Harry Potter influences and analogues Potter" involve an average eleven-year-old, better at sport than academic study, who is sent to boarding school. Upon arrival, the boy gains a best friend (in Tom's case, East, in Harry's case, Ron Weasley) who helps him adjust to the new environment. They are set upon by an arrogant bully – in Tom Brown's case, Harry Flashman, in Harry's case Draco Malfoy. Stephen Fry, who both narrates the British audio adaptations of the "Harry Potter" novels and has starred in a screen adaptation of "Tom Brown", has commented many times about the similarities between the two books. "Harry Potter –
Tom Brown's Schooldays (1951 film) Tom Brown's Schooldays (1951 film) Tom Brown's Schooldays is a 1951 British drama film, produced by Brian Desmond Hurst, directed by Gordon Parry and starring John Howard Davies, Robert Newton and James Hayter. It is based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Hughes. For this version, Rugby School was used as a filming location. "Allmovie" found the film "isn't quite as good as the 1940 Hollywood adaptation"; wheres "The New York Times" thought it "superior in every way to the one made in Hollywood some years back. The quaint customs have an English-cut, at least"; while "Variety"