Whistle and I'll Come to You (A Ghost Story for Christmas)
Television drama / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Whistle and I'll Come to You" is a short film which serves as the eleventh episode of the British supernatural anthology television series A Ghost Story for Christmas. Written by Neil Cross, produced by Claire Armspach, and directed by Andy De Emmony, it is based on the ghost story of the same name by M. R. James, first published in the collection Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1904), and first aired on BBC Two on 24 December 2005.[1] At 52 minutes it is the longest entry in the series' history.
"Whistle and I'll Come to You" | |||
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A Ghost Story for Christmas episode | |||
![]() John Hurt as James Parkin | |||
Episode no. | Episode 11 | ||
Directed by | Andy De Emmony | ||
Written by | Neil Cross | ||
Based on | "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad" by M. R. James | ||
Produced by | Claire Armspach | ||
Original air date | 24 December 2010 (2010-12-24) | ||
Running time | 52 minutes | ||
Guest appearances | |||
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Episode chronology | |||
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List of episodes |
It stars John Hurt as James Parkin, an introverted academic who goes on a respite holiday after leaving his wife Alice (Gemma Jones), who is in the advanced stages of dementia, in a care home. When he finds a wedding ring on a beach, he starts to be haunted by a mysterious spectre.[2]
It is the second major adaptation of James' story, following the 1968 version directed by Jonathan Miller for the BBC documentary strand Omnibus, which directly inspired Lawrence Gordon Clark to create A Ghost Story for Christmas in 1971. This version significantly changes the story of both the short story and the earlier film, replacing the whistle found in a Knights Templar cemetery on the East Anglian coast with a wedding ring, but hints at Robert Burns' original Scottish folk song "Oh, whistle and I'll come to you, my lad", which Hurt's character recites at the beginning of the story to his wife and is played over the end credits.[3][4]
It received mixed reviews from critics and audiences for the deviations from earlier versions of the story, though John Hurt's performance was widely praised.[5]