The self-effacing hero of Far From the Madding Crowd, Gabriel Oak, is enduring hard times and fails to get a summer’s work at an agricultural hiring fair in Casterbridge (Dorchester). <br /><br />In the novel, he moves on; in the 1968 film, however, a scene is added. In the evening, to earn a few pennies and, perhaps, to raise his spirits, he indulges in a little busking, playing a folk dance on his flute, an instrument he learned in happier times. <br /><br />As he plays, we see the end of a busy day, families helping each other, farmers bidding their farewells, and a few men dance in response to Gabriel's tune; a gentle air of subdued cheer takes over the mood of the film. The dancers are stallholders and unhired hands, stoic in the face of their difficulties, taking a little joy from life where they can. Watching on and quietly enjoying the spectacle is ‘Old Samways’, once a valued agricultural worker, now, as he ages, grateful to have been hired at a reduced rate. <br /><br />This was filmed in the Market Square in Devizes, outside the Bear Hotel. The dancers were extras hired for the daytime hiring fair scene, who happened to be members of a local folk-dancing club; my understanding is that their presence inspired the film crew to create this unscripted additional scene.
