Whistle and I'll Come to You
| "Whistle and I'll Come to You" | |
|---|---|
| A Ghost Story for Christmas episode | |
| Directed by | Andy de Emmony |
| Written by |
M. R. James (story) Neil Cross (adaptation) |
| Original air date | 24 December 2010 |
Whistle and I'll Come to You is the title of two BBC television drama adaptations based on the ghost story "" by the writer M. R. James. The story tells the tale of an introverted academic who happens upon a strange whistle while exploring a Knights Templar cemetery on the East Anglian coast. When blown, the whistle unleashes a supernatural force that terrorises its discoverer.
The story was first published in 1904 in Ghost Stories of an Antiquary, the first collection of ghost stories that James published based on tales he had written as Christmas entertainments for audiences of friends and selected students at Eton and King's College, Cambridge, where he was provost.
The first adaptation was made by the BBC in 1968. It was adapted and directed by Jonathan Miller and broadcast as part of the BBC arts strand Omnibus. This production inspired a new yearly strand of M.R. James television adaptations known as A Ghost Story for Christmas (1971–1978, 2005–2006). A new adaptation of Whistle and I'll Come to You, written by Neil Cross and directed by Andy de Emmony, was made by the BBC in 2010. Both adaptations use James' story as a basis, but alter a number of aspects of the tale.
Jonathan Miller adapted his 1968 version as part of the BBC arts strand Omnibus, which consisted mainly of arts documentaries so the dramatic adaptation was an unusual move; David Kerekes notes that this probably explains Miller's documentary-like introduction to the film. Ian McDowell notes that the adaptation itself changes a number of aspects of James' story, turning the academic, described as "young, neat and precise of speech" into a bumbling, awkward, middle-aged eccentric.
This adaptation was filmed on the Norfolk coast, near Waxham.
...
Wikipedia