The Signalman - Charles Dickens BBC GHOST STORY FOR CHRISTMAS 1976
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.ย. 2017
- Classic BBC adaptation of The Signalman by Charles Dickens. Directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark. Starring Denholm Elliott and Bernard Lloyd. BBC Ghost Stories for Christmas. BFI BBC 1976.
The Signalman is a 1976 BBC television adaptation of "The Signal-Man", an 1866 short story by Charles Dickens. The story was adapted by Andrew Davies as the BBC's sixth A Ghost Story for Christmas, with Denholm Elliott starring as the signalman and Bernard Lloyd as the traveller, an unnamed character who acts as a plot device in place of the short story's narrator.
It was the first episode of the series not to be an adaptation of an M. R. James story, and the last adaptation of an existing story. The production was directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark and filmed on the Severn Valley Railway.
Denholm Elliott, what a fantastic actor.
One of the greats.
Dickens was a victim of a serious train accident at Staplehurst. He was never the same again.
Wow, they certainly don't make them like that anymore. Story + atmosphere equals classic ghost story! So glad I found this, which apparently aired a month after I was born.
The Dickens name is synonymous with quality..Charles has never let me down!
Huh?
I love the light in this film. The air was different then; purer. There is a feeling of peace and purity from the time this was made that is no longer found in England or Ireland (I am from Ireland and we have more or less the same light and weather as England gets). I remember light and climate from that time and all the beautiful trees and brambles as well. All gone now, warm unseasonable weather and concrete in their place. How sad. I pray for the return of the nature, the peace and the pure cold air.
Sadly, I feel your prayers can only remain unanswered. But I concur with your memories and sentiments.
paul coulthard the psyche has tremendous power so who knows..
Helen Reid, I've never heard it so well stated. You defined sentiments which I couldn't give cohesion to. The gist of Global warming is that heat gets trapped in our atmosphere in the form of vapor... like how a greenhouse works. So even colder weather gets robbed of its crisp, invigorating quality. So sad what our world is coming to. And, even sadder that there are few people who can appreciate the natural beauty of 4 distinct seasons.
Rishi Eastwood I know.. I have Netflix. Oh my god.. the women characters in particular have no soul. They are like cardboard cutouts. I watch most things for about five minutes and turn them off abruptly lest their soulless nature be contagious! The acting of Denholm Elliot here by contrast is so rich, imbued with such humanity, softness and warmth that one dreads for anything to happen to him! The other man is also a decent actor.
@@Fiona-hp4mw United psyches of us all even better. With the forced quarantine brought on by coronavirus, people in northern India could see the Himalayas for the first time from their rooftops. Perhaps Mother Nature is telling us we've gone too far and she's trying to take back what's hers. This is a hippie, probably unpopular point of view, but at least it's mine
I remember this from when it was first shown and came back to watch it from a sense of nostalgia. It's still brilliant. Then I clicked away, but immediately decided to come back and scan the comments.
So there I am on my own in the dark and quiet reading this stuff when suddenly a voice calls out "Hallo! Below there!"....
Argh!
What had happened, of course is that when I reloaded the page the video started replaying, and the first minute or two is more or less silent until the traveller calls out to the signalman. And I had scrolled that off the screen to look further down the page so I hadn't noticed it was playing.
lol...brown- trouser time!!
I remember as a kid watching this when it was first broadcast just before Christmas 1976.
I remember going to bed after and feeling a little unnerved as it was a stormy night. Very creepy story indeed.
You were never a kid.
@@jonhohensee3258 What are you talking about? 🙄
@@jonhohensee3258 Judging by your comments on here, you still are a kid.
@@benoosha4947 Forever a kid!
@@jonhohensee3258 No, you are always a tw@t.
I had read this short story nearly 35 years back as it was part of my School's English syllabus.
Happy to see a short film based on this story.
Same here in 1977😊
This is my Christmas Eve ritual. I always watch The Signalman.
Its almost time!
Me too. Watching again now too.
I saw this BBC adaption either the first transmission (I would have been 8 years old), or one of the repeats within a year or two (1977/8). I was alone in my home that evening and it absolutely terrified me. The sound design is inspired and added to the acting and location filming, it is extremely effective in chilling the blood.
