296:
appeared twice: first before a tunnel disaster, and then before a young bride fell to her death from a passing train. The
Signalman explains that the spectre had returned a week before and has appeared since in fits and starts, always by the light at the tunnel and always gesturing with one arm across its face and the other waved in warning. The frustrated Signalman says that he has no rest or peace because of it, and that it calls out to him with an agonised shout of, "Below There, Look Out, Look Out!", as well as waving and ringing the signal box bell.
33:
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red light, the driver tells him that he called, "Hallo, Below There, Look Out", with one hand covering his face and the other waving in warning. The
Traveller is horrified, because the actions of the Driver are the same as those of the spectre that haunted the Signalman. He watches the crew carry the Signalman's body away, before turning and heading back over the countryside in the thickening winter fog.
280:. Shielding his face from the sun with one arm, the Traveller waves and greets the Signalman. However, the Signalman seems fearful and makes no attempt to speak to the Traveller. Observing the man's demeanour, the Traveller notes that the Signalman appears to be afraid of him. Having been reassured that there is nothing to fear, the Signalman invites the Traveller into his lonely
303:"danger" he would not be able to give any reason why and would surely be displaced or fired, so he feels powerless to prevent a possible calamity. The Traveller tries to reassure him by telling him that there is nothing the Signalman can do but discharge his duty, and he must remain calm. The Signalman thanks the Traveller for his advice and they agree to meet again.
434:
better than the book." Dave
Rolinson notes that while "the adaptation inevitably misses Dickens' nuanced and often unsettling prose ... it achieves comparably skillful effects through visual language and sound, heightening theme and supernatural mood ... The production heightens the story's crucial features of repetition and foreshadowing."
288:
would be a terrible thing. The
Signalman, slightly wide-eyed, tells him that a tunnel collision is the "worst to be feared". To comfort the disturbed man, the Traveller comments that he almost believes he has met a contented man at peace, because the Signalman does his duty no matter what and has no desire to be anywhere else.
373:
Davies also changes a number of elements for dramatic effect. For example, the bride does not fall out of the train but dies in one of the carriage compartments, and is merely referred to as "A Beautiful Young Lady". In the film, the traveller witnesses the signalman's demise, but in the short story,
310:
The Engine Driver tells the
Traveller that, as his locomotive came around a bend, he saw the Signalman standing on the line. When the Signalman did not heed the whistle, the driver shut it off and called out to him. The Traveller asks what the driver said. Turning around and standing in front of the
295:
The next evening, as the fog settles in, the
Traveller finds the Signalman waiting for him. The Signalman reveals the reason for his initial fear; the Traveller's waving action and words mimic those of a ghostly spectre which rings his bell and is visible beside the red tunnel light. The spectre has
433:
adaptations. Simon
Farquhar suggests that the film is the first evidence of Andrew Davies' gift as an adaptor of literary fiction: "despite an extremely arduous shoot, Davies and Clarke's fog-wreathed, flame-crackling masterpiece manages something the production team could never have imagined: it's
365:
In "The
Signalman", adaptor Andrew Davies adds scenes of the traveller's nightmare-plagued nights at an inn, and re-affirms the ambiguity of the traveller-narrator by restructuring the ending, and by matching his facial features with those of the spectre. The film also makes use of visual and aural
306:
After a troubled sleep, the
Traveller goes to meet the Signalman the following morning, but as he nears the cutting a train approaches through the tunnel and the Traveller realises he can hear the bell ringing. Running towards the scene, he attempts to warn the Signalman, who is standing transfixed
291:
The
Traveller agrees to meet the Signalman the next night when he starts his shift. Holding his light so that the Traveller can find his way back up the path, the Signalman asks him not to call out. At the inn later that night, the Traveller hears the faint sounds of a passing train before retiring
287:
During their conversation, the Signalman is repeatedly distracted by an unusual, high-pitched vibration of his signal bell that only he can hear. The Traveller remarks on the bell, and the red light at the entrance to the nearby tunnel, before changing the subject to how an accident in the tunnel
361:
viaduct fractured, causing most of the carriages to fall into the river below. Dickens was in the first carriage, which derailed sideways but did not fall completely. It was suspended at a precarious angle by the coupling of the coach in front and held up by the remains of the viaduct's masonry.
