Paul Daneman (1925–2001)

Inevitably, I compare his listening of this dramatization to the recent Pete Jackson movies. Personally, I think this 1968 BBC Radio 4 dramatization hold up quite well. The various voice actors seem to exude even a joy with bringing to life this English language classic. It is really only fair to compare the dialog and audio features of the two adaptations. This BBC adaptation for me meets or exceeds the Jackson films on key scenes and even surpasses for charm and entertainment in two show more places: (1) the overture-like character introduction when Bilbo has unexpected company in a hobbit hole-full of Dwarves and (2) when Gandalf goes Scheherazade telling stories to Beorn while introducing the company slowly by twos. show less

The book itself good like listening to a tall tale in an ale house. But I found the BBC production hard to follow and had to keep adjusting the volume.

A delightful adaptation, though I never quite got used to the voices, coming from the later BBC dramatization of the Lord of the Rings and the much more recent film adaptations. It feels much older for sure, but there's a charm to that, too.

The Hobbit itself- 5 stars
This recording- 2.8 stars

If you are looking for a high quality dramatization, just wait for Andy Serkis' version to come out and buy that. This one is not worth it- it is abridged and was recorded around 30 years ago. Several of the voice actors weren't too bad, but others were difficult to listen to (combination of the recording quality and the voice they chose for that character). If you can get this for free, try it and see what you think. But definitely do not show more spend money on it. show less