I had an uncle who was a signalman. As a boy I used to visit him in his signalbox and he would let me do some of his work (completely against the rules, of course!). It makes me quite nostaligic hearing some of the bell codes again: 1 - attention; 3+1 - can you accept a train?; 2 - train entering your section; 2+1 - train leaving my section. Happy days for me, but my uncle did have a similar tendency to depression with the loneliness and responsibility of his work (especially on night shifts).
From where are u
Thank you for sharing the lovely story!
It makes this little movie more enjoyable, and it makes my day better.
Sounds alot like the duties of a lighthouse keeper. Lonely enough to make one go mad... and often did just that.
Others include The Hitch Hiker,Legend If Sleepy Hollow and others issued in 1972 on the Mr. Pickwick label.
From thr Spooky Ghost Stories with Eerie Sounds sebum a rare album.
The 1865 Staplehurst derailment that inspired this story occurred in part because the signalman's position was about 500 yards off and the train couldn't stop in time.
An atmospheric haunting story indeed with fine performances.
When this tv show aired originally, it scared the livin’ daylights outta me! Typically good British drama, & I eventually enjoyed its’ full worth. Now I can view it again! Thank you for uploading……
I have never seen a dramatisation of this Dickens short story. It can only pale to reading it and experiencing the goosebumps and the spine chilling finale.
I remember watching this it was Christmas 1976 creeped me out then, creeped me out now Dickens was a master story teller
I love YT for being able to find stuff like this. So many great old films and radio plays I would never be able to watch otherwise.
This is a wonderfully scripted, actress, directed version of a classic supernatural tale by Dickens full of atmosphere. One of the best dramas of this nature produced by the BBC.
actress???
I've listened to several entertaining adaptions of this story produced for radio, but it's a delight to see a film version. Very compelling.
In Dickens time it was believed that ghosts and spirits couldn't harm you at Christmas and this is why it became a tradition to tell ghost stories at that time of year. Another spooky Christmas tale by Dickens but not so well known was 'A Christmas Tree'. Beautifully written, very descriptive but spooky too.
It's A Christmas Carol. And Dickens was not a superstitious man in the least.
@@grumpycat9006To talk so brazenly and out of school! A Christmas Tree was an article he wrote for his magazine, Household Words, in 1850.
This was always my favorite of Dickens' many stories. I was actually born on the 126th anniversary of the Clayton Tunnel Crash, which this story takes a lot of inspiration from. Of course, Dickens is credited to have written it primarily as a result of his own experience at Staplehurst and the trauma that he experienced there, but the setting is a clear reference to Clayton, not to mention the first accident in the film.
How and when did the clayton tunnel crash happen?
TheNegima - It wasn't your favorite.
This is a rare find man, thanks for uploading. The story, the acting, good ol' BBC drama, top notch...
This has been released in the UK on dvd as well Fine atmosphere and casting and direction
tamahgane - What is a "rare find man"?
@@jonhohensee3258 Friendly advice: work on your English proficiency so you don't have to ask 4-year-old-level questions. Cheers!
@@tamahagane1700 You can't tell me?
@@jonhohensee3258 If you don't understand, you must be really thick.
I love trains, especially steamers. Charles Dickens' is a wonderful writer. Thanks for posting this.
the 'Signalman' was confined to his duties..the visitor had been 'confined' in prison.they were destined to meet....and the ghost was forever confined to do his duty to take souls by the warning...and I think this is was very cleverly conceived by Charles Dickens...amazingly done..x the ghost takes..the souls of people on the line..he takes the soul of the ;signalman' and he eventually takes possession of the visitor the repetitiveness of the bell and the consequences says it all..brilliant acting always watch it at christmas...but seems like that parts are missing now..kudos to denholm elliott..andrew davies's brilliant production ..
I think the Denholm Elliott character committed suicide by train because he could not stand the torment of receiving warnings of impending tragedies which he was powerless to prevent. And I think the mysterious figure with the arm across his face and waving was the actual signalman giving signs of danger by his gestures, and not the Denholm Elliott character.
A haunting dramatisation of a ghost story brilliantly presented. Thanks TH-cam.
Just heard the 2023 BBC audio drama! So so good! Getting my tea about to watch this :D
That dialogue is so perfectly written..the acting so well done.. wow.
Absolutely brilliant dramatization of this story of Charles Dickens. And an excellent didactic means for introducing Dickens to young people.
