's critical and financial success and, therefore, requested a sequel. As Tolkien's work progressed on the successor The Lord of the Rings, he made retrospective accommodations for it in The Hobbit. These few but significant changes were integrated into the second edition. Further editions followed with minor emendations, including those reflecting Tolkien's changing concept of the world into which Bilbo stumbled.

The work has never been out of print. Its ongoing legacy encompasses many adaptations for stage, screen, radio, board games, and video games. Several of these adaptations have received critical recognition on their own merits.

Bilbo Baggins, the titular protagonist, is a respectable, reserved hobbit. During his adventure, Bilbo often refers to the contents of his larder at home and wishes he had more food. Until he finds a magic ring, he is more baggage than help. Gandalf, an itinerant wizard, introduces Bilbo to a company of thirteen dwarves. During the journey the wizard disappears on side errands dimly hinted at, only to appear again at key moments in the story. Thorin Oakenshield, the proud, pompous head of the company of dwarves and heir to the destroyed dwarvish kingdom under the Lonely Mountain, makes many mistakes in his leadership, relying on Gandalf and Bilbo to get him out of trouble, but he proves himself a mighty warrior. Smaug is a dragon who long ago pillaged the dwarvish kingdom of Thorin's grandfather and sleeps upon the vast treasure.

The plot involves a host of other characters of varying importance, such as the twelve other dwarves of the company; two types of elves: both puckish and more serious warrior types; Men; man-eating trolls; boulder-throwing giants; evil cave-dwelling goblins; forest-dwelling giant spiders who can speak; immense and heroic eagles who also speak; evil wolves, or wargs, who are allied with the goblins; Elrond the sage; Gollum, a strange creature inhabiting an underground lake; Beorn, a man who can assume bear form; and Bard the Bowman, a grim but honourable archer of Lake-town.

### June 30, 1966 (US): Animated Short

The 1966 short animated film ***"The Hobbit"*** was the first ever film production of The Hobbit. It was directed by Gene Deitch in Czechoslovakia. American film producer William L. Snyder obtained the rights to the novel from the Tolkien estate very cheaply while it was still largely unknown, with the proviso that he produce a "full-colour film" by June 30, 1966, and immediately set about producing a feature length film, with screenplay by Deitch. The project fell through, but after the explosion in the novel's popularity, Snyder realised that his contract had not required the film to be of any length: he therefore instructed Deitch to create a 12-minute film based on his earlier work so that he could retain his rights. He later sold the rights for around $100,000 (not adjusted for inflation). The final project has very little to do with the source material.

#### Plot Summary

A homebody hobbit finds himself going on a quest to save a dwarven treasure from a dragon in this loose adaptation of the classic novel. IMDb.com

### September 29, 1968: UK Radio Series

The novel was adapted by Michael Kilgarriff and produced by John Powell in eight half-hour mono episodes for BBC Radio 4 broadcast from September 29 to November 17 at 8.30pm.

The radio series follows the plot of the original novel (revised 1951 version) very closely, except for the addition of The Tale Bearer, a narrator whose account of the story is often interrupted and embellished by the protagonist Bilbo Baggins in the role of secondary narrator.

Bilbo is approached by the wizard Gandalf to undertake a dangerous adventure, and despite his initial reluctance he soon finds himself accompanying Thorin Oakenshield and his party of dwarves on a long and difficult quest to recover the dwarves' treasure from Smaug the dragon. On the way, he encounters trolls, goblins, and giant spiders, and finds a magic ring with the power of invisibility.

The cast was largely made up of stage actors but notable cast members include Leonard Fenton (Elvenking), who played Dr Legg in EastEnders; Lockwood West (Dwalin), father of actor Timothy West; and Peter Pratt (Balin), who played the disfigured Master in the Doctor Who story "The Deadly Assassin". Also appearing were Peter Baldwin (Derek Wilton in Coronation Street) and David Brierly (briefly the voice of K-9 in the 1979-80 season of Doctor Who).

Listen to the episodes at archive.org.

### November 27, 1977 (US): TV Movie

> *"Based on the original version of the Hobbit."*
>
>

***The Hobbit*** is a 1977 animated musical television special created by Rankin/Bass, a studio known for their holiday specials, and animated by Topcraft, a precursor to Studio Ghibli, using lyrics adapted from the book. The film is an adaptation of the 1937 book of the same name by J. R. R. Tolkien and was first broadcast on NBC in the United States.

Writer Romeo Muller won a Peabody Award for the teleplay. The film was also nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, but lost to Star Wars.

#### Plot Summary

Bilbo Baggins the Hobbit was just minding his own business, when his occasional visitor Gandalf the Wizard drops in one evening . One by one, a whole group of dwarves drop in, and before he knows it, Bilbo has joined their quest to reclaim their kingdom, taken from them by an evil dragon named Smaug. The only problem is that Gandalf has told the dwarves that Bilbo is an expert burglar, but he isn't.... IMDb.com

#### Selected Cast

* Orson Bean – Bilbo Baggins
* Richard Boone – Smaug
* Hans Conried – Thorin Oakenshield
* John Huston – Gandalf
* Otto Preminger – The Elvenking
* Cyril Ritchard – Elrond
* Theodore – Gollum
* Don Messick – Balin, Goblin, Lord of the Eagles, Troll #3
* John Stephenson – Dori, Bard, Great Goblin

### October 1, 1979: Jackanory (UK TV series)

The BBC children's television series Jackanory presented an adaptation of The Hobbit in 1979. Unusually for the programme, the adaptation was narrated by several people. Bernard Cribbins played Bilbo Baggins and was joined by Maurice Denham and Jan Francis. According to another of the narrators, David Wood, the release of the production on video has been repeatedly stopped by the Tolkien Estate.