davey-bc

I feel sure Dickens himself could not have filmed his story better. What a great loss Denholm Elliot is to the acting world having passed some years ago. Whatever he did he always was utterly convincing and here again he plays the title role with perfection. The location shooting is atmospheric and the situation, controlled as it is within the signal box and the isolated surroundings of a foggy railway embankment and tunnel, makes for a truly ghostly stage even before any such spectre appears ! The last of the great "Ghost Stories for Christmas " original series run, with the remaining two somewhat lacking (though good in their own way), The Signalman is the pinnacle of the filmed ghost story form and thank goodness it was made on film rather than video (as it is so much more real on film). Video output of the era was either obviously studio based and/or got wiped by the BBC. This film survived and is timeless and perfect.

Two old dears living in the family home have a secret. There are murders going on . The murderer favours those in army uniform . One of the old dears is a bit bossy, the other whines a lot. They are sisters . They reminisce about daddy and the war. Miss bossy puts on an army overcoat before going down to the cellar with a torch . Very mysterious. The two old dears are Flora Robson and Beryl Reid , two big names in theatre and film . I must have first seen this film forty years ago and it seemed dated then, but for some reason it stuck in my mind and a recent viewing yielded nothing new I had missed but just a kind of comfort as we revisit old experiences. Don't expect big chills here but look upon it as a little curio. Yes Beryl is somewhat whinging and Flora is , well, Flora ....and it does seem to remind one of "Arsenic and Old Lace" without the laughs. The secret is not too hard to guess and the ending is as expected.