Yes indeed! I read the short before I watched it and even though it was portrayed so well, the read was still much more haunting!
I need some information for this stories pleae i have an exam
What does DID ACT IC mean?
@@aidanstewart3666 'didactic' is everything that has to do with teaching (and learning). As a teacher of English, I used this BBC-film to teach my students English, and literature. So was a didactic 'tool' for me.
@@hdholl9696 Wouldn't it be simpler, more enlightening and explicit to say Teaching and Learning tool?
Memory of my childhood Christmas tv viewing , my late Mother's favorite.
I had been searching for this story for ages.. Had read it at school in grade 7..and remembered only - "Hello down there!"
Glad I found it at last!
I admire the shadowy ambiance of this flick!
yes! i also love the grainy and blurry aesthetic of it too. i'm not sure why but a lot of 70s movies have this look to it, its very nostalgic and almost dreamlike. The lack of music is also quite nice and comfy, the other movies in the bbc ghost stories for christmas series also have this plus a lot of long takes adding to the atmosphere. Id recommend the movie "dont look now", it has a similar feel
@@uggggggghhhhh yes! I love don't look now.
I saw this when it was first broadcast and despite being 12-years-old, it sort of, got me into Dickens!
Amazing performances from the leads and fantastic atmosphere created.
Sighs...remember when the BBC could actually make stuff this good....?! How times have changed...
Whoa, remember watching this with my parents and younger brother in 1976. So atmospheric, spooky and chilling without being horrific. Glad to see it again. Great acting from Denholm Elliot and Bernard Lloyd, understated, but compelling.
The ending scared the hell out of me when I was a nipper.
One of the greatest stories of all times ⚡💫
This man, Denholm Elliot, appeared in the comedy Trading Places. A great performance as Dan Ackroyd's butler. When I saw him here, I just had to watch it.
Lol I couldn't pinpoint the face. Thank you
@@gemwest6417 You are very welcome. I seem to have a gift for remembering faces. If only that gift would extend to remembering names, I would be set for life.
I knew I had seen him and had to google him to find out where. When I saw he was in Trading Places it all came back.
@@gemwest6417 - Denholm Elliot is in lot of films. He's also in the Indiana Jones Raiders and Last Crusade as the Professor.
Perfect ghost story. Essential Christmas viewing. Thank you for the upload
Thanks for uploading, it helped me in my exams
I have an exam also can i help me please
😊
@@bouazzaofficiel5291 wht r u talking dude
What a beautiful find, thank you for uploading this. Born and raised in Vienna, I was introduced to dickens in my youth and came across this story back then. So beautifully dramatized!
I don't remember seeing this as a kid. I'm sure it would have scared me to pieces. Great film! I think Denholm Elliott is underrated as a movie star. Thanks so much for posting this vid!
Oh, think of Denholm Elliott in A Room With a View. I've watched that film several times this year as an antidote to post-pandemic ennui. It works . . . pretty subtle . . . but its philosophy is happiness and fulfillment.
😳 Wow!.......this story sent a chill to my heart😬, the story setting really frightened me because I watched this movie in bed alone before 😳😳😳😳
I have seen the man at the train station many times in other British films.Always a good actor. What a mesmerizing
story.
I believe the average person of today would not appreciate this. But if you did, consider yourself fortunate.
The acting & location are so brillantly done ,now when readingn the story i think of this movie ,love it ,
The location was perfect and made the story more creepy ,thanks for sharing ,
This is fantastic. I’ve come to really like Denholm Elliott. Great ghost story. Thank you for sharing.
The man was a wonderful actor. He was in a few productions that would otherwise be _turkeys_ but he lifted them greatly.
Denholm Elliott is class. This adaptation would not be the same without him!
I love the guy also! He is just a great talent.
A Charles Dickens creation worthy of Edgar Allan Poe. And an excellent film.
Used to read Dickens as a kid but somehow completely missed this one. Thank you for notifying me of the existence of this film, Trevor Henderson.
Just when you thought Thomas the Tank Engine couldn't get darker.
I so love this drama and have watched it now, countless times. Thank you for posting it.
Thank you for another brilliant British film.
