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Post by ripper on Aug 20, 2015 18:51:02 GMT
I hope you enjoyed the DVD of 'Oh, Whistle...'. And I think your wife is wise to suggest reading the story before viewing the television dramatisations. I haven't seen the recent production but I quite like the Michael Hordern version. I was surprised recently to find a radio adaptation of the tale, again starring Hordern as Professor Parkin, apparently produced--by the BBC I assume--in or prior to 1963, which predates Jonathan Miller's television version.
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Post by ohthehorror on Aug 20, 2015 20:31:26 GMT
I've still not got to it, which is just typical of me, but you've reminded me again now so I'll have at it tomorrow now. I'd also forgotten about the M. R. James book I'd ordered from the local library too, it's the '150th anniversary edition of Curious Warnings: The Great Ghost Stories of M.R. James' and is the most beautiful looking book. It has a deep red feux leather, gold embossed cover and is just begging to be nicked. I wouldn't do that kind of thing of course, but I'm sorely tempted. It also has some lovely black and white illustrations and the page edges are stained the same deep red making it look like the whole things been dipped in blood. I'm soo tempted... Edit: ...to include piccy. Also, the white writing here is actually gold-embossed on my(library's...) version.
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Post by Shrink Proof on Aug 20, 2015 20:52:39 GMT
I hope you enjoyed the DVD of 'Oh, Whistle...'. And I think your wife is wise to suggest reading the story before viewing the television dramatisations. I haven't seen the recent production but I quite like the Michael Hordern version. Just leave it at that. The modern version is so awful that even John Hurt can't salvage it. Which is saying something....
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Post by ripper on Aug 21, 2015 20:47:07 GMT
Mr Horror, that sounds like a lovely edition of James' stories. I shall have to check if it is available from my county library collection.
Mr Shrinkproof, If John Hurt, a really fine actor, can't save it then it must be a clunker. A pity, really, I do like Miller's version, but it doesn't entirely satisfy me. If Miller had not made it in 1968 then perhaps it would have turned up as one of the BBC's Ghost Stories for Christmas series in the 70s.
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Post by ohthehorror on Aug 22, 2015 13:59:15 GMT
Well I finally got round to watching the 'Whistle and I'll Come To You' DVD. Ironically it turns out I'd already seen the John Hurt(2010) version but had simply forgotten. It was the part in his room where he's turning the white bust around to stop it 'looking' at him that made me realize it. That version certainly made me wonder what they were thinking. I don't understand switching the whistle for the ring at all. Makes no sense to me. The best explanation I have came once again from my wife. She suggested they changed it to a ring in an attempt to tap into all the Lord of the Rings hype and excitement that may have been around at the time(was that about that time, 2010?). He even holds it up to the light to read the writing inscribed around the inside of the ring. I half expected him to start speaking in the 'the language of Mordor' at this point, and it probably wouldn't have seemed out of place with the way he was carrying on. And when he's with his wife before he heads off for his little getaway he whispers in her ear, 'Oh, whistle and I'll come to you my lad', or does he change it to 'Oh, whistle and I'll come to you my love'?, I couldn't quite make it out at the time. But even if that's the case, it still makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Why would he say that out of the blue? What possible reason could he have? I didn't get it at all. It also seemed to plod along and became quite depressing to watch as it went on, not even imparting any real sense of creepiness or dread at what was happening, and the lady in white that followed him along the beach did nothing to help matters either, but just seemed to be ill thought out. Not my favourite version then.
On a happier note, the Michael Hordern(1968) version was so much better and well worth seeing. Right from the outset, it stuck to the original story almost entirely. I hadn't seen this version before and really enjoyed it. Although his propensity to mumble to himself under his breath began to grate on me a little, but leaving this aside, it all hung together very nicely and what's more important, got that all important creepiness that I'm always banging on about across extremely well. With a simple strip of linen fluttering after him along the beach it managed to do what the modern version didn't, and no amount of beautiful women in white were ever going to better it. The whole thing hinted at something terrible waiting just off stage, just waiting for it's moment. Very well done throughout, and I enjoyed this version immensely.
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on Aug 22, 2015 14:24:34 GMT
I know I am in the minority on this, but I do not like the BBC James adaptations at all, any of them. To quote myself from elsewhere:
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Post by Deleted on Aug 22, 2015 14:43:59 GMT
I know I am in the minority on this, but I do not like the BBC James adaptations at all, any of them. To quote myself from elsewhere: I don't wholly disagree with you there. I'm fond of the original 'Whistle...' for its fine central performance, sense of impending dread and excellent sound design, and 'Lost Hearts', which is a favourite tale of mine anyway, but I've recently worked through the box set of BBC adaptations and found them, mostly, a bit stagey and lacking in either scares or atmosphere.
