The Darwin Adventure
1972 film by Jack Couffer
The Darwin Adventure is a 1972 British drama film directed by Jack Couffer and starring Nicholas Clay, Susan Macready, Ian Richardson, Christopher Martin, Robert Flemyng and Philip Brack. It was written by William Fairchild and released on 27 September 1972, by 20th Century Fox.
Premise
During his 5-year voyage around the world aboard HMS Beagle, a young Charles Darwin adventured into the farthest corners of creation in his search for the truth. A truth which at the time shocked and horrified the world.
Plot
The plot is in two parts. The first concerns Darwin's five-year voyage on HMS Beagle, collecting specimens in South America and the Galapagos Islands. While doing this during his observations he begins to realize that the world may not have been created according to the Bible and begins a path in formulating his theory of evolution. This brings him into conflict with the ship's commander, Captain Fitzroy, a devout Christian.
In the second part, years later, Charles Darwin is back in Britain, now married and with children, writes his book On The Origin of Species. Its publication causes a huge reaction and leads to a famous debate.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “The Darwin Adventure” is 1972 film by Jack Couffer. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Darwin, Adventure and film, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “1972 film by Jack Couffer” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q21527592. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1972.
Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “The Darwin Adventure”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow The Darwin Adventure primary sources, The Darwin Adventure archive and Darwin research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “The Darwin Adventure”?
- Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
- Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “The Darwin Adventure” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.