Whistle and I'll Come to You (1968)

A university professor, confident that everything which occurs in life has a rational explanation, finds his beliefs severely challenged when, during a vacation to a remote coastal village ... See full summary »

Director:

Jonathan Miller

Writers:

M.R. James (story), M.R. James,

Stars:

Michael Hordern, Ambrose Coghill, George Woodbridge

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Michael Hordern	...	Professor Parkins
Ambrose Coghill	...	Colonel
George Woodbridge	...	Hotel proprietor
Nora Gordon	...	Proprietress
Freda Dowie	...	Maid

Storyline

A university professor, confident that everything which occurs in life has a rational explanation, finds his beliefs severely challenged when, during a vacation to a remote coastal village in Norfolk, he blows through an ancient whistle discovered on a beach, awakening horrors beyond human understanding.

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Plot Keywords:

professor | nightmare | ghostly figure | horror movie remade | based on short story

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

1968 (UK)

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

42 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

The isolated headstone by the cliff's edge where Professor Parkins discovers the whistle is the exact same as the overgrown one seen in the foreground when he arrives at the cemetery.

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Quotes

Professor Parkins: There are more things in philosophy than are dreamt of in heaven and earth.

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Connections

Referenced in Screenwipe: Review of the Year 2007 (2007)

User Reviews

OMNIBUS: WHISTLE AND I'LL COME TO YOU (Jonathan Miller, 1968) **1/2

I first heard of this TV adaptation of an M. R. James ghost story when it was issued on R2 DVD by the British Film Institute; contemporary reviews had played it up as a masterpiece and, where it not for the exceedingly short 42-minute running time, I would probably have gone out and purchased it like I did with a handful of other similar BFI discs of old BBC TV shows. Now that I did manage to catch up with it on another format (along with nine others of its ilk that I will also go through for this ongoing Halloween Challenge), I am truly thankful that I exercised atypical restraint back then and hesitated! The thing is that for the great majority of its duration, the film plays almost like a British variation on MR. HULOT'S HOLIDAY (1953) – more than anything remotely resembling a horror film – with the snooty Tatiesque protagonist, constantly mumbling incoherently to himself, of a vacationing Professor (an admittedly tour-de-force performance by Michael Hordern in what is virtually a one-man show) wandering aimlessly on the sandy beach nearby or striking up the most philosophical discussions at dinner-time with a clearly less scholarly guest. Finding an ancient inscribed flute on the dunes one day and puffing on it nonchalantly, he takes to expecting its owner to come visit him at night…which he verily does in a truly remarkable climactic sequence (admirably shot in slow-motion for maximum effect) that surely earned this frustrating but interesting exhibit whatever claims to greatness it ever possessed!