The Signalman

[AndrewE]

BBC4 22.00 on Monday night.
Let's hope it does justice to the Dickens original.

 

[Gloster]

It appears to be a repeat of the 1976 adaptation with Denholm Elliott. This has been much praised over the years.

 

[AndrewE]

Thanks for the recommendation. I have set it to record to make sure I don't miss it... but doubtless when I get 10 minutes in I shall start to recognise bits.
Anyway, it's something to look forward to, even if I have seen it before - one benefit of a short memory!

 

[Ashley Hill]

Yes,I watched this and admit I fell asleep halfway through. Watched it again and found it doesn't really have a scary story even though it's meant to be a classic.
Why is there a permanent red lantern outside the tunnel? I suppose the signalmen waves his red flag at passing trains as he has no signals. A very strange programme!
I'd love to see a modern version of this set in a ROC

 

[150219]

Yes,I watched this and admit I fell asleep halfway through. Watched it again and found it doesn't really have a scary story even though it's meant to be a classic.
Why is there a permanent red lantern outside the tunnel? I suppose the signalmen waves his red flag at passing trains as he has no signals. A very strange programme!
I'd love to see a modern version of this set in a ROC

I first watched it when it was broadcast on BBC some years ago, late at night. Sat in front of a roaring fire, it is a great memory of mine. Scary, no; I'd agree with you there, but it does have a certain charm. The reason for the red light against the tunnel, I can't say - but if it's an artistic choice it falls in line with the inconsistent use of the block bells. That said, it doesn't spoil my enjoyment of it. Well acted and effective imagery.

 

[Gloster]

It was written as a ghost story for the general reader and the film version was produced as a ghost story for the general viewer. It was not intended as a depiction of railway operation for enthusiasts. I remember being impressed but not particularly frightened when it was first shown (and I get easily frightened by ghost stories).

It has one irrelevant annoyance connected to it for me. A couple of years ago I saw a copy in a charity shop and thought, ‘I’ll buy that.” My hand had started to move towards it when another hand came down, removed it from the rack and took it to the till. (The hand was attached to someone completely oblivious to my interest, not a disembodied, ghostly one.)

 

[Western Sunset]

Just watched it on iPlayer. Really enjoyed it, if "enjoy is the right word though. Must be decades since I last saw it. Very well produced and acted, I thought.

 

[TravellingPhil]

I watched it for the first time last night. Not Dickens' best story, but it's Denholm Elliot's performance that makes it watchable.

 

[Spartacus]

You've got to remember it was written in 1866 when both matters on the railway, and ghost stories in general, were a bit different. Ghost stories tended to be more about the terror of those involved in the story, rather than attempting to terrorise the reader. Still that first encounter with the spectre always gets me, but it's the fear of what might happen over the fear of what's happening.