<P> Far from the Madding Crowd is a 1967 British epic drama film adapted from Thomas Hardy's book of the same name . The film, starring Julie Christie, Alan Bates, Terence Stamp and Peter Finch, and directed by John Schlesinger, was Schlesinger's fourth film (and his third collaboration with Christie). It marked a stylistic shift away from his earlier works exploring contemporary urban mores . The cinematography was by Nicolas Roeg and the soundtrack was by Richard Rodney Bennett . He also used traditional folk songs in various scenes throughout the film . </P> <P> It was nominated for one Oscar for Best Original Music Score and two BAFTAs, Best British Cinematography (Colour) and Best British Costume (Colour) (Alan Barrett). </P> <P> Set in the rural West Country in Victorian England, the story features Bathsheba Everdene (Julie Christie), a beautiful, headstrong, independently minded woman who inherits her uncle's farm and decides to manage it herself . This engenders some disapproval from the local farming community . She employs a former neighbour, Gabriel Oak (Alan Bates), to be her shepherd; rejected by her as a suitor, Gabriel lost his own flock of sheep when they escaped from their enclosure and fell off a steep cliff . Ignoring Gabriel's love, Bathsheba impulsively sends a valentine to William Boldwood (Peter Finch), a nearby gentleman farmer . When he misinterprets her capriciousness and proposes to her, Bathsheba promises to consider his offer . But she becomes enamoured of Frank Troy (Terence Stamp), a dashing cavalry sergeant . </P> <P> Troy was supposed to marry young Fanny Robin (Prunella Ransome), a maidservant pregnant with his child, but she went to the wrong church on their wedding day and Troy was posted out of town . Bathsheba marries him after his return . Troy gambles away most of Bathsheba's money and creates disharmony among the farmhands . He learns that Fanny has died in childbirth and is filled with remorse . He swears that he never loved Bathsheba, walks out on her, and his clothes are found at the edge of the ocean . </P>

Who played gabriel in the original far from the madding crowd