The Ash Tree (A Ghost Story for Christmas)

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"The Ash Tree"
A Ghost Story for Christmas episode
Ash Tree title card 1975.jpeg
Title screen
Episode no.Episode 5
Directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark
Written by David Rudkin
Based on"The Ash-tree"
by M. R. James
Produced byRosemary Hill
Original air date23 December 1975 (1975-12-23)
Running time31 minutes
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
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"The Ash Tree" is a short film which serves as the fifth episode of the British supernatural anthology television series A Ghost Story for Christmas . Written by David Rudkin, produced by Rosemary Hill, and directed by the series' creator, Lawrence Gordon Clark, it is based on the ghost story "The Ash-tree" by M. R. James, first published in the collection Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1904), and first aired on BBC1 on 23 December 1975. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

It stars Edward Petherbridge in the dual role of Sir Richard, an 18th century aristocrat who inherits the estate of his late uncle, and of Sir Matthew, his 17th century ancestor whose role in the witch trial of Ann Mothersole (Barbara Ewing) haunts Sir Richard via nighttime visions. Sir Richard is also disturbed by strange noises coming from an ash tree outside his bedroom window, which is revealed to have a connection with these events.

Since airing it has received a mixed response from critics in comparison with the other James adaptations produced in the series' original run, with even Clark regarding it as a disappointment. [4] It was the last James adaptation produced as part of the series' original run, and the last one to air until A View from a Hill (2005).

Synopsis

In 1735 the aristocrat Sir Richard (Edward Petherbridge) inherits his family estate, Castringham Hall in Suffolk, from his recently deceased childless uncle, who in turn had inherited it from his own childless uncle, Sir Matthew (Petherbridge in a dual role). The new owner is determined not to follow the path of his relatives by marrying his fiancée, Lady Augusta (Lalla Ward), and producing heirs. However, Sir Richard is disturbed by the strange infantile noises coming from an ash tree ( Fraxinus excelsior ) outside his bedroom window and he is haunted by visions of his relative's role in a witchcraft trial of 1690. [3] [5]

Cast

Edward Petherbridge (seen here in a self-portrait of 2007) played Sir Richard and Sir Matthew in the drama Portrait of Edward Petherbridge, 2007.jpg
Edward Petherbridge (seen here in a self-portrait of 2007) played Sir Richard and Sir Matthew in the drama

Production

Clark is less than complimentary of his adaptation of "The Ash Tree", which he felt didn't make Mistress Mothersole an effective villain, as a result of both his and adaptor David Rudkin's sympathy for witch trial victims; "We know so much about the hysteria of the witch trials and the ignorance and downright evil that fueled them that it was well-nigh impossible to portray her as James intended. Although, even he makes her a complicated character, hinting that she was popular with local farmers and the pagan fertility aspects that this implies. Frankly, I don't think the script quite did justice to the story, and maybe someone else should have a go at it." [4]

Clark gave his writers a lot of leeway in their interpretation of James's original stories, and Rudkin's "television version" changes the well-off Mistress Mothersole (Barbara Ewing), who has property of her own, into a younger and more attractive woman, hinting at a sexual attraction between her and Sir Matthew that would have been unthinkable in James's original 1904 story. Rudkin also changed the relationship between Sir Richard inheriting Castringham Hall from his father and grandfather to his childless uncle and great-uncle in order to be able to introduce the character of Lady Augusta (Lalla Ward in a pre-Doctor Who role).

Locations

Prideaux Place near Padstow featured as Castringham Hall Padstow Prideaux Place 01.jpg
Prideaux Place near Padstow featured as Castringham Hall

Clark relocates the Suffolk scenes of James's original story to Cornwall, with Prideaux Place near Padstow featuring as Castringham Hall. The scene of the hanging of the witches was filmed at the Cheesewring on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall.

Home video

"The Ash Tree" was first released on DVD in Australia in 2011 by Shock Entertainment as part of the box set The Complete Ghost Stories of M. R. James. [6]

In 2012, to mark the 150th anniversary of James' birth, "The Ash Tree" was released on DVD by the BFI alongside "Lost Hearts" (1973) and "The Treasure of Abbot Thomas" (1974) in the same release, and the entire run of A Ghost Story for Christmas from 1971-2010 was released in a DVD box set, which was updated the following year to include additional material. [7] [8] All three releases featured an essay on "The Ash Tree" by television consultant Dick Fiddy and a filmed introduction by Lawrence Gordon Clark.