I've never seen this before! ❤
I remember seeing this when I was a little kid (parents probably should not have let me watch it :-)) on ABC tv with Stuart Wagstaffs play house, this is here in Australia, not as scary now of course, but thanks for uploading brings back some memories.
What beautiful countryside……peaceful villages……life at its best……..
ghosts stories by greatest writers
Have you read "The goblins who stole a Sexton?"
You can find it in Dickens's "The Pickwick Papers", in the Christnas Chapter.
He was in pretty good shape after getting hit by a train.
I am simply drawn to this film .
This is an outstanding visual adaptation for one of my favourite ghost stories from childhood.
Thank you for posting it. 🎃
The acting and location are brillant ,thanks so much for sharing this ,
Ok i just finished this story the signal man from the book 50 greatest stories and i was just no reason searching for the signal man and.... wohhh ...really did not know that their is short film of it.
Brilliant adaption of. Classic ghost story ,read it yrs ago ,but had never seen this before ,simple thrilling ghost stories are the best ,ones ,thanks for sharing ,
God Bless You and Your Family. Please take care because of Corona Virus
Likewise Vivek
This story is something else in its characters, psychological play and climax in the end. It is very captivating. Masterpiece!
Thanks for uploading this. It's rare to find such
Thanks for sharing hun. I Love Dickens! ❤
Thanks for this it helped me in my exams
I'm very glad. Do you think that there are better reasons for watching it than study?
@@philaypeephilippotter6532 Definitely
Many thanks for upload.
This is superb. Thank you for sharing
The signal man is given a foresight the way he will die, but he did not realize the hint. And he ended die by the struck of the train. If only he knew it...
Yes, yes I understand now -he believes the spectre is alluding to the tunnel crash and the bride's suicide. But in fact it's warning the signalman of personal danger. A warning the signalman does not heed. Thanks andihajar. 👍
It's a very special production and everyone involved does top notch work. There is one thing that always bothered me. The visitor to the signalman says (early on) that he has spent a good deal of time 'confined within narrow limits' and is now 'free'. This does suggest a prison. It doesn't sound quite right for a long hospital recuperation. So, without a proper explanation, I'm left wondering exactly what this man's background is and therefore what his character might be. It's distracting to have that as an element in the story. He seems trustworthy and good natured from what we see, so why be so vague?
I just immediately thought he was the ghost!
The Signalman.1976.(D Elliott.B Lloyd.)_38m_ / 1866 short story by Charles Dickens. The story was adapted by Andrew Davies as the BBC's sixth A Ghost Story for Christmas, with Denholm Elliott starring as the signalman and Bernard Lloyd as the traveller, an unnamed character who acts as a plot device in place of the short story's narrator./ It was the first episode of the series not to be an adaptation of an M. R. James story, and the last adaptation of an existing story.
Longstanding crush on Bernard Lloyd as The Travler.
Very good, thanks.
Spoiler Alert. If you get hit by a train at that speed, your body would be splattered apart like an insect hitting your windscreen on the motorway.
Never let the facts get i the way of a good tale.🥴
A masterpiece.
"Resisting the slow touch of a frozen finger tracing out my spine, I showed him how that this figure must be a deception of his sense of sight, and how that figures, originating in disease of the delicate nerves that minister to the functions of the eye, were known to have often troubled patients..."
This makes less sense than the book. In this version, yes he foresaw his own death, but if it hadn’t been for the premonition he wouldn’t have been killed in the first place.
In the book it just says one day he was killed, but doesn’t explain why.
Nonetheless, love the creepy atmosphere.
I think this clearly shows that the spectre that the signalman refers to is a figure of his own clairvoyance. It is not truly a ghost, although one could argue that it is a ghost from the crash that haunted the signalman’s mind, so to speak. The traveller is not a ghost. He is simply the means by which we learn about the signalman’s failure to prevent a crash. But the signalman remains so entranced by the idea of a death on the tracks, especially in the tunnel, that he gets fixated on staring into the tunnel, and thus brings about his own death. The story also absolves all real signalmen of failing to prevent crashes that were not within their power to prevent. As long as they diligently did their duty, they should allow their consciences to be clear.
railways are dangerous places
The book I feel depicts the Signal Box as a more simpler one. There is only a telegraph instrument. So the signalman can just send and receive messages.
