The late Sir Christopher Lee narrates a series of four half-hour ghost stories by M.R. James. Originally shown on BBC2 during the last week of December, 2000.
Robert Powell narrates a series of five partially-dramatised ghost stories by M.R. James. Originally shown on BBC2 during the last week of December, 1986, they included "The Mezzotint", "The Ash-Tree", "The Rose Garden", "Wailing Well", and "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad".
After the semi-dramatic M.R. James adaptations read by Robert Powell, the BBC also produced a short series of further readings in 2000 featuring Christopher Lee as James: "The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral", "The Ash Tree", "Number 13" and "A Warning to the Curious".
All of these "M.R. James' Ghost Stories for Christmas" have been included in the new BFI boxset, but there are two available as a taster on YouTube. Enjoy!
Number 13
A Warning to the Curious
I'm sure you're sick to death of M.R. James now. Don't worry, I have something different for you tomorrow.
Continuing the "Ghost Stories for Christmas", do you remember the half-way house provided by BBC2 which almost made up for the discontinued annual supernatural dramas?
In December 1986, BBC2 broadcast partially dramatised readings by Robert Powell of "The Mezzotint", "The Ash-Tree", "Wailing Well", "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad" and "The Rose Garden".
I looked forward to watching these after school in the weeks before the Christmas holiday, but I vaguely remember that they weren't shown consecutively. I think that two episodes were shown one week and three the next which caused me to miss at least one of them. I'm also sure that one was broadcast on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon and I only caught the very end of it.
Although they've never been repeated or made available to buy on VHS or DVD (as far as I know), these readings have been kept in circulation on YouTube for years. Unfortunately, they were all uploaded in sections rather than entire episodes (short as they are anyway) so you'll just have to click the related videos links at the end of each one to see the next part.
The more recent BBC "Ghost Stories for Christmas" haven't been as good as the originals. Maybe it's a case of rose-tinted spectacles, but they all seem rather soulless in comparison.
A View from a Hill (2005)
"A historian has a disturbing experience after borrowing a pair of binoculars belonging to a missing outcast and venturing up a notorious landmark."
Number 13 (2006)
"An academic researcher repudiates local superstitions surrounding a devilish house. However, repeated visions and noises during the night suggest he may be proved wrong."
The Turn of the Screw (2009)
"A governess, incarcerated in a mental asylum, tells a doctor of the possession of her two pupils by a former governess and her lover."
You'll notice that I haven't mentioned the 1968 version of "Whistle and I'll Come to You" starring Michael Hordern. Although it's included in the new BFI boxset - Ghost Stories for Christmas - The Definitive Collection - "Whistle and I'll Come to You" was a precursor to the BBC's true "Ghost Stories for Christmas" and was really part of the Omnibus series of dramas instead.
More nostalgia from the golden age of British TV horror. Watch them while you can!
As you will see, the quality of these dramas peaked then dropped significantly in later years until the BBC gave up on the idea.
The Signalman (1976)
"A railway signalman tells a curious traveller how he is being troubled by a ghostly spectre that seems to predict calamity."
Stigma (1977)
"After a young couple move into a remote country house in the middle of a stone circle, workmen disturb an ancient menhir, unleashing a supernatural force."
The Ice House (1978)
"Residents at a health spa begin to suspect a strange flower growing in an old ice house in the grounds may be the cause of a series of misfortunes."
Schalcken the Painter (1979)
"Schalcken the painter sees his one true love, Rose, wedded by contract for a sum of money to a man who may or may not be a demon. When she escapes and returns home, she is pursued by her demon lover."
Casting the Runes (1979) - a bonus from ITV
"After a television series lampoons a famous demonologist, its producer and cast soon find themselves threatened by mysterious, malevolent forces."
Tomorrow, I'll post the final "Ghost Stories for Christmas" which the BBC vainly tried to revive as a series in the mid 2000s.
I've talked about them a lot on this blog so here's your chance to enjoy some of the most terrifying ghost stories ever shown on TV.
Break out the Harvey's Bristol Cream, Twiglets and cheesy footballs with earwax in the middle, and prepare to soil yourself all over again!
The Stalls of Barchester (1971)
"An ambitious cleric murders an aged Archdeacon at Barchester Cathedral. However, he is soon being stalked by a sinister black cat and by a hooded figure both of whom seem to be embodiments of carvings on the cathedral's choir stalls."
A Warning to the Curious (1972)
"An amateur archaeologist travels to a remote seaside town in Norfolk to search for the lost crown of Anglia, but after unearthing it is haunted by a mysterious black figure."
Lost Hearts (1973)
"An orphan moves into the house of his uncle, but is disturbed by visions of a pair of ghostly children. Is their message a warning to be fearful of his uncle's obsession with immortality?"
