The Box of Delights

The Box of Delights has been one of my favorites since it was first televised. At the time I was less than five years old... since then I have watched it at least once every year... it has never lost it's magic, and I am sure never will. The only worry I have is that the video tape may soon wear out!

If you get the opportunity watch it, it will be worth your while.

The Box of Delights to my brother and I is as traditional at Christmas as The Wizard of Oz or indeed The Queens speach!! Every year since 1984 we have "delighted" in watching The Box armed with sweets in our formative years and beer in our latter. Even now as grown men missing The Box for 1 year would be regarded as sacrilige. To us The Box epitimises Christmas with its magic and mayhem,villains and heroes and ultimately allround Christmassy feel. The casting is outstanding, try to read the book after watching the show and you can't imagine anyone else in the roles. Devin Stansfield is excellent as Kay,unfortunately it appears it was the pinnacle of his career as he doesn't appear to have acted since. The late great Patrick Traughton and Robert Stephens excell in their roles and it is in The Box I'll remember them not Dr Who or Shakespeare. The musical score is fantastic the composer has captured the spirit of a pre-war Christmas amazingly well, the version of The first Noel is magical. We love The Box because it enables us to hang onto our childhood.As there are 2 of us it enables us to protect each other from the mockery of our respective spouses who believe we're like a couple of kids.Both have tried and failed to take our one and only recording to tape over it with Coronation Street. Now wouldn't that be the Purple Pim........

This has been one of my favorite Christmas movies since I ran across it on the PBS "Wonder Works" series almost two decades ago. I was fortunate enough to have taped it at the time and I've watched it every Christmas since!

Devin Stansfield is Kay Harker, a young Briton from an affluent family who is travelling by train to spend the Christmas holiday with relatives. Taking a nap in an empty compartment, he unexpectedly finds himself in the company of two apparent clergymen (Jonathan Stevens & Geoffrey Larder) who cheat him out of a shilling and then steal his wallet! Appearances continue to prove deceiving as an old tramp (Patrick Troughton) turns out to be the ancient alchemist Raymond Lully, and Kay plunges into a wonderful adventure of magic and mystery.

The acting (mostly perfect) is occasionally a little wooden, and the special effects are a tribute to the demands a limited budget makes on the imagination. However the cinematography is superb and the screenplay does justice to the rich novel by Mansfield. The plot is excellent and the story taps a rich vein of English mythology.

It's unfortunate that this video is apparently only available from England, where it is only for sale in British video format - which is not compatible with U.S. machines! I hope that "The Box of Delights" will soon make its debut on DVD.

I loved this series and I was 25 when it was shown, I taped all episodes and watched them over and over, I can only lament the loss of the tapes but I can thoroughly recommend "The box of delights" to anyone who hasn't lost their childhood magic. Patrick Troughton is one of my favorite actors and is marvelous as is Robert Stephens in a dastardly role, the effects are very good considering the budget with the BBC and the acting is great. The story is a classic, although I had never heard of John Masefield until this series much to my chagrin. I know that children of all ages will enjoy it.I know I did and would again.

How could you not like a story where the villain - and an evil and odious villain he is - is a Methodist Bishop? Where little boys turn into mice and run through the walls to spy on the bad guys?

This is a thoroughly charming Christmas fantasy, wonderfully made by the BBC in the mid-80's, based on a children's book by John Masefield. Set in England in the 1930's, it tells the adventures of Kay Hawker as he returns home from school for Christmas. On the train he meets a mysterious but kindly old man who gives him the Box of Delights, a magical box which gives the holder the powers of flight, physical transformation, and the ability to travel through time. Of course, the forces of evil, led by the aforementioned Bishop, are out to steal the Box, and its up to Kay and his friends to stop them.

This is an absolutely first rate BBC production. Patrick Troughton of Dr. Who fame is the mysterious old man and Robert Stephens is the Bishop. The story, the visual effects, and the music are all enthralling.

Actually, its somewhat of a fluke that I have seen this program since it has - to my knowledge - never been shown in the United States. In the mid-80's I was living in Cleveland, Ohio, and we could pick up Canadian TV from across the Lake. One day I happened to turn on the television and this was on; I was instantly captivated. Ever since then I have tried to find tapes of this show but, unfortunately, they are not available in the U.S.