The Tale of Sweeney Todd character of Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, originated in an 1846–47 penny dreadful entitled "The String of Pearls". In 1847, George Dibdin Pitt adapted the story for a stage melodrama. A directed by George King was the first screen version. Christopher Bond's 1973 stage adaptation was musicalized by Stephen Sondheim in 1979. Schlesinger's film is a dramatic departure from the previous narratives. It dispenses with all the characters except Todd and Lovett, adds the plotline involving the missing diamonds, and offers a completely different reason for Todd's murder spree. The Victorian era locales were filmed in Dublin,
The Tale of Sweeney Todd Ireland. Prior to broadcast, the film had its world premiere at the Hamptons International Film Festival in October 1997. In his review in "New York", John Leonard said, "Much as I’d have imagined that yet another version of "The Tale of Sweeney Todd" would be at best inadvisable, Kingsley... is a class-war wonder to behold... Even more of a surprise than Kingsley’s performance is that director John Schlesinger, so very serious in movies like "Midnight Cowboy" and "Marathon Man", would have so much fun with this blackest of humors." Daryl Miller of the "Los Angeles Times" stated, "It is made