403:. A replica Great Western Railway signal box was erected in the cutting on the Kidderminster side of Bewdley Tunnel, and Highley signal box was used for the interior shots. The signalman's speech about the tunnel accident, and its subsequent depiction, is likely a reference to the
284:. Seated in front of the fire, the two men talk about the Signalman's work. Although his labour consists of a dull, monotonous routine, the Signalman feels he deserves nothing better because he wasted his academic opportunities when he was young.
292:
to bed, and in his sleep, dreams of the Signalman telling him not to call out and, even though he could not hear it at the time, of the bell making its vibrating ring, bathed in the red light of the signal at the tunnel entrance.
249:, and the last of the original run to be based on a pre-existing work. For this reason it is the first in which the series' title appears on-screen before the episode title, despite having been used in the
483:
from 1971-2010 was released in a DVD box set, which was updated the following year to include additional material. All three releases featured an essay on "The Signalman" by writer
499:
417:"Denholm (Elliot) was so wonderful in that role, like a tightly coiled spring. There was such tension in the character: he was always only a step away from insanity."
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The fashion and technology visible suggest that the film is set in the 1900s rather than the 1860s. At one point the Signal-Man whistles "Tit Willow", a song from the
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on 9 June 1865. While passing over a viaduct, Dickens' train was derailed because some part of the track had been removed for maintenance. The
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Dickens helped rescue other passengers, and was commended for his actions, but the experience subsequently had a profound effect on his life.
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the narrator (the traveller's equivalent) comes the next day and encounters a railway inspector who informs him of the signalman's death.
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listings since the series' inception. Producer Rosemary Hill hoped to move the series in a more contemporary direction as opposed to the
462:" (1972) in 2002 and 2003, respectively. It was included as an extra on the Region 1 American DVD release of the 1995 BBC production of
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SInce airing it has received critical acclaim, being widely regarded as the best episode in the series and one of the greatest works of
503:
370:, and the recurring red motif connects the signalman's memories of a train crash with the danger light attended by the ghostly figure.
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on the rail line beside the red light at the tunnel entrance. As the spectre reappears, the Signalman is struck by the oncoming train.
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settings of the James stories, though "The Signal-Man" was a story both she and Clark enjoyed, and so was picked as a compromise.
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In 2012, to mark the 150th anniversary of M. R. James' birth, it was rereleased on DVD by the BFI, now alongside "
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devices. For example, the appearance of the spectre is stressed by the vibrations of a bell in the
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and, as such, the adaptation exists as a 16mm negative film reel, as opposed to the standard PAL
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A man (referred to as "The Traveller" in the cast list) observes the solitary figure of a
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The original short story may have been influenced by Dickens's own involvement with the
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on 22 December 1976, the earliest airdate in the series relative to
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429:"The Signalman" is perhaps the most critically acclaimed of the
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Production on the play was done exclusively on location on the
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which has appeared at the entrance of the tunnel next to his
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451:
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609:"BBC – the Signalman (1976) (720p) – video Dailymotion"
234:). The signalman reveals that he is being haunted by a
650:". thedigitalfix.co.uk. May 2003. Retrieved 2010-08-23
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Title screen, showing the cutting and the signal box.
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and a filmed introduction by Lawrence Gordon Clark.
479:" (1978) in the same release, and the entire run of
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623:"The Day I Got to Carry Denholm Elliott's Leg"
299:The Signalman notes his dilemma; if he was to
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522:by TV historian Jon Dear and writer/actor
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1020:Films with screenplays by Andrew Davies
1015:Films based on works by Charles Dickens
692:"Ghost Stories for Christmas: Volume 1"
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516:Ghost Stories for Christmas - Volume 2
506:" (1975), "Stigma", "The Ice House", "
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641:A Warning to the Curious - DVD review
332:Reginald Jessup as The Engine Driver
100:Reginald Jessup as The Engine Driver
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446:first released "The Signalman" on
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230:who is visited by a traveller (
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7:
1025:A Ghost Story for Christmas
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460:A Warning to the Curious
646:1 February 2014 at the
563:. Retrieved 2010-07-07.
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351:Staplehurst rail crash
264:television ever made.
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961:Schalcken the Painter
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423:Lawrence Gordon Clark
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397:Severn Valley Railway
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405:Clayton Tunnel crash
379:Gilbert and Sullivan
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665:11 May 2012 at the
639:McCusker, Eamonn, "
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