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394:), 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 (
31:
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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
267:
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. It was the last James adaptation produced as part of the series' original run, and the last one to air
484:
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 Ash Tree" by television consultant Dick Fiddy and a filmed introduction by
Lawrence Gordon Clark.
290:, 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 (
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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
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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 (
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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
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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."
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featuring as
Castringham Hall. The scene of the hanging of the witches was filmed at the
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In 2012, to mark the 150th anniversary of James' birth, "The Ash Tree" was released on
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319:(seen here in a self-portrait of 2007) played Sir Richard and Sir Matthew in the drama
300:) outside his bedroom window and he is haunted by visions of his relative's role in a
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outside his bedroom window, which is revealed to have a connection with these events.
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675:"Ghost Story for Christmas (A) AKA Ghost Stories for Christmas (TV) (1968-2022)"
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636:"An Interview with Lawrence Gordon Clark, Master of Ghostly Horror"
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in
Australia in 2011 by Shock Entertainment as part of the box set
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Clark relocates the
Suffolk scenes of James's original story to
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496:alongside "The Treasure of Abbot Thomas", "
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459:The Complete Ghost Stories of M. R. James
1054:Television films based on short fiction
730:"Ghost Stories for Christmas: Volume 1"
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518:Ghost Stories for Christmas - Volume 2
453:"The Ash Tree" was first released on
7:
282:In 1735 the aristocrat Sir Richard (
235:, first published in the collection
1049:Films based on works by M. R. James
119:Clifford Kershaw as The Witchfinder
116:Oliver Maguire as William Beresford
634:D'Amico, John (12 February 2014).
14:
1:
576:"A Ghost Story for Christmas"
488:In 2023 it was remastered in
238:Ghost Stories of an Antiquary
959:Whistle and I'll Come to You
892:Whistle and I'll Come to You
836:The Treasure of Abbot Thomas
492:by th.e BFI and released on
478:The Treasure of Abbot Thomas
421:featured as Castringham Hall
1079:Films set in country houses
1059:A Ghost Story for Christmas
799:A Ghost Story for Christmas
482:A Ghost Story for Christmas
241:(1904), and first aired on
212:A Ghost Story for Christmas
183:A Ghost Story for Christmas
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524:by TV historian Jon Dear.
327:as Sir Richard/Sir Matthew
164:23 December 1975
89:as Sir Richard/Sir Matthew
16:1975 TV series or program
1074:Films about witch hunting
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1069:Films about inheritances
820:A Warning to the Curious
812:The Stalls of Barchester
1044:Films shot in Cornwall
547:British Film Institute
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1014:1975 television films
991:The Turn of the Screw
975:Schalcken the Painter
719:, retrieved 2014-1-21
707:, Retrieved 2012-5-18
621:. Retrieved 2010-7-7.
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245:on 23 December 1975.
223:, it is based on the
221:Lawrence Gordon Clark
200:which is part of the
72:Lawrence Gordon Clark
1039:Films set in Suffolk
900:The Tractate Middoth
357:as William Beresford
703:11 May 2012 at the
574:Brockhurst, Colin.
369:as Master Procathro
325:Edward Petherbridge
317:Edward Petherbridge
284:Edward Petherbridge
256:of Ann Mothersole (
250:Edward Petherbridge
125:as Master Procathro
87:Edward Petherbridge
1064:Fraxinus excelsior
876:A View from a Hill
607:Angelini, Sergio,
586:on 13 October 2011
580:phantomframe.co.uk
555:on 30 January 2009
510:A View from a Hill
423:
363:as The Witchfinder
333:as Anne Mothersole
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297:Fraxinus excelsior
271:A View from a Hill
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215:. Written by
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737:. Retrieved
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717:BFI releases
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682:. Retrieved
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654:The Ash Tree
653:
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639:
619:Screenonline
610:The Ash Tree
609:
590:10 September
588:. Retrieved
584:the original
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559:22 September
557:. Retrieved
553:the original
545:
536:
517:
516:" (2006) as
508:"' (1978), "
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389:
380:David Rudkin
377:
339:as Dr Croome
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229:The Ash-tree
217:David Rudkin
210:
205:supernatural
193:The Ash Tree
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148:Running time
62:David Rudkin
46:The Ash-tree
35:Title screen
23:The Ash Tree
22:
940:Lot No. 249
828:Lost Hearts
661:Radio Times
640:Smug Horror
504:" (1977), "
500:" (1976), "
474:Lost Hearts
472:alongside "
443:Bodmin Moor
439:Cheesewring
384:witch trial
254:witch trial
233:M. R. James
225:ghost story
68:Directed by
52:M. R. James
1024:1975 films
1008:Categories
739:4 December
684:2024-06-13
528:References
522:commentary
449:Home video
400:Doctor Who
396:Lalla Ward
374:Production
343:Lalla Ward
292:Lalla Ward
198:short film
168:1975-12-23
151:31 minutes
135:Production
105:Lalla Ward
58:Written by
884:Number 13
514:Number 13
406:Locations
398:in a pre-
304:of 1690.
248:It stars
701:Archived
549:Database
427:Cornwall
278:Synopsis
274:(2005).
262:ash tree
140:Producer
78:Starring
41:Based on
951:Related
613:at the
494:Blu-ray
468:by the
435:Padstow
429:, with
419:Padstow
402:role).
288:Suffolk
202:British
176:Related
166: (
161:Release
994:(2009)
986:(2008)
978:(1979)
970:(1972)
962:(1968)
943:(2023)
935:(2022)
927:(2021)
919:(2019)
911:(2018)
903:(2013)
895:(2010)
887:(2006)
879:(2005)
871:(1978)
863:(1977)
860:Stigma
855:(1976)
847:(1975)
839:(1974)
831:(1973)
823:(1972)
815:(1971)
679:Rewind
664:online
656:(1975)
502:Stigma
268:until
433:near
417:near
231:" by
196:is a
762:IMDb
741:2022
592:2010
561:2010
308:Cast
243:BBC1
760:at
734:BFI
617:'s
615:BFI
470:BFI
466:DVD
455:DVD
441:on
50:by
1010::
732:.
677:.
658:,
638:.
626:^
600:^
578:.
544:.
461:.
790:e
783:t
776:v
743:.
687:.
642:.
594:.
563:.
227:"
170:)
48:"
44:"
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
