Literary Adaptations

THE PLEDGE

This film was on general release for three years with Twentieth Century Fox. Inspired by Lord Dunsany’s story “The Highwayman”, the film is a macabre drama set in 1790. A highwayman has been gibbeted and his decomposing body hangs rotting on a desolate road. A series of flashbacks show him to be a rapist and murderer. His companions in crime set out to cut his body down and bury it in an Archbishop’s tomb, believing that only this course of action will free their friend’s soul. Terrified by their superstitions, they perform the grisly task, but despite this one act of compassion, they continue in their evil ways.

IN THE TWILIGHT

Selected as an “Outstanding Film of the Year” by the London Film Festival. Set in 1910, “In the Twilight” is an adaptation of another Lord Dunsany story. On a beautiful summer’s day, a river is crowded with boats. In a moment of carelessness a man falls overboard. In struggling to reach the surface he strikes his head on the keel of a boat and sinks to the bottom.
In the ensuing twilight world he views past scenes from his life which escalate towards a weird and strange climax.

OUT OF REACH

A young poet is desperate for recognition, a sad and lonely youth living in a garret emulating his hero, Thomas Chatterton.
Rejected in love and by his publishers, his mind fills with images of robber barons, medieval castles, and magical swords.
Pushed beyond endurance, he retreats into his symbolic world and there, tricked by a sorcerer, is convinced that if he could just travel to the moon, he will obtain his heart’s desire.
He finally fulfills his ambition, but with the predictable tragic consequences.

THE RED BOX

Digby Rumsey’s millenium adaptation of Nevil Shute’s book, “On the Beach”, is a chilling and terrifying account of the end of the world as seen through the eyes of a small community in Melbourne, Australia. With the Northern hemisphere already destroyed by nuclear war, the local population waits for the radiation sickness to arrive. With each character in the drama dealing with their impending doom differently, the Rumsey adaptation offers an immensely believable study of human nature. The film combines actors in a blue screen studio with poignant contemporary images.

THE SONG OF THE MORROW

A faithful adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s prose poem of the same name. In this text the Daughter of Duntreen has “no power upon the hour and no thought upon the morrow”. Set on a deserted beach and in a monastery, the young cast and the minimalist Pre-Raphaelite style combine to offer an unusual interpretation of this little-known story. By the time the Daughter realises that she now has “the power” – the circle of life has turned again.

NATURE AND TIME

Made in 1975, this is Rumsey’s first film to be shot in 35mm. Adapted from a Lord Dunsany story of the same name.
This short fantasy features two mythical characters striding through London town. ‘Nature’ bemoans the loss of her countryside while ‘Time’ ignores her.
Eventually, forced to acknowledge her presence, his retort is a grim prediction for the future of our urbanised planet.