A WARNING TO THE CURIOUS

BBC film 1972; Director Lawrence Gordon Clark. 50 minutes; Starring Peter Vaughan; PG

The ghost story by M.R. James, published in 1925, tells the story of Paxton, an amateur archaeologist who travels to “Seaburgh” and inadvertently stumbles across one of the lost crowns of Anglia, which protect the country from invasion. On digging the crown up, Paxton is stalked by its supernatural guardian.

In adapting the story for film, Clark changed the original protagonist from a young, innocent amateur to an older man (Peter Vaughan), fully aware of what he is looking for. From the outset a sense of encroaching dread looms as the isolation and emptiness frame the drama. The implied background of the 1930s Depression adds an extra layer to Paxton’s search for the treasure.

This event is free entry