In this short film, the cabin has lots of equipments like block instruments and signal levers. With these the signal man can actually protect the train much better. He need not stand next to the track and wave red flags. In case he has a doubt he puts all signals to danger and then check the tracks.
I had pictured the same when I first read this story some 7 years ago .
35:48 Wow heck that face. his last words before hes rekt.
Give me pls 1000$
Even if the signalman had stopped the train outside the tunnel the other train would have come through and collided with it. There was no siding for the train to pull onto.
It’s more likely that both trains were actually headed in the same direction but that one train may have been stopped in the tunnel for whatever reason (either because it had a breakdown or because the signal block ahead may also have been occupied) and that the second train ran into the back of it. That would at least make more sense given that there is only one track.
Sounds reasonable. Thanks.
This signal box has what is known as "block instruments" and signal levers. So if a train was already on the tunnel, these instruments will not allow another train to be on the same line (as the section is occupied).
Also in such a situation the signal man can actually put down the signals so that the driver of the train will stop it. He need not actually stand next to the track and wave the red flag.
Scared the Dickens outta me!
2:11 Hey look, It’s Duck the Great Western Pannier Tank Engine!
Love from guwahati
All gone. The time line is long. Ahhh Coleman from trading places. Odd, how you find videos in the night, looking, watching, wondering. Is this , have I seen this. I love English charm vids. Old school. Good new years to you all.
Once upon time painted this box
Classic
Bernard Lloyd as "the traveller" can visit me anytime. :)
1:09 2人の初対面のシーン
5:09 原作(503~505)
9:39~「私」の居眠りと、それを暗になじる信号手の場面が追加されている。
→居眠りの前後で昼から夜になり、不穏な雰囲気の
10:56 信号手がトンネル事故の悲惨さについて語る場面が追加されている。
→「
12:13~13:43) 原作 のシーン
13:44~15:03) 窓から機関車を見やる 霧に覆われた街 機関車の音 夢
(15:03~
(16:30) “For God’s sake, clear the way”を口に出して言う
(16:40~ 火のパターンをみていた
(18:44~ 合理的説明
20:06 事故の回想 口笛を吹く
22:52 偶然だ
23:33 第二の事件回想
26:03 会話 忠実
27:14 ベルに関する話が改変テンションが 何か知っているのか？
28:48 苦悩の吐露
29:52 説得
31:00 帰宅 医者の約束ない 再来の
31:56 宿 夢
32:44 翌朝
Can someone please suggest me more creepy and cozy movies like this
Try watching the complete BBC Ghost Stories for Christmas stories and the Hammer House of Horror episodes from the 80s. Also highly recommend any of the Amicus Anthology Movies such as The House That Dripped Blood and From Beyond the Grave,
@@geoffjoyce8262 thanks 😊
Thanks. I was thinking of using this story for an art project actually. Take inspiration from it at least.
I used to suffer from agoraphobia related to trains. For me I draw reference of the signal man as the lizard brain a bit.
The lighthouse (2019) is alot like this short you can almost call it a spiritual remake. But it takes place in well ofc a lighthouse and its in black and white.
There is good asmr
Wade Denning narrated
this.
A traveler (Bernard Lloyd) sees a railway signalman (Denholm Elliott) in a lonely location. The signal box is situated between two steep sided hills close to the entrance to a tunnel. The traveler, shielding his eyes from the glare of the sun with one arm, waves to the signalman and cries out "Hallo, Below There". But he is puzzled when the railway worker not only does not reply to him but actually seems to be afraid of him. When the traveler reassures him that there is nothing to fear about him, the signalman welcomes the stranger into his signal box and begins to tell him a remarkable story. - IMDB
The ending of this tv version is slightly different from the story in the book. I understand why the changes were made. But to be honest it’s creepy ether way.
The Call of Duty
Reason versus Intuition
I think a ghost story for Christmas is weird. Dickens must not have believed in the Nativity then and the reason for Christmas... bc if he did he would not have made a ghost story for this most beautiful time of year.
Most best scen 29:39
The signalman was hallucinating because of his loneliness. The guy from the inn was an unnecessary intruder who tried to cure the signalman with rationality but in the end himself got afflicted by the same disease through mere association.
I heard... that this... was based on a fictional story.
I hope so because it was not fair to the man who was killed. It was also a lure to his death.
Podrían pasarla en español?
nice gg
Quero no edioma português