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Post by ripper on Aug 23, 2015 9:00:44 GMT
In the 2010 version of 'Whistle', is it merely that Parkin is in possession of the ring that summons the ghost, demon, or whatever it is, to him? Does whistling play any part in the story at all. I admit that I, too, am at a loss to understand the substitution of a ring for a whistle in this version. Fred Cowles wrote a clone of 'Whistle' in one of his collections and used a bell instead of a whistle, but his protagonist rang the bell, in a similar way to how the blowing of the whistle in James' tale induced the creature to seek him out. Is it that reading the words on the ring does the same trick in the John Hurt version?
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Post by ohthehorror on Oct 10, 2015 17:49:17 GMT
The Judge's house by Bram Stoker. Malcolm Malcolmson, a student is seeking a quiet place to study and after taking a train to Benchurch soon finds an old secluded house that he decides would be perfect for his needs. The Landlady, a Mrs Witham(coincidently the name of my home town back in Essex) at the Inn he stays the night at isn't so sure, telling him how it used to be the abode of a Judge who was held in terror by the locals on account of his harsh sentences. She wouldn't let him stay for one single night, not if he were her boy. Of course, soon enough he's settling in after having rented it for a 3 month period. In between drinking copious amounts of tea he begins to hear noises and sees eyes of rats filling the cracks in the wainscoting. A painting, dusty and dirty is singled out for special mention, a painting of the Judge which has a hole in it and through which the eyes of a rat look out. There are more rats scurrying about and one large rat which sits on the big oak chair and glares at him 'with baleful eyes'. To make things worse, a rope hangs down to the floor from a hole in the ceiling and is attached to a bell up above in the roof making us think in no uncertain terms of hangings and those harsh sentences that were mentioned earlier on.
I wonder while reading these stories whether the creepy, old world horror atmosphere I frequently feel while reading them is due to the fact that something has been lost in the modern age when composing and writing horror, or if it's just the writing style that helps engage the imagination more than would otherwise be the case. There's just something really, ...eerie about the stories in this anthology that I've rarely encountered in more modern stories. I don't know the answer really, but it's something that keeps nagging at me whenever I pick up this book.
So, Malcolm hurls books at the large rat as it sits glaring(balefully) and misses with his first attempts, but soon enough gets in a near miss and only just since the rat darts off up the rope at the last moment. Retrieving the book we see that it's the Bible that has done the job(or nearly anyway) which was a nice touch I thought. Rats now swarm all over the rope and gnaw through it leaving the bottom half to fall to the floor in a little coil and causing the bell to ring out. Now things get even more creepy as the Judge appears sitting in the great oak chair. I'm reminded of Dracula a little here when we're told that he mesmerises Malcolm, pinning him to the spot, unable to move or get away while he moves to calmly place the rope around Malcolm's neck and tightening it like a noose. We're left with the truly haunting image of Malcolm hanging there beside the chair, the bell ringing and a malicious smile on the Judge's lips in the painting.
Really good story. Had all the hallmarks that I've come to expect of these old supernatural, horror stories. I just love the 'feel' of them as much as the actual storytelling. It probably helps that I always try to save these stories for late at night when everything's quiet and dark and the lighting is subdued, but I certainly wouldn't do them an injustice by putting it all down to that. I'm loving the style of writing here, not just in this story but in nearly all of them so far. I remember noting a sense of ambiguity in some of the other stories, and that's definitely present here. Is the large rat the Judge returned in ghostly form? If we were looking on, would we even see the figure of the Judge at all or would we just see Malcolm placing the rope around his own neck and, in effect, committing suicide? Either way, the Judge is there, whether anyone looking on would see him or not. It's this ambiguity too that thrills in the end and makes you ponder the story long after it's end. I like this. I like it a lot.
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Post by ripper on Oct 10, 2015 18:26:47 GMT
Hi Ohthe horror,
Agreed on Stoker's 'The Judge's House' and the wonderfully unsettling atmosphere created by these old stories. By the way, if you have not already read it, I would recommend J. S. Le Fanu's 'Some Strange Disturbances in Aungier Street', another fine tale imo featuring rats and the ghost of a judge in an old house, and it is perhaps my favourite of Le Fanu's supernatural stories, though it is often battling with 'Madame Crowl's Ghost' for that position.
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Post by Dr Strange on Oct 10, 2015 19:23:42 GMT
In the 2010 version of 'Whistle', is it merely that Parkin is in possession of the ring that summons the ghost, demon, or whatever it is, to him? Does whistling play any part in the story at all. I admit that I, too, am at a loss to understand the substitution of a ring for a whistle in this version. Fred Cowles wrote a clone of 'Whistle' in one of his collections and used a bell instead of a whistle, but his protagonist rang the bell, in a similar way to how the blowing of the whistle in James' tale induced the creature to seek him out. Is it that reading the words on the ring does the same trick in the John Hurt version? MRJ took the title "Oh Whistle And I Will Come To You" from a love poem/song by Robert Burns - the John Hurt remake would have made more sense if those had been the actual words on the ring (it's exactly the sort of the thing that might be engraved on a wedding ring - by someone who knew the Burns poem, but maybe not the MRJ story!). Anyway, instead they went with the same thing as was engraved on the whistle in the original - something like "Who Is This That Is Coming?". It's been a while since I saw the John Hurt version, but I don't remember any whistling in it. They should have just said it was inspired by MRJ, and changed the title.
