Lost Hearts - A Ghost Story for Christmas (1973)

Lost Hearts is a short film, the third of the British supernatural anthology series A Ghost Story for Christmas. Written by Robin Chapman, produced by Rosemary Hill, and directed by the series' creator, Lawrence Gordon Clark, it is based on the 1895 ghost story of the same name by M. R. James and first aired on BBC1 on 25 December 1973.

The drama tells the story of Stephen Elliott, a young orphan aged 11 years and of an inquiring frame of mind, who is sent to stay with his much older cousin, the scholarly Mr Abney, at a remote country mansion, Aswarby Hall, in Lincolnshire. His cousin is a reclusive alchemist obsessed with making himself immortal. Abney's library "contained all the then available books bearing on the Mysteries, the Orphic poems, the worship of Mithras, and the Neo–Platonists." Stephen is repeatedly troubled by visions of a young gypsy girl and a travelling Italian boy with their hearts missing.

Ormsby Hall in South Ormsby in Lincolnshire stood in for the exterior shots of Aswarby Hall, while the churchyard of the nearby St Leonard's church in the village featured in the final scenes including the ghostly children waving to Stephen. Harrington Hall in Harrington, Lincolnshire was used for the interior of Aswarby Hall, as well as a few outside scenes. The interiors seen in the film were all destroyed by a fire which occurred in 1991. The Pelham Mausoleum near Brocklesby in Great Limber near Grimsby also featured in the production.

Cast & Characters:
Mr Abney as Joseph O'Conor
Mrs Bunch as Susan Richards
Stephen as Simon Gipps-Kent
Parkes as James Mellor
Giovanni as Christopher Davis
Phoebe as Michelle Foster
Vicar as Roger Milner

Next Film: The Treasure of Abbot Thomas
https://rumble.com/v5dnlop-the-treasure-of-abbot-thomas-a-ghost-story-for-christmas-1974-eng-sub.html