made much more sympathetic in the film. In the book, he is a gambler who lost all of his fortune at the table and is corrupted by Leroux, while in the TV movie he succumbs to the French colonel's tortures. He dies as a hero in both the novel and the film, but in the former he is not urged to do so by Sharpe, who discovers the nobleman's betrayal only while he is already dying. Some characters, notably "Lass" and Major Munro, were created for the TV movie and do not appear in the novel at all. Although Sergeant Harper's love for a Spanish girl is mentioned in the novel, the girl is called Isabella (not Ramona, who is a TV character only) and they do not marry. Harper is wounded both in the movie and in the novel, but in the latter his wound is much worse. Both Sharpe and Harper are wounded while trying to stop Leroux from escaping, as opposed to during the assault to the fort (which is only one in the movie, while there were three forts in the novel). In the novel the Battle of Salamanca is the climax of the story. Richard Sharpe takes part in the famous charge of the KGL cavalry at Garcia Hernandez and breaks French infantry squares. None of this is shown in the TV film, which ends with the attack on the Salamanca forts. It is to be assumed the TV film did not show the full battle due to the numbers required and the difficulty of portraying a full cavalry charge on this scale. Cast Sean Bean – Major Richard Sharpe Daragh O'Malley – Sergeant Patrick Harper John Tams – Rifleman Daniel Hagman Jason Salkey – Rifleman Harris Emily Mortimer – Lass Patrick Fierry – Leroux James Purefoy – Spears Stephen Moore – Berkeley Hugh Ross – Mungo Munro Michael Cochrane – Sir Henry Simmerson John Kavanagh – Father Curtis Vernon Dobtcheff – Don Felipe Diana Perez – Ramona Pat Laffan – Connelly Walter McMonagle – Father O'Sullivan Matthew Pannell – Ensign McDonald External links Sharpe's Sword at SharpeFilm.com 1995 British television episodes 1990s historical films 1990s war films Films based on British novels Films based on historical novels Films based on military novels Napoleonic Wars films Sword War television films Fiction set in 1813 Films directed by Tom Clegg (director)