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Post by ohthehorror on Oct 10, 2015 19:40:56 GMT
Hi Ohthe horror, Agreed on Stoker's 'The Judge's House' and the wonderfully unsettling atmosphere created by these old stories. By the way, if you have not already read it, I would recommend J. S. Le Fanu's 'Some Strange Disturbances in Aungier Street', another fine tale imo featuring rats and the ghost of a judge in an old house, and it is perhaps my favourite of Le Fanu's supernatural stories, though it is often battling with 'Madame Crowl's Ghost' for that position.
Just had to go check, and as it turns out I have both of those stories in this collection that I got when in Dublin over the summer. I'll add them to this weekend's line-up.
Thanks for the suggestions.
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Post by ripper on Oct 12, 2015 15:30:26 GMT
Thanks for the information, Dr. Strange. To substitute a ring for a whistle seems pointless. I wasn't aware of the title being from a Burns poem and I would bet that the overwhelming majority of viewers would be the same, just leading to confusion over the lack of any whistle in the story.
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Post by ohthehorror on Nov 13, 2015 16:45:06 GMT
Man-Size in Marble by E. Nesbitt - This story begins with a little rant of sorts by the narrator, bemoaning people's need for some sort of proof before strange things can be believed. I liked this. I like people that rant about stuff. This is what I mean, If you 'listen' carefully you can almost here him spit the word 'delusion' in disgust at such a 'ridiculous' notion. On their honeymoon, a young couple find a little cottage two fields away from the local church and decide to move in. It being a different age they seem to have little trouble furnishing it with bits of old oak and Chippendale furniture. I'll bet there's a fair stock of old book shops too if only they'd taken the time to look. They can't be short of a bob or two either since they take a little jaunt up to Liberty's at one point too. Jack comes home one day to find that their housekeeper, Mrs Dorman, has given her notice which reduces poor Laura to a quivering wreck of crumpled muslin, her not being used to work by all accounts. Apparently there's a curse involving two stone statues in the church coming to life on all-hallows-eve at 11pm and making their way home, which apparently is this little cottage strangely enough. The appointed time comes and Jack goes to outside to have a smoke of his pipe, sending Laura off to bed at the same time. Before long he's listening to the church bells strike eleven and heads off for a stroll through the woods ending up investigating the open door of the church. Approaching the altar he notices the two statues that usually lay on their marble slabs are gone. After bumping into the Doctor on the way home, they both head off to the church again to make sure he's not going nuts only to find the statues are back right where they belong, but this time one of them has a broken hand. Back at home they go to check on Laura only to find her stone cold dead, on her back, eyes wide open in front of the open window. In her hand is a grey marble finger... *gasp* All joking aside, I quite enjoyed this one. The ending was no surprise of course once the Doctor had pointed out the broken hand in the church, and I think it would have worked better if we hadn't been spoon-fed this little tid-bit, but I still enjoyed it. I've read a few of these old stories now that seem to be set out in the sticks in a little old village with spooky goings on, but I'm still enjoying them all for all that. Also, I'm really looking forward to trying out Jack's pet name for Laura on my wife. I wonder how she'll take to it...? {click if you dare!} "Come, Pussy, you're over-tired. The housework has been too much for you."
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Post by ohthehorror on Jul 8, 2016 18:34:14 GMT
The Roll-Call of the Reef - by Sir Arthur T. Quiller-Couch - This is another one full of wonderful 'cosy supernatural' atmosphere, unfortunately that's the best that I can say for it. A man rents an old house in the country with a view to some peace and quiet while he works on his translation of a holy book. He's soon sitting in front of a fire while he listens to the story of a shipwreck about two men, one a trumpeter, another a drummer who are washed ashore. The drum and trumpet are locked together with one of those little combination locks(this one has letters and spells a word to unlock it) and has hung above the fireplace for a long time. Now I confess, I got a little lost towards the end, mainly due I think to it wanting to be a story about the military first and a ghost story second. Anyway, even though I finished the story it pretty much vanished from my head the moment I did so. I remember the trumpet and drum, and the lock, and also one of the shipwrecked men(now a ghost) putting in an appearance at one point too, but the only other thing I recall is the man changing the word on the lock to a holy word(he turned out to be a holy man of some sort as I remember). Everything else is a bit vague I'm afraid.
Probably better(or at least not as forgettable) as I'm making out, but it didn't grab me. Perhaps a re-read at some point?
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