The Treasure of Abbot Thomas - A Ghost Story for Christmas (1974-ENG SUB)

The Treasure of Abbot Thomas is a short film which serves as the fourth episode of the British supernatural anthology television series "A Ghost Story for Christmas". Audio in English with English subtitles (Click on CC for subtitles.)

Written by John Bowen, produced by Rosemary Hill, and directed by the series' creator, Lawrence Gordon Clark, it is based on the ghost story of the same name by M. R. James, first published in the collection Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1904), and first aired on BBC1 on 23 December 1974.
It stars Michael Bryant as the academic Rev. Justin Somerton, who along with his protoge Peter, Lord Dattering (Paul Lavers) seeks to uncover the supposed resting place of a cache of gold which once belonged to Abbot Thomas (John Herrington), a disgraced 15th century alchemist. It is the first entry in the series to feature original music, composed by Geoffrey Burgon.

In creating his adaptation, Bowen changed a number of elements of M. R. James's story, such as removing Somerton's servant Brown from the story and adding another character – Peter, Lord Dattering (Paul Lavers)[a] – as Somerton's protégé, with whom he shares his investigation. Unlike James's original story, the television version is not told in flashback, and includes a scene in which Somerton exposes two fraudulent mediums, which acts as a demonstration of Somerton's rational approach to the supernatural.

Although James's original story was set in Germany, for budgetary reasons in the television version the action was relocated to England. Clark used the grounds of Wells Cathedral in Somerset for the entrance to the well where Abbot Thomas hid his treasure. Wells Cathedral Chapter House and its adjoining steps also were used in various scenes. The house featured is Orchardleigh, on the outskirts of Frome - also in Somerset. The 13th-century church of St Mary, Orchardleigh also featured in the production, as did Vicars' Close in Wells, Somerset.

Cast & Characters:
Michael Bryant as Rev. Justin Somerton
Paul Lavers as Peter, Lord Dattering
Frank Mills as Mr Tyson
Sheila Dunn as Mrs Tyson
John Herrington as Abbot Thomas
Virginia Balfour as Lady Dattering
Peggy Aitchison as Landlady

Next Story - The Ash Tree:
https://rumble.com/v5dv96d-the-ash-tree-a-ghost-story-for-christmas-1975-eng-sub.html