The Treasure of Abbot Thomas (1974)
"A respected theologian and his protégé unearth clues to find the hidden treasure of a disgraced monk in an abbey library. Should he have heeded his own advice not to go treasure hunting?"
The Ash Tree (1975)
"An aristocrat inherits his family estate and is haunted by visions of his ancestor's role in a witchcraft trial."
"After placing his ailing wife Alice in a care home elderly academic James Parkin goes to stay at a wintry out-of-season hotel which they used to visit together."
As you can see, I couldn't find a legitimate trailer for the BBC's 2010 remake of their classic 1968 ghost story for Christmas. I also couldn't find any version other than the overpriced Michael Hordern one on Amazon to link to in the affiliate box either so I assume that this still isn't out on DVD anywhere yet. Since it was little more than a TV show rather than a movie, I don't expect it will ever be on DVD on its own anyway.
I don't often do this, but due to being in America and having missed "Whistle and I'll Come to You" when it was shown on Christmas Eve two years ago, I couldn't stand it any longer and had to watch it online. I've always loved M.R. James' ghost stories and the BBC adaptations of them so missing out on what was potentially another good one had been eating at me ever since I first heard about it.
Unfortunately, despite superb direction by Andy De Emmony, this more modern adaption was virtually a rewrite of M.R. James in a bad way. Although Neil Cross retained the core components of M.R. James' short story in his screenplay, he lost all of the legends and most of the mystery which made the original so good. It didn't even have a whistle in it!
Watching this on my own at three o'clock in the morning with the lights off, I was still genuinely creeped out by the whole thing, but not entirely for the reasons anyone intended. Suffice it to say that during the hour when statistics say that most people die, I started thinking about a lot of things which I shouldn't.
Seeing Gemma Jones (who you might know as Madam Pomfrey from the "Harry Potter" movies) playing the part of an old woman with dementia reminded me of how my grandmother ended up. The old people's home (or whatever politically correct term is in vogue now), reminded me a lot of the horrible asylum which I saw my grandmother get put in only a few months before she died. All the people sat facing each other in silence with one or two or them occasionally crying out was some kind of Hell for sure. I hope I never end up like that.
Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if I also had Lesley Sharp as my carer since I've found her strangely attractive ever since I first saw her in ITV's "Afterlife" series. For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, that show also gave Andrew Lincoln from "The Walking Dead" another big career boost after his stint in "Teachers" and "This Life". I was actually quite surprised at how warm and toned-down Lesley Sharp was in "Whistle and I'll Come to You" as she couldn't act very well at all in "Afterlife". She only delivered one line during a telephone conversation badly, but even that was down to the script rather than her ability.
The other notable actress in this who I racked my brain trying to place was Sophie Thompson. Although she was also in a "Harry Potter" movie, she is much more famous for playing the quite unbalanced Stella in "Eastenders". Maybe it's my age, but I thought she was very pretty from certain angles too. Her character came across as quite nice but a little bit dim which is always endearing.
John Hurt turned in a routine performance as James Parkin, but even at his worst John Hurt always eclipses other actors who are trying their hardest. The man has always had a natural talent and charisma which transcended his looks and, of course, his voice is legendary.
Having said that, I didn't really like his character all that much, and the "haunting" (whether triggered by guilt or having a far more supernatural purpose) turned him into a jelly far quicker that his scientific background should have allowed. One scene was so blatantly borrowed from "Poltergeist" that the result made him look quite childish. Given the two adaptations, I think I still prefer Michael Hordern's version of the same character.
The sparseness of any incidental music, which left the soundtrack comprised of only natural sounds such as seagulls and wind effects, made "Whistle and I'll Come to You" eerier than it could have been. That silence contributed a lot to the isolated feeling and emptiness of the beach scenes in particular.
I was a little bit baffled as to why they chose Kent instead of the usual Norfolk Broads for the location, but it still worked in spite of the electricity-generating windmills. I supposed that the contrast between the new and the old was there to continually highlight that John Hurt's character was coming to the end of his time just like his wife. If that was the reason, it was messily done as both the hotel and its receptionist still looked like they belonged in the 1940s Give or take a couple of clocks from the '70s and John Hurt's very modern anorak, the story might have worked a lot better as a period piece, but, apparently, nobody wanted to retread the same ground as the previous M.R. James adaptations.
Anyway, "Whistle and I'll Come to You" wasn't a total disaster, but it was disappointing in its failure to stay true to the original story. I didn't expect it to be quite as short as it was either and had assumed that it was going to have the ninety-minute length of a movie rather than be a measly fifty-minute TV episode with a new ending.
If you feel like tracking this down online, its still worth a watch, but you'd be better off reading the original story instead.
- Note: Does not include Christopher Lee reading "The Ash Tree".
, but there are two available as a taster on YouTube. Enjoy!
