''A Warning to the Curious'' is a 1972 supernatural drama produced by the

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as the second instalment of its ''

A Ghost Story for Christmas ''A Ghost Story for Christmas'' is a strand of annual British short television films originally broadcast on BBC One between 1971 and 1978, and revived sporadically by the BBC since 2005. With one exception, the original instalments were directe ...

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.Angelini, Sergio, . Retrieved 7 July 2010. As with the previous instalment, ''

The Stalls of Barchester ''The Stalls of Barchester'' is the first of the BBC's ''A Ghost Story for Christmas'' strand, first broadcast on BBC 1 at 11.00pm on 24 December 1971. Based on the story " The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral" from the 1911 collection ''More Ghost ...

'' (1971), it was adapted and directed by

Lawrence Gordon Clark Lawrence Gordon Clark, is an English television director and producer, perhaps best known for his ''A Ghost Story for Christmas'' series of mostly M. R. James ghost stories, which were broadcast annually by the BBC throughout the 1970s. These ar ...

and was first broadcast on BBC 1 at 11pm on Christmas Eve 1972. Running at 50 minutes, the drama was based on "

A Warning to the Curious "A Warning to the Curious" is a ghost story by British writer M. R. James, included in his book ''A Warning to the Curious and Other Ghost Stories'' first published in 1925. The tale tells the story of Paxton, an antiquarian and archaeologist who ...

", a ghost story by British writer

M. R. James Montague Rhodes James (1 August 1862 – 12 June 1936) was an English author, Medieval studies, medievalist scholar and provost (education), provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–1918), and of Eton College (1918–1936). He was List of ...

, included in his book ''

A Warning to the Curious and Other Ghost Stories ''A Warning to the Curious and Other Ghost Stories'' is the title of M. R. James' fourth and final collection of ghost stories, published in 1925. Montague Rhodes James (1862–1936) was a medievalist scholar; Provost of King's College, Cambri ...

'' first published in 1925.

Synopsis

In the 1930s the recently made unemployed Paxton (

Peter Vaughan Peter Vaughan (born Peter Ewart Ohm; 4 April 1923 – 6 December 2016) was an English character actor known for many supporting roles in British film and television productions. He also acted extensively on the stage. He is perhaps best known ...

), an amateur archaeologist who has fallen on hard times during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, travels to a remote seaside town in Norfolk to search for one of the three lost crowns of

East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...

, which, according to legend, protect the East Anglian coast from invasion. Paxton tracks down the location of the buried crown by discovering that the local Ager family have been the guardians of the crown and its burial site for generations. The last of the family was William Ager (John Kearney), who had died a few years previously. Upon unearthing the crown, Paxton is stalked by its supernatural guardian. Realising the danger he is in, Paxton, with the assistance of his fellow hotel guest Dr Black (

Clive Swift Clive Walter Swift (9 February 1936 – 1 February 2019) was an English actor and songwriter. A classically trained actor, his stage work included performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company, but he was best known to television viewers for ...

), reburies the crown in an attempt to appease the wrathful guardian spirit that watches over it; but the two men greatly underestimate the punishment that awaits those who are curious enough to dig for the crown.

Adaptation

In adapting the story, Clark changed the protagonist of the original from a young, innocent amateur who discovers the crown by accident to a middle-aged man (

) who travels to Seaburgh specifically to find the crown. The era is updated to 1929, the background of the Depression adding an extra layer to Paxton's search for the treasure. The narrative layering of the original James story is dispensed with and a chronological narrative is used instead. Clark noted in a 2014 interview that he tried to make ''A Warning to the Curious'' as "essentially, a silent film, with the tension building slowly throughout the visual images". Clark also included the character of Dr. Black (

), who first appeared in ''

''.

Cast

.. Mr Paxton *

.. Dr. Black *Julian Herington .. Archaeologist *John Kearney .. Ager/The Guardian *David Cargill .. Boots *

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, pla ...

.. Vicar *

Roger Milner Roger Lloyd Milner (2 April 1925–22 February 2014) was a British actor, author and dramatist who is probably best remembered today for appearing in two of the BBC’s A Ghost Story for Christmas dramas in the 1970s. His "outrageous comedy" ''H ...

.. antique shop owner *Gilly Fraser .. girl at cottage * David Pugh .. station porter *

Cyril Appleton Cyril Appleton (born 29 July 1930) is a British stage, television and film actor whose acting career spanned four decades. Appleton was born in Wigan in Lancashire in 1930. His first television role was Court Usher in the series ''Misleading Ca ...

.. labourer

Music

*Atmospheres - Symphony Orchestra of the Southwest German Radio, Baden Baden; Conductor: Ernest Bour (György Ligeti) eliodor – 2549 003*Density 21.5 - Flute: Severino Gazzelloni (Edgard Varèse) eliodor – 2549 002*Concerto for Cello and Orchestra - Hessian Radio Symphony Orchestra; Cello: Siegfried Palm; Conductor: Michael Gielen (György Ligeti) eliodor – 2549 004*Streichquartett No. 2 (i): Allegro Nervoso and (iv): Presto Furioso, Brutale, Tumultoso - LaSalle-Quartett; Cello: Jack Kirstein (György Ligeti) eutsche Grammophon, Avantgarde 2561 040

Locations

St Mary, Happisburgh, Norfolk - geograph

For ''A Warning to the Curious'', "Seaburgh" (a disguised version of

Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town in the English county, county of Suffolk, England. Located to the north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the composer Benjamin Britten and remains the centre of the int ...

, Suffolk) was filmed on the coast of

North Norfolk North Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in Cromer. The population at the 2011 Census was 101,149. History The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972. It was a ...

at Holkham Beach and Holkham Wood at Holkham Gap,

Happisburgh Happisburgh () is a village civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is on the coast, to the east of a north–south road, the B1159 from Bacton on the coast to Stalham. It is a nucleated village. The nearest substantial to ...

Wells-next-the-Sea Wells-next-the-Sea is a port town on the north coast of Norfolk, England. The civil parish has an area of and in 2001 had a population of 2,451,Office for National Statistics & Norfolk County Council (2001). Census population and household c ...

and at the Sheringham and Weybourne stations of the

North Norfolk Railway The North Norfolk Railway (NNR) – also known as the "Poppy Line" – is a heritage steam railway in Norfolk, England, running between the towns of Sheringham and Holt. The North Norfolk Railway is owned and operated as a public limite ...

. Clark recalls filming in North Norfolk in late February, with consistently fine cold weather "with a slight winter haze which gave exactly the right depth and sense of mystery to the limitless vistas of the shoreline there."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:A Warning to the Curious (1972 film) Adaptations of works by M. R. James BBC television dramas Television shows based on short fiction A Ghost Story for Christmas 1972 television films