The Woman in Black (1989 film)

Plot

A young solicitor, Arthur Kidd, is sent to a small market town on the East Coast of England to attend the funeral of Mrs. Alice Drablow, an elderly reclusive widow. On the train, Kidd meets Sam Toovey, a local land owner who is unsettled upon hearing that Kidd is dealing with the Drablow estate. Arriving at Crythin Gifford, Kidd lodges at a local inn where he finds the townspeople reluctant to talk about Mrs. Drablow's dreary home, Eel Marsh House.

The next day, Kidd attends the funeral with Mr. Pepperell, a local solicitor. During the sermon, he notices a woman in black standing at the back of the church, then again amid the gravestones. He mentions the woman to Mr. Pepperell. Elsewhere, a truck carrying heavy lumber accidentally drops its load and cripples a Romani child.

Kidd is driven by trap to Eel Marsh House, which is connected to the mainland by a tidal causeway frequently hidden by mist. His driver is Keckwick, a local man who knows the timing of the tides. Keckwick agrees to pick up Kidd when it is safe to cross the causeway again.

Kidd walks around the graveyard near the house when he sees the woman once again. Terrified, he flees into the house. While looking around the study, he finds two death certificates as well as pictures of a young woman who resembles the Woman in Black. After hearing some disturbing recordings made by Mrs. Drablow on wax cylinders, he decides not to wait for Keckwick and walk back to town.

When Keckwick brings him back to town, Kidd pays a visit to Mr. Toovey, to whom he tells his story. Toovey tells him not to go back to the house, but Kidd insists on returning and staying there. Toovey then loans Kidd his dog, called Spider, to keep him company.

Upon his return, Kidd searches through the papers in the study but is interrupted by the sounds of a bouncing ball from upstairs. Spider starts whining and leads Kidd to a door that cannot be opened. Kidd runs downstairs to get an axe to break the door, only to find the door has opened by itself.

Behind the door, Kidd finds an immaculately clean child's nursery. Kidd notices that a little lead soldier somehow found its way into his hand. He then realizes that the generator is running down. Unwilling to be left in the dark, Kidd rushes to the outhouse to start up the electricity generator.

When Kidd and Spider are outside, Spider answers a high whistle and runs away. As Kidd searches for him, the noises of the horse and the child start again. Kidd, frightened almost into madness, rushes back into the house and locks himself in. He then continues to study the papers in the house and records his fears onto the wax cylinders.

From various sources inside the study, Kidd learns that Mrs. Drablow's sister, Jennet Goss, gave birth to a child but was unable to care for it. Mrs. Drablow and her husband adopted the boy, insisting he should never know that Jennet was his mother. One day, Jennet kidnapped her son and tried to escape via the causeway. The pony and trap carrying Jennet and the boy across the causeway became lost and sank into the marshes, killing all aboard. Jennet then came back to haunt Eel Marsh House with a vengeful malevolence.

Mr. Toovey arrives at Eel Marsh House, brought by Spider, and listens to Kidd's theories regarding the Woman in Black. He then tells Kidd that according to local tales, seeing the Woman in Black presages the death of a child. Kidd decides to pack his things and leave the house. However, amongst the papers, he finds the lead soldier. He points this out to Mr. Toovey, and they go up to the nursery. However, when they reach it, the room is a mess, with all the toys smashed and the furniture in shambles. This is too much for Kidd, who collapses.

Kidd awakens in the town inn to the sound of the child's laughter and finds the soldier yet again in his hand. After asking out loud what the child wants of him, the child replies that the soldier "is for you". The Woman in Black appears, hovering over his bed, and shrieks into his face, terrifying him into unconsciousness.

Kidd returns to London and his family. His boss instructs him to look through the box of Mrs. Drablow's papers that was sent from Crythin Gifford. At that moment, his two assistants come in and say that there was a customer for him, a woman dressed completely in black. Delirious with terror, Kidd searches madly through the box for the toy soldier. When he does not find it, he burns all the papers and the box, and half his office as well. His boss fires him and the Kidd family decide to leave London.

With the events apparently passed, Arthur and his family are boating on a peaceful lake when Arthur sees the Woman in Black standing on the lake, watching him. Petrified, he does nothing. A tree falls on their boat, killing them all.

Cast

Broadcast history and availability

It was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on ITV on Christmas Eve 1989, with the only repeat being on Channel 4 at Christmas 1994. Overall the TV adaptation stayed reasonably faithful to the original novel, although some of the changes angered the author Susan Hill (for example, the sex of the dog 'Spider' was changed from female to male). Arthur's name has also been changed from Kipps to Kidd. The TV version was released in the United Kingdom on VHS exclusive to WHSmith stores, but only for a fairly short time. There was also a Region 1 DVD release, but it is now out of print and, according to the messageboard at the site of Susan Hill, the TV rights are now owned by someone else. The rights have been purchased twice and currently reside with a U.S. studio.

Production

The programme was filmed at Stanlake Park in Berkshire, using the causeway to Osea Island, near Goldhanger in Essex, and the local salt marshes, whilst scenes to represent Crythin Gifford were filmed at the National Trust village of Lacock, near Chippenham, Wiltshire. The external funeral scene was filmed in the village of Sarratt, near Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire.

Awards and nominations

The Woman in Black was nominated for four BAFTA awards, including Best Design, Best Film Sound, Best Make Up and Best Original Television Music.