In 2023 it was remastered in 2k resolution by th.e BFI and released on Blu-ray alongside "The Treasure of Abbot Thomas", "The Signalman" (1976), "Stigma" (1977), "The Ice House"' (1978), "A View from a Hill" (2005), and "Number 13" (2006) as Ghost Stories for Christmas - Volume 2. [9] This included Dick Fiddy's essay, the Lawrence Gordon Clark introduction, and a newly-recorded commentary by TV historian Jon Dear.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M. R. James</span> British author and scholar (1862–1936)

Montague Rhodes James was an English medievalist scholar and author who served as provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–1918), and of Eton College (1918–1936) as well as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge (1913–1915). James's scholarly work is still highly regarded, but he is best remembered for his ghost stories, which are considered by many critics and authors as the finest in the English language and widely influential on modern horror.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Petherbridge</span> English actor, writer, author, and artist

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prideaux Place</span> Country house in Padstow, Cornwall, England

Prideaux Place is a grade I listed Elizabethan country house in the parish of Padstow, Cornwall, England. It has been the home of the Prideaux family for over 400 years. The house was built in 1592 by Sir Nicholas Prideaux (1550–1627), a distinguished lawyer, and was enlarged and modified by successive generations, most notably by his great-great-grandson Edmund Prideaux (1693–1745) and by the latter's grandson Rev. Charles Prideaux-Brune (1760–1833). The present building, containing 81 rooms, combines the traditional E-shape of Elizabethan architecture with the 18th-century exuberance of Horace Walpole’s Strawberry Hill Gothic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Ewing</span> British actress, playwright and novelist

Barbara Ewing is a New Zealand actress, playwright and novelist based in the UK. In the 1980s Ewing played the character Agnes Fairchild in British comedy series Brass. Ewing's novel The Petticoat Men was shortlisted for the Ngaio Marsh Award in 2015.

Lawrence Gordon Clark is an English television director and producer, screenwriter, and author, best known for creating the supernatural anthology series A Ghost Story for Christmas, which originally aired on BBC One from 1971–1978, with Clark directing all but the final instalment as well as writing and producing the first two, The Stalls of Barchester (1971) and A Warning to the Curious (1972). The first five of these were based on the ghost stories of M. R. James, as was Casting the Runes (1979) which he directed for the ITV drama anthology series Playhouse.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Stalls of Barchester</span> Episode of A Ghost Story for Christmas

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Ash-tree</span> Short story by M.R. James

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<i>Casting the Runes</i> (Playhouse) 1979 television drama

Casting the Runes is a supernatural television drama produced by ITV in 1979. Running at 50 minutes, it was based on the ghost story Casting the Runes by British writer and academic M. R. James, first published in 1911 as the fourth story in More Ghost Stories, which was James' second collection of ghost stories. Directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark for the series Playhouse, produced by Yorkshire Television, it was first broadcast on ITV on 24 April 1979. Adapted by Clive Exton, it reimagined the events of James's story taking place in a contemporary television studio.

References

  1. ↑ "The Ash Tree". British Film Institute Database. Archived from the original on 30 January 2009. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
  2. ↑ Brockhurst, Colin. "A Ghost Story for Christmas". phantomframe.co.uk. Archived from the original on 13 October 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
  3. 1 2 Angelini, Sergio, The Ash Tree at the BFI 's Screenonline. Retrieved 2010-7-7.
  4. 1 2 D'Amico, John (12 February 2014). "An Interview with Lawrence Gordon Clark, Master of Ghostly Horror". Smug Horror.
  5. ↑ The Ash Tree (1975), Radio Times online
  6. ↑ "Ghost Story for Christmas (A) AKA Ghost Stories for Christmas (TV) (1968-2022)". Rewind. Retrieved 2024-06-13.
  7. ↑ BFI press release Archived 11 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine , Retrieved 2012-5-18
  8. ↑ BFI releases, retrieved 2014-1-21
  9. ↑ "Ghost Stories for Christmas: Volume 1". BFI. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
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